Gettin' In The Swing & Freeform Friday

Holiday Open House

Last night Exeter, the next town over and where I worked at the Chamber many moons ago, held Holiday Open House and Festival of Trees.  It's a night when the downtown is invaded by people who want to meet Santa who holds court in the gazebo in front of the old Town Hall building and Festival of Trees inside.  It's a mob scene, but a good kind of mob scene. Every one's there to get in the holiday spirit, the lights down Water Street are lit, stores show off their holiday window displays are open for shoppers, and there's lot of milling about. It's can be quite magical. A wonderful way to mark the season.

I headed over with my sister Dianne. Sister in law Kelly ventured with us at the last minute. It was full throttle hustle and bustle of the season-  lights, people, and cars....oh my.

Just as expected, it was a mob scene with tons of people lined up to see Santa.

Now, can you see what I mean?

We met my friend Carey (aka Martha of the infamous Champagne Ladies/Bookclub) and her daugther Laine....two of my best gals.

Then we went our merry ways.  Now Laine and Martha were smart and checked out Festival of Trees right away. The three of us however, got distracted.  Blame it on all the lovely things the shops had in them.

We popped into a store that was new to me, Reminisce, but that had been open since February. Obviously, I missed that.  As I told Kathy the owner, I'm sure to be back. Her shop was packed with a whole lot of wonderful.

Everywhere you turned, more fantastic things too oogle. Kathy had lots of local artists represented. Yay for local art! She also had lots of lovely vintage in the mix.

You see that nest on the wall, to the left of the pretty mirror?  It was painted by a local artist (whose name is escaping me unfortunately). Instead of trying to hide a crack in the wall, Kathy had this artist make the most of it by painting the very sweet bird's nest and eggs....there's a swallow on the other side of the mirror if you look close.

Reminisce was a feast for the eyes.

Di and Kel obviously found something they had to look at a little closer.

Vintage textiles, mixed media art, crystal, vintage fashion. What a lovely shop.

Lo and behold, while we were there, Martha and Laine made their way through the door and did a little shopping.

Since they didn't know I was taking this shot, I decided the next one I took, they would know about.

Two of my best gals.

Kathy the owner was busy greeting shoppers.  Genuinely welcoming everyone to her store and having earnest conversations about her products and the artists that are represented in Reminisce. Not quite the same kind of 'greeting' you get at Walmart.

Thanks to Kathy for the sweetest little handmade ginger bread men ever (I'll show you them in another post for sure---itty bitty, eency weency and oh so cute).

Then we were off and away down the street in and out of stores and before you knew it, it was time to head back up the street to my friend Kath's (aka soy goddess and another one of the Champagne Ladies) restuarant, Blue Moon Evolution. They were holding a booth for us, so we could sit and enjoy a cocktail and some fresh, local fare.

Problem with the timing was, we didn't have enough. We got so caught up in the shopping, that we never went in to see Festival of Trees. What a shame. It's always so beautiful.

However, luckily, Blue Moon made up for it.

Kath was doing duty as hostess.

Ah, sit down in a booth in one of my favorite spots and have a Rosalita served to me....yes please. We shared fish cakes, salad, a cheese board and the charcuterie board.  All of the meats on the charcuterie board are house made by Chef Ted McCormick. It's ever changing, as is the cheese board.

Last night I fell in love. I know, I know....I have Gar. Not to worry.

I fell in love with a new cheese. Bonne bouche. It might be my new all time favorite and it's made right in Vermont. Heavenly.  I told Kath she needs to bring some to Book Club/Champagne Ladies Christmas, which so happens to be tomorrow night at Pearl's (the last of our little group). 

We had a great night and it's always nice to give some holiday business to the locals. 

Have you attended any special events like Holiday Open House yet? What tradition do you have to get into the Christmas mood?

Freeform Friday

Talking about getting into the mood, I'm about to put on my first Christmas album of the year...live recording of Judy Garland's award winning Christmas Special. LOVE it. Love her with Liza, with Lorna, with Mel Torme and Jack Jones.  Enjoy.  Click here if you're reading by email.

Have a great day.

Ciao for now,

Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

via newseum

Traditions

One of my favorite traditions is reading the reprint of one of the most famous editorial's ever written, which our local paper prints each year in their Christmas edition. I love sitting with the paper on Christmas morning, if only for a moment, among discarded wrapping paper, to read this:

Yes, Virginia,

There is a Santa Claus

via beebo

By Francis P. Church, first published in The New York Sun in 1897. [See The People’s Almanac, pp. 1358–9.]

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor—
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

 

About the Exchange

Francis P. Church’s editorial, “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” was an immediate sensation, and went on to became one of the most famous editorials ever written. It first appeared in the The New York Sun in 1897, almost a hundred years ago, and was reprinted annually until 1949 when the paper went out of business.

Thirty-six years after her letter was printed, Virginia O’Hanlon recalled the events that prompted her letter:

“Quite naturally I believed in Santa Claus, for he had never disappointed me. But when less fortunate little boys and girls said there wasn’t any Santa Claus, I was filled with doubts. I asked my father, and he was a little evasive on the subject.

“It was a habit in our family that whenever any doubts came up as to how to pronounce a word or some question of historical fact was in doubt, we wrote to the Question and Answer column in The Sun. Father would always say, ‘If you see it in the The Sun, it’s so,’ and that settled the matter.

“ ‘Well, I’m just going to write The Sun and find out the real truth,’ I said to father.

“He said, ‘Go ahead, Virginia. I’m sure The Sun will give you the right answer, as it always does.’ ”

And so Virginia sat down and wrote her parents’ favorite newspaper.

Her letter found its way into the hands of a veteran editor, Francis P. Church. Son of a Baptist minister, Church had covered the Civil War for The New York Times and had worked on the The New York Sun for 20 years, more recently as an anonymous editorial writer. Church, a sardonic man, had for his personal motto, “Endeavour to clear your mind of cant.” When controversal subjects had to be tackled on the editorial page, especially those dealing with theology, the assignments were usually given to Church.

Now, he had in his hands a little girl’s letter on a most controversial matter, and he was burdened with the responsibility of answering it.

“Is there a Santa Claus?” the childish scrawl in the letter asked. At once, Church knew that there was no avoiding the question. He must answer, and he must answer truthfully. And so he turned to his desk, and he began his reply which was to become one of the most memorable editorials in newspaper history.

Church married shortly after the editorial appeared. He died in April, 1906, leaving no children.

Virginia O’Hanlon went on to graduate from Hunter College with a Bachelor of Arts degree at age 21. The following year she received her Master’s from Columbia, and in 1912 she began teaching in the New York City school system, later becoming a principal. After 47 years, she retired as an educator. Throughout her life she received a steady stream of mail about her Santa Claus letter, and to each reply she attached an attractive printed copy of the Church editorial. Virginia O’Hanlon Douglas died on May 13, 1971, at the age of 81, in a nursing home in Valatie, N.Y.

*********************************

Thank you Virginia, for asking the question and thank you Mr. Church for answering, truthfully.

Yes, Virginia,There Is A Santa Claus.

In case I'm I caught up in all the Christmas hoopla or on the couch under the afghan (Gar gave me the gift that keeps giving......a rotten bugger of a cold), I want to wish you all the Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest New Year filled with love, laughter, health, and happiness. You've all made my year a little brighter and for that, I thank you.

Freeform Friday

More Christmas sentiment from my favorite Christmas movie, The Bishop's Wife.  I've said it before, and I'm just throwing it out there again, if you haven't seen it.......rent it, buy it, just find a way to watch it.  Classic.
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Enjoy your holidays,