Beginning ~ with a letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

It's me, Chrissy, again.  I'm still being good.  I'm going to have a Christmas tree in my room.  You can put my presents there so I don't have to wait until Daddy wakes up Christmas morning.  He sleeps way too late.  Be careful on the stairs.

Chrissy

The Christmas Shop ~ by Nancy Naigle, 2018, fiction (North Carolina)

Angela Carson wants nothing more than to be the third-generation to run her family’s holiday store, Heart of Christmas, successfully.  They’ve weathered over sixty tourist seasons, major hurricanes, and urban sprawl, in their old decommissioned lighthouse.  But the national chain that set up shop in their small North Carolina town of Pleasant Sands may be more than Heart of Christmas can survive.  Encouraged by her niece to ask Santa for help through the Dear Santa app, Angela gives in and lets the words fly in a way that, if Santa were real, would no doubt land her on the naughty list.  What’s the harm when it’s just a computer-generated response?

Geoff Paisley has been at his mother’s side running the mega-chain Christmas Galore for the last ten years.  When his mother falls ill, Geoff promises to answer the Dear Santa letters in her stead.  Soon he realizes the woman he’s been corresponding with on Dear Santa is Angela.  How could the woman that grates his every last nerve in person have intrigued him so deeply through those letters?  When Geoff reveals that he’s her Dear Santa, will Angela be able to set aside their very public feud to embrace the magic of the holiday and possibly find true love?

Dear Santa is billed as a "heartwarming Christmas story about finding your passion for life and love."  The book I'm reading now is a heavy one about plague — yes, like the one we're living through.  I'm not sorry I'm reading it, but this one is Christmassy, light-hearted, a beach read (literally, since the main character's Christmas store is in an old lighthouse), and fits this jolly season a bit better than a book about a plague in Peru.  So I bought it for my Kindle a few minutes ago.  The two books are so different that I think even if I alternate reading them, I wouldn't confuse the characters in the least.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click the blue link for more book beginnings.

Beginning ~ along the northern coast of Peru

The local plane of the Compañía del Aviación Faucett had been field-hopping up the northern coast of Peru from Lima during the morning, nearly always in sight of the Pacific Ocean stretching endlessly to the west.  To the east the heights of the Andean Cordillera sharply defined the coastal plain, now quite close to it and again many miles away.

Plague Ship ~ by Frank G. Slaughter, 1976, fiction (Peru)

High in the Andes Mountains of Peru an archaeologist stumbles upon an ancient tomb, unwittingly releasing the germs from a civilization doomed by a plague over 5,000 years ago.  Dr. Grant Reed and the dedicated crew of the international hospital ship Mercy, set about the task of quarantining the first victims of a hideous plague.  Set adrift by frightened Peruvians, the aging and crippled ship faces a hurricane, mutinous patients, and even a pair of great white sharks, grisly mascots of a ship of death.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click the blue link for more book beginnings.

The Feline Guide to Feeling Fine

"Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life.

Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me

make my dreams come true." — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Wear Holiday Socks Day

Do you have holiday socks?  National (International) Wear Holiday Socks Day is an online event today.  I managed to lie on my back with a foot up in the air to get a photo of my green socks with red cardinals on them.  Can you see they are wearing red Santa hats and green scarves around their necks?  Show me — or tell me about — your holiday socks.

Peace on earth ~ two songs

Ring bells at noon on Christmas Day to tell the world:

"Peace on earth, good will to men" (and women).

I found this version on YouTube, sung by Bing Crosby.

Sing along with this 2-minute hymn on YouTube that is also

found in the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal on page 431:

"Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me."

Four of my six great-grandchildren share the same birthday

Shelby, age 7, was born 12-13-13.  Jaxon, age 10. was born 12-13-10.

Twins Jonathan and Micah, age 6, were born 12-13-14.

Jaxon and Shelby sang at church Sunday (12-13-20).

Ocho Kandelikas ~ Eight Little Candles

"Ocho Kandelikas," which literally means "Eight Little Candles" in the Ladino language, is a Sephardic Jewish song that celebrates the holiday of Hanukkah.  It was written in 1983 by the Jewish-American composer Flory Jagoda, shown in this photo.  She has recorded it many times, but this is the best version I've found.  It's only two minutes long, so listen to it on YouTube at the bottom of this page.

Words

#1:  Hanukah linda sta aki
Ocho kandelas para mi
Hanukah linda sta aki
Ocho kandelas para mi, oh...

Chorus:  Una kandelika, dos kandelikas
Tres kandelikas, kuatro kandelikas
Sintyu kandelikas, sej kandelikas
Siete kandelikas, ocho kandelas para mi

#2:  Muchas fiestas vo fazer
Kon alegria i plazer
Muchas fiestas vo fazeri
Kon alegria i plazer, oh...

Chorus:  Una kandelika, dos kandelikas
Tres kandelikas, kuatro kandelikas
Sintyu kandelikas, sej kandelikas
Siete kandelikas, ocho kandelas para mi

#3:  Los pastelikos vo kumer
Kon almendrikas i la myel
Los pastelikos vo kumer
Kon almendrikas i la myel, oh...

Chorus:  Una kandelika, dos kandelikas
Tres kandelikas, kuatro kandelikas
Sintyu kandelikas, sej kandelikas
Siete kandelikas, ocho kandelas para mi

Translation

#1:  It's here, beautiful Hanukkah, eight little candles for me,
It's here, beautiful Hanukkah, eight little candles for me, oh...
#2:  I'll throw plenty of parties, full of joy and pleasure,
I'll throw plenty of parties, full of joy and pleasure, oh...
#3:  I'll eat little pastries, with almonds and honey,
I'll eat little pastries, with almonds and honey, oh...

Chorus

One little candle, two little candles, Three little candles, four little candles, Five little candles, six little candles, Seven little candles, eight little candles for me.

The fourth day of Hanukkah begins at sunset this evening, so use the helper candle to light the fourth candle on the menorah.  The sun sets today at 4:40 p.m. in St. Louis, Missouri.