holiday greetings

Astronomical winter has begun so the daylight is getting longer.  Hurrah!  Wishing you a peaceful, cozy, and relaxing holiday season, Sheri

When I moved four years ago, I chose this small university town for three reasons: 1) it was close to my dad and step-mom, 2) rent was cheaper than Halifax, and 3) with a university, there’s usually more going on.  Then the pandemic happened.  I was thankful for hiking and biking groups but never really got back in the habit of frequently checking out indoor activities.

Well, I think the online event listings for the area are back to pre-pandemic levels and could keep an extrovert triple-booked.  To counter the colder, darker days in November and December, I checked those listings often and got out more to local activities—joining craft fairs, concerts, vintage shows, movies, and events on campus. 

In early November, I attended a dinner put on by students in the university’s Nutrition and Dietetics Department.  Over a three-course veg meal with a “Dinner in Middle Earth” theme, I was blown away by the richness of the flavoUrs, particularly with the mushroom and lentil stew over rosemary mashed potatoes.  The food far surpassed most restaurant meals (let alone my own kitchen), all for just $15.

Leading up to Christmas, I checked out craft fairs at community and rec centers.  I walked around, learned who offers what, saw what other sewists are sewing, talked to vendors.  Some shows stirred happy memories of 1970’s church bazaars from my childhood.  And Santa found some beautiful hand-crocheted catnip mice to put in Enid’s stocking. 

During a yard sale five years ago, a couple asked me if we had any vintage Christmas tree decorations.  Huh?  I didn’t know then it was a thing but I certainly do now!  Since getting interested in MCM furnishings over the past few years, I’ve learned how popular vintage Christmas items, especially from the 1950’s-1960’s are—like hand-painted ceramic table-top trees, outdoor Santa and Frosty the Snowman blow-moulds, and fragile glass ornaments in their original boxes.  This holiday season, I went to a few antique stores and vintage shows just to look at all the Christmas stuff.  I wasn’t there to buy anything, just stir up more happy memories from childhood!

When I lived out west, I often attended baroque chorale concerts around the holidays.  Last year, I went to one at a chapel on campus that had been revised after a three-year pandemic gap.  I enjoyed it so much I made sure to get my ticket early this year as well as check out other concerts.  I attended an excellent performance of Handel’s Messiah last evening, but it would be hard to top a mostly instrumental concert of medieval folk / holiday music I enjoyed in a small venue overlooking the Bay of Fundy.  That music would have fit right in at the Hobbit meal.

Reference:

• MCM: Mid-century modern, a design aesthetic from the 1950’s and 1960’s.