Anyway, here are my answers to her Very Merry Tag! I wasn't tagged directly by anyone, but Abby basically tagged anyone who read her initial post, so... thanks for creating this and sort-of tagging me, Abby!
Does it snow where you live around Christmas? (If it doesn't, you have my sincere sympathy.) How much? Any special snowy Christmas stories?
Not usually. We do get some snow in January and February most years, but I don't think we've had a single white Christmas since moving here five years ago. I've had many white Christmases in my past, and loved them, so brown Christmases tend to annoy and sadden me. I absolutely adore snow.
I don't have any special stories about snowy Christmases, but I do have a fun memory of a very very very snowy and icy New Year's Eve from when Cowboy and I were first married. We lived in Wisconsin then, near a lot of his family. One New Year's Eve, all of his siblings and their families and the two of us went to their aunt and uncle's farm about ten miles from where we lived. A big ice storm blew in and forced us all to spend the night there at the farm. Cowboy and I and three of his siblings all worked 3rd shift, so we stayed up all night long playing board games and eating leftover food while everyone else slept, and it was a grand time.
Do you get a real tree or a fake tree?
We haven't had a real tree once in fourteen years of marriage, but I keep saying that one of these years, we're going to drive up into the mountains and cut one ourselves. My family did that for many years, and it was so fun. I like the smell and look of a real tree best, but this is the first year in so long where I haven't had a kid so small I worried they would tip the tree over and spill water all over my nice wooden floor. I did get some of those "Scentsicles" things this year to try out, and they smell really nice, if not exactly real.
What is your favorite Christmas movie?
White Christmas (1954). I adore it!
Where in the world would you like to spend Christmas the most?
Wherever Cowboy and our kids are. But if we could all be together someplace awesome like Colonial Williamsburg, I would love that too.
What fictional/literary character would you most like to spend Christmas with?
Sergeant Saunders from Combat! (1962-67). I would do my best to make his Christmas merry and bright, even in the middle of a war zone. We could sit cozily together by a bonfire in some abandoned barn or sawmill or whatever, not saying much, not doing much, just being quiet together, and each knowing that the other was totally okay with just sitting there quietly together. Bliss. I like to imagine he would think so too.
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| (Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders in Combat!) |
What is your favorite Christmas song?
"Carol of the Bells." Here's a favorite Christmas memory: This is actually a Ukrainian carol, and I got to sing it with my future in-laws at their church in Ukraine (where they were missionaries) one Christmas. That was pretty amazing, let me tell you.
What is your favorite Christmas book/story (besides, ya know, the story)?
Probably "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," a story in the Sherlock Holmes canon that takes place at Christmas and never fails to charm me. It's one of my favorite Holmes stories, with such a great ending. Also, it makes me laugh several times, and you know I dearly love to laugh.
Which do you prefer: multi-colored lights or white lights?
I prefer multi-colored lights on my tree and white lights elsewhere in my house.
What time period/decade would you most like to spend Christmas in?
Well, I'll just say the 1940s so it meshes with my wish to spend Christmas with Sgt. Saunders, who is more dear to my heart than any other fictional character in anything at all, be it book, movie, or TV show.
Which period drama has the best Christmas scene/episode?
Welllllll, since I already used White Christmas in another answer, I guess I'll go with Little Women (1994), which opens with a beautiful example of sharing Christmas cheer with others, and also includes a Christmas scene that makes me cry (even just thinking of it, I've got a lump in my throat). I'm speaking, of course, of the scene where Beth gets a new piano. Too Much Wonderfulness.
I am not going to tag anyone today because I need to get school going, but I don't want this to languish unfinished anymore. If you're feeling Christmasy and want to do this tag, please do so!
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh--your husband's family is from Ukraine? How neat!!! My dad's family is part Polish and part Lithuanian; and I would LOVE to visit Eastern Europe someday and see where they came from, but I've never gotten the chance to do it yet.
ReplyDeleteWe don't get snow on Christmas either. Sad.
Isn't it funny that I love so many fictional characters SO MUCH, and yet whenever somebody says to me, "Which one would you like to spend time with?" I'm always like, "ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . ." I guess I have trouble actually envisioning myself spending time with somebody from a book or a movie.
It's not like they're not 'real' to me--they are, very very real--but they're real in a different world. A parallel universe, I suppose. If that makes sense.
Odd . . .
Jessica, ooooh, I see now I kind of worded that oddly, didn't I. My husband isn't from Ukraine -- his dad has been a missionary there for 20+ years, and the first Christmas we were a couple, we went to spend Christmas there with his family. We actually flew in and out of Poland on that trip, and I got to eat Polish sausage in Poland, which was awesome.
DeleteI can't actually remember how young I was when I started imagining myself interacting with the people in my favorite stories. No older than six, that I know. If I really love a book, movie, or show, I can readily imagine myself being in that world with those characters.
Ah, I see! I wasn't sure, because I thought to myself, "well, their last name sounds KIND of Eastern European, but it's hard to tell." Anywho, that's still super cool! I'd love to go there . . .
DeleteInteresting . . . I imagine the characters in my stories interacting with EACH OTHER, all the time--even people from different stories and different worlds--but I don't imagine myself spending time with them. It's like I'm making movies in my head, I guess; and I'm the audience :-)
Jessica, it IS Eastern European -- Bohemian, to be precise, which would be part of the Czech Republic now, I believe.
DeleteI make movies in my head too, which are what generally turn into stories and novels. But I also have vast imaginary universes where I play WITH my favorite characters. That's pure enjoyment.
What do you know; I wasn't that far off, then! That's pretty neat! :-)
DeleteSounds lovely!!
Oh that scene in Little Women just gets me every time. *sniff* :) As for snow, you and I will just have to disagree. I got too acclimated to CA! I can admit that snow is beautiful and I love the quiet it brings. But the shoveling and the driving and being stuck at home by myself with no way to go anywhere bits are NOT my cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteKara, I kind of cry all through that particular version of Little Women, but especially at that part. I think that was the first movie my kids saw me cry over, and they were a little worried for a while, hee.
DeleteI actually don't mind shoveling. I should probably live in Alaska.
Thanks so much for doing the tag! I really enjoyed reading your answers. A Colonial Williamsburg Christmas would be incredible! And yeah, that scene in Little Women is so heartwarming!
ReplyDeleteAbby, you're welcome! Thanks for starting it, because it was great fun :-)
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