Posts from — December 2009

The countdown continues today with an Irish instrumental piece that actually sounds Irish: Circle of Joy, from Windham Hill’s Celtic Christmas III CD.

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!

Those of you who find my musical tastes a bit too eclectic will really think I’m “out there” with this one! I’ve always been drawn to Irish/Celtic music—what can I say? It’s in my blood!—so it’s not surprising that I would have a few of Windham Hill’s Celtic Christmas CDs in my collection. But today’s carol—if you can call it that—is an unexpected find on one of those CDs. It’s called “We Follow a Star”, and it’s a sound and instrumental representation, I believe, of the journey of the Three Wise Men to the birthplace of Jesus. You don’t have to work too hard to hear the plodding of camels’ feet or imagine the sting of sand blowing in your face.

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!

It’s Sunday, so it’s only fitting that today’s carol—Agnus Dei, from Amy Grant’s A Christmas to Remember CD—is a worshipful one. By turns intimate and majestic, this sacred song absolutely reflects the reason for the season. Click on the audio player below to help put your perspective into, well, perspective.

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!

I don’t know about you, but I could use a little rest from the hectic holiday pace right about now! With that in mind, I’ve selected God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen from Sharing the Season, Vol. III, by Lorie Line and her Pop Chamber Orchestra. Here’s hoping that all of us merry gentlemen (and gentlewomen!) have a chance to slow down a bit and enjoy this special time of year!

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!

More piano today (anybody have a guess what my favorite instrument might be?) from the CD Still. . .Still. . .Still, by Kelly Yost. The song—just because I haven’t featured it yet—is The First Noel.

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!

Today’s CD, Bob Conti’s Big Band Christmas, is likely to put you in the mood for a party! At the very least, the jazzed up versions of traditional carols—including Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, which I’m sharing here—should put a swing in your step.

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The countdown wouldn’t be complete without a few carols just for the kiddos, so this morning I played Arthur’s Perfect Christmas—the companion CD to the holiday special featuring the animated aardvark Arthur, along with his sassy and sweet sisters, DW and Baby Kate. My kids love the long-running PBS show, so the song I’m sharing today is especially for them: Perfect Christmas. Even though I’m a grown-up, I like this CD for a couple of reasons: Arthur, the main character, celebrates Christmas, as does our family. But he has friends who celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and St. Lucia, and it’s an accessible way for kids to learn about the traditions of other people and cultures. Plus, the songs in which DW supplies her own lyrics to the melodies of popular carols are hilarious and give a glimpse into what kids are hearing in the old-fashioned language of yore!

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!

So here we are, a week into the Christmas carol countdown, and my kids have confessed to me that rather than rousing them from their slumber, the morning CD serenade inspires in them a desire to snuggle even deeper beneath their covers and sleep just a bit longer. Today’s CD—Miracles, by Kenny G—is likely no exception. Come to think of it, maybe I’ll turn it on and snuggle back into my own cozy bed while it plays. I’m sharing Greensleeves, which is sure to give us all sweet dreams.

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!

I know it’s kind of the thing to do to joke about having a lot of leftovers after Thanksgiving, and to be creative about how many ways you can incorporate those items—especially turkey—into everyday meals until they’re finally all gone. But around our house, we really could have used some more. Seriously, I think I only had one turkey sandwich after the Big Meal. And after I made turkey stock and turkey noodle soup last week and turkey enchiladas this week, I find myself wishing I could have stretched our big pasture-raised bird (14-plus pounds) even further. But what we did have was great, and I’m grateful for it.

As I mentioned, I used the last of the turkey in enchiladas this week, and they were amazing. I used the recipe for Red Enchilada Sauce in Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon, and it was incredibly easy to make and really delicious. The sauce had plenty of flavor for Shawn and I, without causing the kids to complain that it was too spicy (I’ve been accused of that on more than a few occasions). Aside from the sauce, which wasn’t all that complicated to make, the ingredients list couldn’t have been shorter: turkey, corn tortillas and monterrey jack cheese. I served the enchiladas with whole sprouted pinto beans, seasoned with onion, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. The entire family gobbled it up and asked for more, but alas, there were no leftovers. Luckily, I have a pastured chicken in the refrigerator practically begging me to repeat the recipe later this week to take when we visit some out-of-town relatives. And I’m betting that all I’ll bring back is an empty baking dish.

This post is part of the Tuesday Twister blog carnival hosted by www.gnowfglins.com. To link to today’s Tuesday Twister on that site, click here.

My husband, Shawn, is the Garth Brooks fan in the family, and he contributed this CD to our collection. So today’s song—Silent Night, from the Beyond the Season CD—is for him!

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!