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| The Road in front of Saint-Simeon Farm in Winter, 1867 - Claude Monet |
It's the Christmas season and Sunday last was the first Sunday of Advent. I missed our church service as we were seeing to the health of one of the smaller members of our tribe.
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| Anya keeping a watchful eye on the doings of the neighborhood. |
Speaking of whom, she is currently watching a series from the BBC 2 on Netflix called Monty Don's French Gardens. She treated me to a few minutes of the episode where he visits Monet's garden. As I am a sucker for the Impressionists I gave it a look-see, I was amazed at the extent and beauty of Monsieur Monet's garden, which he himself created. A number of gardeners still work to keep it as it was in Monet's time.
At one moment I thought I was looking at a shot of the garden, as the camera moved back, I saw it was one of his paintings. Magnifique!
I have always felt that the Impressionists did not capture a scene in its exact form, but better yet, they captured the spirit of the scene. That opening painting, I have seen scenes similar to that many times in my life. Monsieur Monet's painting is how I see them in my memory and in my heart.
Such beauty.
As it is the Christmas season, and as I missed the first Sunday in Advent, thus missing the following hymn, I offer it to you here. To me it captures the spirit, the essence, of what this season is supposed to be. A hymn which always brings a tear to my eye. Two versions, one instrumental, one vocal, both of haunting, majestic beauty.
Rejoice!
O come, O come, Emmanuel
To free your captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel
O veni, veni Emmanuel
Captivum solve Israel
Qui gemit in exilio
Privates Dei Filio
Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel
Gaude! Gaude!
Gaude! Gaude!
Gaude! Gaude!
Gaude! Gaude!
Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel
Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel
Oh yes, I say rejoice.
And we wait...
For His return.
Those are quite the set of whiskers!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, she's got whiskers galore.
Delete"Oh yeah, she's got whiskers galore."
DeleteDoes this mean that she is related to a character in one of the early James Bond movies? ( I thought of this question earlier this morning, but waited until now because I don't think many of your readers go back through the comments to see if someone is commenting on an earlier comment. )
Paul
No relation, but I like the way your mind works.
Delete;)
1. That is a beautiful pic of your kitty! Glad she is feeling well enough to protest the meds...always a good sign. My current cat is the only one I have not ever been able to "pill"...no matter what I do I can't get the stupid med down him. Anyother animal, not a problem...this one, yeah, not so much...
ReplyDelete2. Christmas is my favorite time of year, for many reasons, but most especially for the music!! Unfortunately, I am usually working on Sundays, so I don't get to church too often. Another thing that will change when I retire!
3. Piano guys and Enya!! Yes!!! Actually I think I first heard the piano guys here from you...I love piano music.
4. I am off to fight the snowy roads, one of the things about December I am NOT a fan of...sigh...
5. Hope you have a great day and that your eyeball is behaving! :)
6. I think I am first today!!
Nope, Scott beat me to it...
Delete1. She and her sister are rather photogenic.
Delete2. Christmas is my favorite season as well.
3. The Piano Guys are awesome.
4. Yup, snow in December, give me a couple of inches on Christmas morning, that's it.
5. Eyeball is behaving, for which I give thanks.
6. So close.
Scott was johnny-on-the-spot today.
DeleteExcellent choice the of videos Sarge. A couple of neighbors are staff to their felines but..... (sigh) letting said felines roam about the hood aren't my idea of responsible pet owners, none of the pup owners do that. Always see cat prints around the house after every snowfall without fail. Well off to check out more of The Piano Guys. Second Suz re: your vision.
ReplyDeleteWe keep our cats indoors, they live longer. They're cats, they adapt.
DeleteThanks Nylon12.
Just watched the video "The Circle" by Lance Holloway, boy......lots of dust after that.
DeleteYeah, I'm gonna need to wait until I get home to watch that one. The other engineers would freak if I got all teary-eyed, which I will.
DeletePerfect music for a pensive mood.
ReplyDeleteIf you have Amazon Prime, type "The Piano Guys" into the search window on Amazon Prime Music.
Good post.
Nice tip, those guys are awesome.
DeleteThanks John.
Does it really matter who’s first?
ReplyDeleteI always thought it more important to just arrive ...maybe even make a grand entrance. 😝
Hahaha!
DeleteYour mood is matching the weather and the season. Old School Christmas-ers, at least those who I grew up around, always got dour and pensive around the first week of Advent. 2nd week full of introspection. 3rd week happiness breaks out. 4th week, well, Joy.
ReplyDeleteWhich makes sense. Really. 1st - catalog harvest, put stuff away. 2nd - worry about if you have enough harvest or stuff. 3rd - nothing to do but clean house and get ready. 4th - baking and cooking and Christmas....
Roger that. I like to think I'm "old school," and not just "old."
Delete;)
It's part of that dour Northwestern European thing. Celebrate after the harvest is in, taxes paid, animals slaughtered, that sort of thing.
DeleteSomeone on one other blog brought up the question as to why NW Europeans are so dour and expressionless compared to their Eastern or Southern neighbors. Simple answer. Cold. Lots of cold. Italians and Spanish and Greeks and Southern French (who, in some ways aren't real French..) get away with arm expressions, talking with their fingers, hands, lower arms, upper arms, shoulders, and they talk, a lot, verbally, and you need a splash shield when you're close to them. But up north, where it's cold, Germany, Northern France, Denmark and even north of that, well, excessive hand and finger spinning and wheeling will get them frozen off, and frozen spittle will kill...
So, yes, that saucy Italian Donna can kill you with her eyes, but she'll flay you with her tongue and hands. Whereas the only recourse Lars has when trapped in the longhouse during one of the multitudes of retellings of the same story by Uncle Sven is to shoot cold, flinty daggers of hate from his eyes, strong enough to pierce Frost Giants or Soviet Armor...
Frost Giants and Soviet Armor in the same sentence? Seems appropriate.
DeleteAs to first commenter status, well, I judge my successes at commenting by the numbers of names called or monitors destroyed.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the number of times daily I check under the bed for PLQ...
We all check under the bed for PLQ.
DeleteI swear, he's everywhere.
Like one of those creepy clown dolls, but (checks under the bed, twice) nicer and less deadly...
DeleteAnd not creepy at all. Just you never know where he'll be...
DeleteCreepy clown dolls? You mean there are non-creepy clown dolls?
DeleteIt's that whole SERE instructor mystique he's got going on.
DeleteAnd right now the silence from that neck of the woods is deafening. And just a bit scary.
He's watching us, isn't he?
@ 10:35AM - Well, Duh...
DeleteAnd clown dolls become uncreepy when you hit them with a flamethrower, or explosives, or the concentrated fire of 4 or 5 punt guns or a beehive round from an 8" howitzer...
Roger that on the selection of creepy clown killing ordnance.
Delete"He's watching us, isn't he?"
ReplyDelete"BeansDecember 5, 2018 at 11:58 AM
@ 10:35AM - Well, Duh..."
Just think of me as Old Saint Nick.
And I think Beans and I just made the naughty list...
DeleteSo close.
Was I ever off the naughty list?
DeleteIf PLQ is Old Saint Nick, then who is Krampus?
DeleteBeans @ 6:41 - Hhmm, good question, one I might ask of myself.
DeleteBeans @ 6:43 - I just had a picture of a bunch of Chanters all in a room and some guy asking, "Who is Krampus?"
DeleteOne by one, we all stand up and say "I am Krampus."
I like that you know who Krampus is. How very Continental of you. ;)
Well, someone has to beat the children on the 28th, and it ain't Old Nick!
DeleteHahahaha!
DeleteI've always found it an interesting song because it is joyous and melancholy simultaneously. Wonderful versions here. I especially like the piano and cello version.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I truly love that song.
DeleteThe Piano Guys do it right. (And Enya is Irish!)
I had just noticed that there was no one already in comments this morning, but by the time I got done typing it up, and double checked the spelling, there was Mr. Badger. Usually PLQ is usually there early. Here's hoping his wife is back home from wherever she is working and he was spending some quality time with her.
ReplyDeleteSince it is December, I am trying to be nice 'cause St Nick and all...even if his regular name is PLQ. Nothing I have seen in any blog would lead me to think PLQ is anything other than a polite gentleman who has excellent English grammar/spelling skills. Heaven knows I need lots of help with both...spellcheck is one of my favorite Top 10 Inventions of the 20th Century.
Yep. I've missed out on the TFC (Treasured First Comment) several times because:
Delete1. I didn't have anything valuable to say.
2. As you said, typing, double checking, rewriting, finding a typo, fixing the typo, then the fix makes another typo but I miss that one.
3. Redoing step #2 because of high comment standards.
4. Finally deciding to post the comment and find the TFC slot has been taken by another.
"Usually PLQ is usually there early."
DeleteThank you Suz. I was up early and read today post shortly after it came up. However, StB may have beaten me to the much sought after first comment even if I had had a comment then. There are some fields upon which I do not feel I should comment; today's subject is one of them.
Later, OldAFSarge and AW were kind enough to write about me and then I felt that I could chime in, blow my horn, so to speak.
As John writes ( at 6:09 pm or 1809hrs. ), looking up words that my spellcheck tells me I have mis-spelled takes much time.
( Yes Suz, you wrote first on the timesink that spelling words correctly in English/American is, but John numbered the time thieves.) Plus, his comment is showing just above the comment box in which I am typing.
Paul
Suz - Isn't it too late to try and butter up Saint Nick (aka PLQ)?
Delete:)
John - And that's going onto the Acronym Page!
DeletePaul - I hereby anoint thee the Official Chant du Départ Grammarian.
DeleteYou've been filling that position for some time now, just thought I'd make it official.
Therefore, you are now authorized to call yourself Le stylo rouge (The Red Pen), in remembrance of our former Grammarian, the Late Great Buck Pennington.
Suz, I had checked the site for a fresh posting, on my way to bed, having finally shooed Ratty and Mole out the door.
DeleteNow now Scott, you were first, no need to explain.
Delete;)
"Paul - I hereby anoint thee the Official Chant du Départ Grammarian."
ReplyDeleteOh sure, make me that on the day after I DON'T throw a flag.
Paul
Maybe we're learning?
Delete"Maybe we're learning?"
ReplyDeleteThe question then becomes ' What are you learning? '
Paul
Grammar? Punctuation? Spelling?
DeleteWhatever you demand of us, oh wise man of the Pacific Northwest.
;)
"Whatever you demand of us, oh wise man of the Pacific Northwest."
DeleteIsn't that dangerously open ended?
Paul
Ah, but you are wise.
Delete