Christmas 1915

Chris and I watched a Celtic Thunder Christmas special last night and I heard this song for the first time.  I seriously think it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.  This morning we were talking about it and he said it's based on a real event in World War I.  (I guess all those hours watching the history channel DO produce some good results!)  British and German soldiers started singing Christmas carols in their own languages.  They eventually came out of the trenches and met and exchanged gifts and celebrated Christmas together.  The next day it was business (war) as usual.  I cry every time I hear it!! I highly recommend everyone download this song, and Celtic Thunder are one of the most incredible blend of men's voices I have ever heard.

Here it is

1915 on Christmas Day
On the western front the guns all died away
And laying in the mud on bags of sand
We heard a German sing from no man's land
He had tenor voice so pure and true
The words were strange but every note we knew
Soaring ore the the living dead and damned
The German sang of peace from no man's land

They left their trenches and we left ours
Beneath tin hats the smiles bloomed like wild flowers
With photos, cigarettes, and pots of wine
We built a soldier's truce on the front line
Their singer was a lad of 21
We begged another song before the dawn
And sitting in the mud and blood and feed
He sang again the song all longed to hear

Silent night, no cannons roar
A king is born of peace forevermore
All's calm, all's bright

All brothers hand in hand
In 19 and 15 in no man's land

And in the morning all the guns boomed in the rain
And we killed them and they killed us again
At night they charged we fought them hand to hand
And I killed the boy that sang in no man's land

Silent night, no cannons roar
A king is born of peace for evermore
All's calm, all's bright
All brothers hand in hand
And that young soldier sings
And the song of peace still rings
Though the captains and all the kings
Built no man's land

Sleep in heavenly peace

Peace On Earth, Goodwill Towards Men

Since I got several comments from friends on FB about missing my annual Christmas letter this year since I’m not sending cards I decided to post one here.  I think one of the reasons I was hesitant to write one this year was because it wasn’t all that great of a year.  But here goes........

A few days before Christmas last year I ended up having back surgery.  I’ve written about it before you can read here.  It didn’t take long to get back on my feet but I’m still getting back to my "normal" strength.  I can see looking back that this nerve ending on my spine had been there causing problems for a very long time and I’m thankful not to have that pain but I still have problems climbing hills.  I used to walk up the hill to 7^th street in downtown Juneau 2-3 times a day and during lunch I’d walk up to the trailhead of Perseverance Trail.  A lot of that road is on an uphill slant which I never realized before.  The last time I tried that walk it set back a good month so I haven’t tried in a while.  I am, however, gaining speed on the treadmill so I’ll have to be satisfied with that.

Chris worked out at Kensington Mine for most of the year.  He would be at the office during the week and the mine usually Thursday thru Monday.  He did not enjoy that schedule much! It justified the purchase of his Ipad though and he loves that! Thankfully we did not get much snow last year so at least I wasn’t having to shovel snow while recovering from back surgery.  There were plenty of other challenges though...just carrying groceries and changing litter boxes and bags of pellets for the stove when you aren’t supposed to lift over 10 pounds.  My surgeon would not have been happy with me I’m afraid.

We had a really early spring and my garden did great (see blog pic).  It was so exciting to see things flourish like never before.  I don’t know if it was the warm, early spring or what but there were things that bloomed in my garden that had sat there dormant for years.  I’m all for that. 

In September my sister Barb came down from Cordova and spent about 10 days here.  We took the ferry to Haines to see my dad who is turning 91 in January.  We took hundreds of tulips bulbs to plant on my mom’s grave so I look forward to seeing what that produces this spring.  It is really hard to keep on top of that gravesite when you don’t live there.  My dad is doing well, he gets around fine and keeps really busy.  He turned his 14 acre farm over to the Bald Eagle Foundation this year so they are busy on site building new structures and rebuilding old ones.  He enjoys all the activity and is very happy with his decision, as are we.  He can live there as long as he is able.  We went on several long walks and he does just fine as long as there aren’t lots of roots or rocks to trip on.

In October Chris had a heart scare which turned out fine but the doctor here wanted him to be seen by a specialist so we ended up in Seattle for a few days.  What could have been a pretty awful time had the news been different, was actually a really wonderful little getaway for us.  We stayed at the Inn at Virginia Mason and the weather was spectacular.  It was like summer in Juneau! We enjoyed lots of walks around the hotel area, as far down as Pike Street Market and my sister Anne and her husband came over from Port Angeles one day and took us all around and then to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  I also got to see my two nieces briefly whom I haven’t seen in 14 years.   They were 12 and 16 the last time I saw them and they have grown into very accomplished young women.  There is something  really bizarre about  seeing your nieces and nephews grow into adults!  I suppose that is what all you parents go through too....it’s very surreal!

I wish everyone reading this a very Merry Christmas and a warm and prosperous new year.  May God bless you richly in 2011.