Christmas Day 2009...

...is just about over. It was a good day. At left is a sampling of what I consumed today. Prime rib, twice-caked potatoes, and home-canned green beans courtesy of my Aunt E. McArthur's Bakery outdid themselves yet again, coming through for me with this double-layer yellow cake with strawberries and whipped cream. It looked like something my late Mamaw might have made for Christmas dessert, so I chose it from among several worthy dessert candidates. Dinner was pretty much restaurant-quality. My dad cooked an 11-pound prime rib roast that came out perfect! I had a great time visiting with my Matlock relatives. Chili-dog got to meet my aunt and uncle's little beagle; they got along just fine. Later in the evening my parents and I sat near a warm fire and cracked up at "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" and "Home Alone" on TV.

Oh, and we got a little wind and snow on Christmas Day. It looked and felt like Christmas Day today. I was satisfied.

Niece Lydia spent Christmas with her mommy and daddy with her mommy's family in mid-Missouri. We celebrated Christmas with her and them on Wednesday night. I gave her a couple of Melissa and Doug puzzles, plus a Just Like Home pretend housecleaning set for her Christmas. She was pleased.

Now I'm listening to Johnny Rabbitt (aka Ron Elz) spin Christmas tunes on KMOX radio while I sort through Christmas pictures and write this post. To paraphrase the song, it's the perfect ending to a perfect day...

Hope Has A Name...

This was my church's theme for our Christmastime sermon series. It was based on Isaiah 9:1-7.

¹ Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-

² The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

³ You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice
when dividing the plunder.

⁴ For as in the day of Midian's defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.

⁵ Every warrior's boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.

⁶ For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Hope truly has a name, folks.

'Twas the Sunday Before Christmas...

and all through my house, well, not much is happening. I can't figure out where the month of December went. Christmas comes this Friday!!

- I started my Christmas shopping yesterday. This was possible because I don't have a long list of people to buy for. Just my mom and niece Lydia needed to be shopped for. (My dad shopped for himself, God bless him.) I finally got a list of ideas for the little tyke last week from her mommy, so off I went. I am the world's worst shopper, so at the end of day yesterday, I had nothing to show for my efforts. I should be awarded a medal of valor or something for my unsuccessful attempt to park at West County Mall. Every available parking space was filled, it seemed, and before long I wanted to scream more than I wanted to shop so I hit the "ABORT!" button and headed home.

- Covered a Saturday night shift at work last night. I think everyone should have the privilege of moving computers and phones after 10:00 p.m., at least once. There were no problems getting the Sunday editions of the P-D to press, thankfully.

- Finished my Christmas shopping today after lunch. My first stop, at a far-flung Toys 'R Us, yielded gold in my quest for the perfect toddler gift. My second attempt at parking at West County Mall afterward landed me on the roof of a parking garage. I got to use an escalator that I never noticed before. Maybe because I'd never had need to park on the roof before.

- Hurried home to walk the dog in the fading twilight of the day. Dog's first order of business was to sniff me, my pockets, and my purchases. She loves to use that sniffer of hers to try and figure out where I've been and who I've been with.

- God bless my friend R. for bringing a variety tray of home-baked cookies to share after our lunch with a couple other friends at Five Guys Burgers and Fries after church today. They were really delicious. Friends that can bake are really nice to have. Especially at Christmas time.

A Good Attitude...

is what St. Louis Rams rookie quarterback Keith Null has. Most definitely. He was drafted in the 6th round out of a Division-II school and relegated to third-QB status thus far. Injuries to both the Rams' QBs forced him into action against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville last Sunday. Null didn't have the best of days, throwing 5 interceptions but he did notch his first career touchdown pass. In a story on the Rams website, he explains:

“I am going to go out and play with confidence no matter what happens each week, Null said. “You can see watching the game I threw a pick, threw another pick, threw another one, I was still coming out and slinging it around. I didn’t let that stop me. I am going to go out with the confidence in the ability God has given me and that’s what my confidence is in anyway so I am not going to doubt that...I would love to get out and play again. The more experience I can get, the better.”

what a great perspective! I'm going to keep an eye on this kid...

A Rare Trifecta...

just completed a rare trifecta of seeing live performances three nights in a row -

Started off Thursday night at my church with a friend to catch opening night of a Christmas dessert theatre. Our new worship pastor and his wife have a background in the dramatic arts and decided to put on a weekend of shows as a means of outreach. The show went off without a hitch and my friend and I enjoyed it.

Friday night I caught opening night of the Ambassadors of Harmony's Christmas show. AOH is still basking in the glow of their international championship win back in July. This weekend of Christmas shows is surely their most ambitious yet. Friday night's performance was professionally filmed for DVD and Saturday night's would be webcast over the internet for a worldwide audience. Their singing was up to their usual high standards but this year they added theatrical elements that added up to a fair amount of bloat. The show ran until 10:45 pm, which was about 45 minutes too long, in this blogger's opinion.

Tonight I drove down to Festus to see my dad's church choir perform their Christmas program. The choir sang well and their message was powerful. Of course, my parents just happened to be keeping niece Lydia this weekend so I arrived at their house a bit early to see her. She was in a persnickety mood this time, but still as cute as ever. Did not like having to drive back in a rain storm, but in every life a little rain must fall, I hear.

.............

On an urelated note, I was sad to learn of the untimely death of Rev. Terry Eades on Tuesday at the age of 56. His health had declined in recent years but I had no idea how much. Bro. Terry was on staff at my church in Festus (where I was tonight) when my family started attending there in the mid-80s. He served as worship minister, youth minister, and associate pastor while he was there. I was in junior high while he was youth minister and I remember he logged many miles in a decrepit brown van ferrying our youth group to fellowships and other places. By 1990 he'd completed seminary and was called to Scott City, MO to pastor the Baptist church there. He was a man of great faith and an excellent preacher. "When they arrive at the gates of death, God welcomes those who love him." (Psalm 116:15, The Message)...I'm pretty sure Bro. Terry got a really warm welcome.

Ever Try To Make A Dog Smile On Command?...

it's akin to herding cats - some of Chili's outtakes from a Christmas card photo session last Saturday:

Ticket Tracker: The Swell Season @The Pageant, 12/4/09

What to do when it's cold outside and there are leaves to be raked? Oh yeah, delay by writing a concert review.

Last evening I caught a show by The Swell Season at The Pageant concert club in the Delmar Loop area of St. Louis. The Swell Season is a band led by gregarious Irishman Glenn Hansard. He also has fronted a band called The Frames in his native land for almost 20 years. In 2007, Hansard starred in a movie called "Once" with a young singer/songwriter from the Czech Republic named Markéta Irglová. The duo collaborated on a beautiful song in the film called "Falling Slowly" that won the 2008 Academy Award for best song. Hansard and Irglová formed The Swell Season with members of The Frames soon after that win. I missed them when they came to town last year and didn't want to miss them this time around. This was the penultimate show on a tour in support of their new album, "Strict Joy."

Hansard and Irglova entered the stage alone to perform two songs from the "Once" soundtrack, then the rest of the band joined them. What followed was over two hours of great playing and singing. Hansard is a friendly, engaging singer who stopped often to talk about his songs and how they were written. Irglová also took a couple of solo turns to show off her songs. Hansard's band The Frames was more than capable in backing the singers, showing off incredible musicianship in their playing. I particularly enjoyed the many moments when the crowd became impromptu backup vocalists at Hansard's urging.

Singer/songwriter Rachael Yamagata warmed up the crowd with a 45-minute set of her songs. She and her guitarist friend did a great job and were invited back to the stage during The Swell Season's set to play a couple more songs.

It was a really enjoyable night. I only wish Highway 40 could have opened a few days early so I would have had an easier ride home. Monday, Monday!

And if you've never seen "Once," you really need to. Seriously.

Turkey Day 2009

Here's a short recap of Matlock Thanksgiving Day 2009!



could not do a narration due to a defective microphone, so here's some captioning:

1) Niece Lydia helping Grandma set the table
2) Me, my brother, sis-in-law, and niece Lydia at the dinner table
3) The acorn squash with a gourmet cheese sauce that my sis-in-law made that I didn't try.
4) A girl and her pearls! (borrowed from grandma!)
5) Niece Lydia was nice enough to bring us some drinks - quite a strong kid she is!
6) The family (thanks, Aunt E for taking the picture!)
7) Chili-dog on constant alert for any dropped food particles
8) The AWESOME devils food bundt cake with buttercream icing that my mom made
9) My cousin Stephen celebrating his birthday with a sweet DQ ice cream cake!
10) Niece Lydia feeding Chili-dog some applesauce from her little spoon
11) BYE!!

Thankfulness...

On this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for so many things, I could go on for days. Couldn't we all, if we really tried? Beyond the obvious faith, family, and friends, I am especially thankful for:

my niece Lydia
my dog Chili
my job, which pays me enough to keep a roof over our heads
my car, which a mechanic recently complimented on its running condition
health insurance, which is there even though I'm pretty healthy
music
the beauty of the earth
the glory of the skies

-- AND --

that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and for the Rev. Mike Goodwin, who seared that verse forever in my consciousness in a powerful sermon way back in 1994.

Today, I will celebrate the holiday with a small gathering at my parents' house.

Guess I'd better figure out what I'm wearing.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

OH, OH, OH. I almost forgot -

Thanks also to all of you who take the time to read my blog. I truly appreciate your interest.

Seriously.

Well, It's Sunday Night...

- attended my first-ever "baby brunch" yesterday....some dear old friends from my old Monday-night bible study became parents a couple of months ago. The brunch was held to show off their son to some of us who'd not had the chance to see him yet. I gifted the little tyke with a "board book" copy of "Go Dog Go" by the illustrious P.D. Eastman. That was a favorite book of mine when I was small. I was one of the few men in attendance, though.

- Raked another 14 bags o' leaves yesterday. The Mizzou Tigers kept me company on the radio as they defeated the Cyclones of Iowa State, 34-24. At 7-4 Mizzou HAS to go to a bowl game. The only question is where they will end up. It will help immensely if they can take out KU next Saturday. KU coach El Blimpo Mark Mangino is in a really bad place lately, career-wise and it hasn't helped that his football team is on a 5 or 6-game losing streak. All bets are off when it comes to MU-KU, though. I still remember all those Todd Reesing - Kerry Meyer connections that were made in last year's game to beat Mizzou.

- decided at the last minute last evening to drive up to the TouPAC to catch George Jones in concert. The Possum, or "No Show", as he has been sometimes been called during his 50-year career, is one of those artists that everyone should see live before they die. Alas, he was not in the greatest of voice last night. He was fighting a cold, or allergies, and sang like he had a mouthful of cotton balls all night. I enjoyed hearing his hits, regardless. The songs are all pure country gold and his crack band provided expert backup for them. He brought someone named Brittany Allyn along to sing the part of Tammy Wynette for some of their famous duets.

- Christmastime's a bloomin' everywhere today, from my church to my local Dierbergs market. Can't we at least wait until after Thanksgiving, folks? Just sayin'...

- Random observation: I really like Camera Obscura's cover of Springsteen's "Tougher Than The Rest." The girl singer delivers the lyrics in a delicious Scottish brogue and it just works.

Rainy and Gloomy...YAY!!!!!!

YAY for rainy day Mondays! it was such a pleasure to start a week off with rain, clouds and gloom! YAY!

...........

Okay, now that that's out of the way.

- had a peaceful weekend. I have no place to put any more leaf bags since my garage is filled, at the moment. SOOOO, I just wrangled them into submission with my evil Leaf Blower O' Doom®. I have a nice large pile of leaves that vaguely resembles a dog bone.

- took a couple of late-afternoon hours on Saturday to ride Grant's Trail one last time. did 14 miles, roughly. my legs really felt it, too.

-on the subject of football, ol' Mizzou really asserted itself against K-State on Saturday. They won the psychological battle early, stuffing K-State's run and refusing to let them impose their will on them. The Tiger offense came alive in a big way and put the game out of reach by the third quarter. Would like them to beat Iowa State on Saturday to get to 7-4, and thus a higher quality lower-tier bowl. The KU game will be a toss-up, I think. Since Mizzou beat K-State, which earlier beat KU, then it follows we should beat KU, but after last year's game/debacle, anything's possible.

- Those plucky Rams durn near knocked off the mighty Saints yesterday. The Saints were playing giveaway with the football and were soft on their run defense all day. The Rams were in it until the very end, but they reverted to form at the end, missing a last-second "hail mary" pass that wouldn't have counted anyway due to a yet another holding penalty called on Alex Barron that would have ended the game. Oh, and yeah, the Rams lost yet another player to a catastrophic knee injury. Oh, and yeah, they totally mis-managed the two-minute drill at the end, but it's not like they've had much practice using it this year. They play hard and don't give in. They just don't have enough playmakers to win consistently yet.

- Is it me or are those "Jimmy Football" Budweiser commercials REALLY REALLY ANNOYING? I see the obvious reference to the late Billy Mays, but it's still annoying. And don't get me started on those Progressive Insurance commercials... : )

- yet another reason why I gladly support FM88.1 KDHX community radio - heard a great song on Cat Pick's program today by a British group called The Clientele. Had never heard of them and now I'm totally checking them out.

Weekend Update...

- yeah, I've probably used that title before once or twice, or three or four times. I couldn't think of anything catchy, though, so there it is.

- Wow, was I a week off on my vacation, or what? It was cloudy, goopy, and raining the week before last, when I was off and last week was gorgeous and sunny the WHOLE WEEK. Can't predict these things, though. I'm over it.

- Indian summer was in full effect this weekend. Sunny skies and temperatures approaching 80 degrees were the rule yesterday and today. I took advantage by raking 20 bags of leaves yesterday. And that was just from my back and side yards. This will occupy my Saturdays for the rest of the month.

- After a one-year hiatus the big BSF square dance returned last night. Over sixty young adults made the trek down winding Little Antire Road in the darkness to Rocking J Ranch. I had a great time seeing old friends and square dancing up a storm.

- The Verizon Wireless How Sweet The Sound national choir competition finals were last night. My dad's choir competed but alas, did not win. A Pentecostal church choir from Atlanta, GA took home the honors. I did not see their performance, but apparently they broke out in tongues, the Pentecostal secret weapon. My dad's church choir did their thing just as well as they did in St. Louis and my mom said the Detroit crowd reacted just as wildly as the St. Louis crowd did. (She attended a Verizon-sponsored watch party at their church.) My poor dad was a real trouper, performing despite being very much under the weather. Still, he said the choir had a generally good experience, all things considered. The P-D's religion writer Tim Townsend wrote about the choir's experience before, during, and after the national finals. Read his story here.

- My cousin J. and her husband welcomed their first child, a boy, into the world last night. He was born at Barnes-Jewish Hospital late last evening. I visited them this afternoon and I must say he is a handsome little guy.

Bang The Drum Slowly...

By now most Americans are inured to the almost-daily casualty reports that come in from the ongoing wars/conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. I admit, I let them flow in one ear and out the other, since they've been going on for so many years now. I don't have any friends or family serving over there so it's sometimes hard to feel a personal involvement.

Until now, that is. My third(?) cousin Spc. Robert Charlton died last week at a hospital in Germany of injuries suffered in a "non-combat-related accident" in Afghanistan. His body is arriving on Thursday in my hometown of Malden, MO. I was surprised to hear this news when talking to my mom Tuesday night. Surprised because I didn't even know he had joined the Army in 2007 and had deployed to Afghanistan in January after being initially stationed in Ft. Drum, NY. He was the grandson of my late grandfather's older brother and I can't remember the last time I saw him face to face or talked to him.

He was just 22 years old.

Man, I gotta keep in better touch with my extended family.

Little Miss Can't Be Wrong...

Ummm, can't you see I'm BUSY??

Okay, ONE picture!

...that's what her expressions seem to be saying. Her, of course is niece Lydia--22 months old in a few days. She was staying with grandma and grandpa for a couple days last week and I spent most of Friday afternoon and evening with her and them. She's wearing headphones and a pink bow in her hair while holding her 'blankie' in her arms with a half-eaten apple and a black ink pen in her hands. She's nothing if not busy (and cute!)

I was able to be there because I took my annual week of October vacation last week. I've started doing that in recent years because I love Fall weather and being out in it. This year the weather did NOT cooperate, with clouds and/or rain making for mostly dreary days. However, I did take it easy, raked leaves in the back yard, did a little shopping, took longer walks with the dog, etc...

(oh, and I picked out some spiffy new eyeglasses, too. After 6 years, I figured it was time. My eye guy gave me a new prescription at my recent annual exam. He swears I'll like it a lot!)

The sky cleared out nicely this weekend, though. Both days this weekend were picture-perfect. I got out and explored a couple of trails at Rockwoods Reservation yesterday. The air was crisp and the sun was bright. So. Nice. Today, the dog and I walked the length of the trail at Jefferson Barracks Park late in the afternoon. We stopped off at Cliff Cave Park on the way home so I could see how high the Mississippi River has gotten since the recent soaking rains have pushed it up over flood stage. It is indeed high.

MU vs. Texas, 'Horns Hooked 'Em!...

Ol' Mizzou had the misfortune of playing the Texas Longhorns for homecoming on Saturday night...the Tigers submitted to a predictable beatdown, losing 41-6. P-D sports writer Vahe Gregorian had a particularly amusing quote in his story for today's paper:

"You've got to give Missouri credit," Texas quarterback Colt McCoy said, though it was unclear why.

Didn't You Just Know That...

- the Rams would somehow find a way to lose to a team that was as bad as they were?

- that the Balloon Boy saga would eventually end up being a hoax?

- that the sun would eventually re-appear, after a week of gloomy clouds?

Fall In Full Bloom...

Hope you'll enjoy these fall-ing trees from today's walk around Sylvan Springs Park....I'm so blessed to live so close to such great parks!

Hey, It (was) The Sun!!!...

- That big and blinding orange circle in the sky finally re-appeared this morning after taking the week off. It played peek-a-boo with the clouds most of the day, but I was happy to see it nonetheless.

- I took another hike this afternoon. This time the dog and I hiked the Al Foster trail (PDF) from the Glencoe trailhead. It's close enough to be easily accessible but far enough out that you feel unplugged from civilization--very quiet and serene, never crowded. Didn't make it all the way to Sherman Beach, though. Discovered a new asphalt feeder trail under construction. It branches off north from the main trail and heads through a quiet stretch of woods. The leaves on the trees were ablaze with fiery yellows and oranges. If there'd been any sun shining through it would have made for a spectacular light show. I checked it out for a while then headed back to the main trail. After I got home, I discovered that I was hiking on the Rock Hollow Trail--it's part of the larger Meramec Greenway, which itself is part of the Great Rivers Greenway District. I'll likely be back there soon.

(interesting fact about Rock Hollow - it's being built over an abandoned stretch of road once known as Lawler Ford, aka "Zombie Road." Some folks claim it's been the site of paranormal activity during particularly dark evenings. It's been the stuff of local legend for years.)

- Heard from the parents--they returned from their Maine vacation early this evening. My mom said they had a good week and had only one minor flight delay.

- Stuck on the Saturday night shift again....hate it when I have to cover two in a row, but that's the way the world goes 'round sometimes...sure hope I don't feel eyestrained tomorrow like I did last week.

- The falling leaves drift by my window....and remind me that I will soon be raking leaves every Saturday.

- Ol' Mizzou is getting schooled by Oklahoma State as I write this. They kept it close during the first half but the Cowboys look to be pulling away. Whither Furman and Illinois, Blaine Gabbert?

Nothin' But Gray Skies Do I See...

- Four days and counting since we've seen the sun 'round these parts. Weatherman says no sun until at least Sunday...blah.

- Folks have been Maine-ing all week. I'm told my dad was sailing on his 60th birthday Monday. That really warms the ol' heart to think he was doing something he really loves on such a significant date in his life. And he was with my mom while doing it, so I think it was a good day for him.

- It's tremendously disappointing to watch the DODGERS take on the Phillies in the NLCS. The Cardinals laid a giant egg and got swept out their division series with the boys in blue last week. They never won again after clinching the Central division in Denver and carried a 6-game losing streak into the offseason. I saw it coming a mile away and was not surprised at their postseason failure I felt especially bad for my good friend R. who is a die-hard Cardinals fan.

- Chili-dog suffered her first real health issue since I've owned her, recently. Her right ear got infected with ear mites (or at least, their eggs), The HSMO vet knew just what to do and now doggie's ear is almost healed.

- I could be blogging daily, as my pal Jim B. is doing but I find that I just don't have that much to say. Much of my life is made up of routine, mundane stuff.

- Will be babysitting niece Lydia most Wednesday nights for a while. Her mom and dad are doing a small-group bible study so they've asked me to step in while they step out. I enjoy our time together...she's a neat little girl.

- This time last week, I was: watching the Cardinals lose to the Dodgers, the Mizzou Tigers (eventually!) lose to Nebraska, and the Blues lose to the Thrashers in hockey. When the Rams lost on Sunday, it completed a horrific week for St. Louis sports. None of our local pro teams won a game during the week.

- I've been discovering lots of good music courtesy of my local library branch. It's not just about the books and magazines, folks. They have lots of great CDs of all genres available for loan...it's the ultimate try-before-you-buy experience if you're a music lover like me.

Great Perspective!...

Last night, I caught the tail-end of Jeffery Brown's interview of LA Dodgers baseball broadcaster Vin Scully for the Newshour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. Scully is a sports broadcasting legend and Dodgers institution, having broadcast their games since their Brooklyn days of the 1950's. He could retire any time he wants to but will be in the broadcast booth calling the upcoming playoff series between the Dodgers and Cardinals.

I started watching just as Brown asked Scully about possible retirement plans, as he is 81 years old. Here's that bit of the conversation:

VIN SCULLY: I've told several writers this, and, again, I get back to it, but if you want to make God smile, tell him your plans. And I've always been very, very respectful of that sentence. All I know is, I'm working this year, and God willing, I plan to work next year. Somewhere over that year, my next step will come about. And that's about as all I can determine right now.

JEFFREY BROWN: But you're still enjoying what you're doing?

VIN SCULLY: I love it. And you know how I know I love it? Because when there's a great play on the field and the crowd roars, I still get goose bumps. I'm just like that little kid under the radio.

Read the entire interview here.

Love that perspective! He's one of the all-time greats.