Did Santa bring you any good books?

Did you get any books for Christmas? I got one--an ESV archeology Bible. My NIV was lost in the move, so rather than fret every day I just asked for a different one. But here's what Bob got. I'm reading the one on the far left, "An inside job" by Daniel Silva (2025). It's not a genre I like, but I'm really enjoying it. He's a good writer.

As I age, I read less and less, although I have plenty of time. I just can't find a comfortable place with good light.

What's for Christmas Eve dinner tonight?

 What's for dinner tonight? "Holiday foods are especially powerful because they’re tightly bound to episodic memory – the brain’s record of personal experiences. “When we taste those foods again, the hippocampus and amygdala bring those emotional memories back to life,” said Traster. Experiences encoded in childhood are particularly durable, especially when they’re paired with strong emotion and repetition. Christmas foods often meet both criteria, becoming deeply embedded early in life."

Maybe, but we're having Italian restaurant take-out for Christmas Eve dinner from DaVinci's in Upper Arlington, not traditional (in our family). We're living in a retirement facility called The Estates (formerly The Forum) so hosting is a bit difficult for us. But we do have our 1963 dining room table that has a leaf on which we can eat our non-traditional dinner. On Christmas Day we'll all be eating in the dining room for a traditional buffet with Italian left-overs for the evening.

Why Christmas Food Tastes Better – The Brain Science | Technology Networks

https://youtu.be/y1xFD89xio0?si=Tzchxn8caMBsORra  Holiday dinners in 1961 -- remember Jim DeMott's oyster dressing and deviled eggs?

Sharing Legacy Recipes: A Holiday Potluck in Memory – Oaktree Memorials

Hilltop Lutheran Church, gone but not forgotten

Today we'll be attending our final noon Advent/worship/lunch service at our church, Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, UALC. I had a few minutes last Thursday and put my coat and purse down in a pew near the front and noticed something I hadn't seen before. Hymnals with a red stamp on the top edge from Hilltop Lutheran Church (west side of Columbus) that used to be part of UALC, but which is now Veritas Community Church. I walked between several pews and checked the hymnals and the memorial plates inside--each had been purchased and plated long ago. Those hymnals (green, Lutheran Book of Worship) came out about 1978. Some were dedicated to deceased parents, or an anniversary or a member of a women's circle. I didn't recognize any names. I saw Becki our congregational care staff member who also selects the hymns we use for worship and asked her about it. She said that so many of our hymnals were worn out that we used the LBW from that building when it was moved to another congregation. Sitting there I felt I'd been joined by a whole congregation that had never worshipped in our building.

Collecting My Thoughts: The long good-bye

Collecting My Thoughts  Hilltop Lutheran

"Elvis" sang for us at the Estates

Elvis [Lonnie Jay Freeman] came to The Estates to entertain us yesterday afternoon. I won a scarf for knowing the name of his first movie. . . Love me Tender.

Ginny (97) and I both got scarves. She was an M.K. born in India and went to a British run boarding school, went to college in Wheaton, IL and settled in the Cleveland area to raise her family. She still drives--never misses church or our local Bible class. We are 3rd floor neighbors.

I really didn't care much for Elvis when I was in High School but over the years and I've seen so many shows by reenactors he's grown on me. There are quite a few Christmas and holiday songs.

  

10 Best Elvis Christmas Songs of All Time, Ranked

And it's not even the first day of winter yet

Our Christmas programs at the Estates are coming fast. We had two! today. I think I know all the words now for Frosty and White Christmas. Earlier today it was a couple—baby boomers, I think—spreading holiday cheer, except it was billed as Hanukkah, which was sort of ironic considering the tragedy yesterday in Australia. This evening we enjoyed a 13 piece band in the lobby which has soaring ceilings. Bob took out his hearing aids because it’s dangerous to have them in when it’s so loud. The singer was really talented and cute as a button. She was a great MC and knew all the history and back ground of the songs. It really brings back memories of caroling in the snow and junior choir and singing at “the old folks home” in Mt. Morris. And who could forget those 4 cute Corbetts singing for the women's club in Forreston. 

Yesterday we had “Mrs. Oppenheimer’s Piano class” Christmas recital—each child had 2 songs plus a duet with the teacher, and then we all sang Christmas carols accompanied by the teacher. Last week we had a kindergarten class from a Christian school and also a men’s quartet, except the trumpet player may be permanently out of a career—I didn’t know that a trumpet can cause a retina problem from the pressure, and he was at the doctor as the rest played and sang.

Saturday there was a party for children—breakfast with Santa. Pancakes and presents. I’m not sure where the children came from—maybe from the staff? I did skip that one, but Bob went and had several photos taken with Santa, one on (her) lap. And of course, there have been some fund raisers, like bake sales and the money raised is used to buy presents for kids, and a present drive where someone takes new things to an organization.

Our snow over the week-end has kept us inside (5” of snow on top of the car) but by Wednesday it should be about 50 degrees and we’re just going to let it melt off. We’ve been seeing a lot of Christmas movies too. Yesterday it was "The Christmas Story," and although I’ve seen it many times, it’s the only time I saw it all the way through in one sitting because I was always leaving the room for something. We saw two really forgettable Dolly Parton Christmas special movies. We also saw Bing Crosby (and Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Allen) in "White Christmas" (1945).

Getting my fall letter out early with address changes was a good idea because all the cards are coming to the right address, along with some long emails from those who probably wouldn’t have written before. Our apartment was on a “home tour” last week so people could see the decorations. Ours were somewhat limited since the space is small, but it looked cute and we have an unusual number of paintings—maybe 65.

Getting ready for Christmas 2025

Yesterday The Estates had a residents' apartment tour of Christmas decor. I was sort of grinchy in August when we were moving, so all the bulbs went to resale, but we kept the ornaments that had memories--like things my mom and sister had made, homemade crafts from the kids' first grade teachers, mementoes from our travels, and some table decor from the days we went to parties really dressed up. We even kept and put out our Lazzy Bear from 1986. In November we bought a really skinny tree to fit our small apartment. Our daughter strung the lights for us. About 15 people stopped by--we were so busy, we didn't get out to see the decor of the other 6 or 8 who had also decorated. We've put out some candy for the strollers on the floor. Our activities director, Connie, took a photo, but I haven't seen it yet.