And now for something completely different

So how many days in your life (not counting when you are a little kid and you might have fifty unique experiences in a day) do you do two things that are completely different from anything you've done before?

Thursday we did two. We went to see that light show in Plymouth, PA. I'm not posting my lousy pictures because the video is much better. You can see it by clicking on the link in my last post. Wow! It was totally and completely mind blowing. I swear I could still see some of the light patterns passing before my eyes as I went to sleep. The nativity plus rock music was a very interesting combo. Some of the tunes were almost quiet but some were downright raucous. Some were classics like Beethoven's Ninth jazzed up. It was real and it was fun. We just drove up and parked in the Family Dollar store lot and there was a sign on the fence that said 99.1. You tuned in and then watched the lights sync with the music. Michael figured it was a radio band with a very limited area. We lost it just a few blocks from the house.

Then we came home and I decided to finally try the Pop Rocks my daughter had given me for Christmas. I had never had them before. My mom loves them but I'd never ventured into the exploding candy territory. They were really fun and good. Michael tried them too for the first time. We wondered why we hadn't tried them when they were new. The package tells all. Thirty years ago we were busy with three wee ones. Just didn't have the time, I guess.

So two unique experiences in one day. And yesterday we saw Avatar for the first time. I may explode from excitement.

It ain't over til it's over

One of the great things about living here in the Wyoming Valley is that Christmas lasts a long time. Folks here love to decorate their houses with lights and put them up even before Thanksgiving. (They just take down the Halloween ones and replace them with Christmas.) And many of the lights are still up. Our neighbor's are all blue. They're new this year. The first time they lit them up, I felt like I was having a UFO experience.

Yesterday was Epiphany which is the day that many Orthodox Christians have their Christmas. And there are tons of Orthodox Churches of every type around here. So they're still celebrating. And check this video of the wildest Nativity scene in America. My cousin found it online. It's in Plymouth where my dad was born and is evidently still running today. I just found out about it yesterday and couldn't go since I had a rehearsal. I'm not sure whether Michael and I will go tonight. I'm afraid I might have a seizure from sensory overload.

So no worries that my tree is still up. Or that the wreath is still on the door. One of my  lovely daughters told me the other day that Christmas was magic at our house when she was growing up. That was the most inspiring compliment I've received in a long time. I cannot take all the credit. Some of the magic came from Michael and his family traditions. Michael's best man contributed the recipe for anise biscotti. It's a family recipe and he asked us never to give it out. But we didn't make them every year. A recipe that takes more than ten cups of flour is a hassle. But these cookies in the photo look very much like them. This is a picture of an Italian bakery in the Reading Station Market in downtown Philly.

So if you need a little Christmas, come on down. We're not done here yet. And we're still doing Christmas music at church on Sunday because my soprano finally came back after being out of town for the past three Sundays. If you're Grinchy or Scroogy, I'd avoid Wilkes-Barre for at least a couple more weeks.