December Is Here!

Click the play button above for some great seasonal music!
This year has simply disappeared and now it is December. I think I am beginning to show my age because I can't help thinking how fast time is moving and I keep asking myself, "where has this year gone?".  We had a really great week. How about starting with a couple of pictures of Kenzie to keep it interesting...

I think I may have surprised Kenzie a bit...

 but she forgave me.

So here is an interesting story. In 1917 in Halifax, Nova Scotia a French cargo ship carrying a large amount of munitions collided with another ship in the harbor. A  huge explosion resulted (the largest manmade explosion up to that point in history) that destroyed approximately 500 acres of the city and killed nearly 2,000 people. See this picture taken immediately after the explosion...

Within 24 hours, the city of Boston deployed a train filled with supplies and volunteers to help the residents of Halifax. For nearly 40 years, Nova Scotia has donated a Christmas tree to the city of Boston as a thank you for their assistance during the disaster. Each year the tree stands in the Boston Common and is part of an official tree lighting ceremony that kicks off the holiday season. Here you can see the tree being prepared for transport to Boston (no I wasn't in Nova Scotia to snap this shot).

So this year we got to participate in the tree lighting ceremony. Here you can see Kenzie all dressed up for the event.

The stage where several great performers sang Christmas carols can be seen below. The Radio City Rockettes and Katharine McPhee also performed. You can see the 60 foot white spruce behind the stage.

Here is the tree after lighting.....you can click on the picture to get a better view.

 One of the streets near the Commons.....

 The Commons is not the only place that is in the holiday spirit. Here are a couple of shots from Washington Street.
 A street vendor .....

 Here is a beautiful live Christmas tree set atop the awning of the Macy's building.

This week marks the beginning of Hanukah. I am currently working at Hebrew Senior Life, a longterm care and rehab facility with a large Jewish population. One of the best things about working and living in Boston is learning about different cultures and the beliefs of others. Though I was familiar with Hanukah, I knew very little about its history until I did some research and talked to some of my Jewish colleagues. Hanukah comes from the Hebrew word for "consecration" and "dedication" and celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Some might wonder why Hanukah is an eight day celebration. At the rededication of the Second Temple there was only a sufficient amount of consecrated olive oil to burn the eternal flame in the Temple for 24 hours. In what is viewed as a miracle, the oil burned for eight days, just the amount of time needed to consecrate fresh olive oil and keep the eternal flame burning. This helps explain the purpose of the Menorah. One candle is lit every night of the holiday. The Menorah has a total of nine lights (one is used to light the others). To the Jewish people this serves as reminder of the rededication of the Temple and the "miracle of the container of oil".

Here you can see a public Menorah at the tree dedication ceremony in the Commons.

Just about every week we get a care package from the grandparents back home in Mississippi. This week we got a box filled with fresh sweet potatoes from Vardaman. Kenzie has been enjoying that fresh produce. While we are in Boston, my mom and dad have been babysitting our 'prized' lemon tree. Well you can see what happens when Mom aka 'green thumb' gets her hands on a plant.

Mom was kind enough to send up a couple of homegrown lemons for us to enjoy! And no we are not going to let Kenzie try them!

I realize that last week I forgot to post my featured flashback, so this week you get two for the price of one. Most of you know that I am a bit well...obsessive when it comes to Christmas lights. Below you can see our house in Tupelo for Christmas 2008. We also had a blast dressed as Mr. and Mrs Claus handing out candy canes and taking pictures with kids in the neighborhood. Several of the parents in the neighborhood told their kids that our house was Santa's summer home away from the North Pole. (For any kids reading this blog I am only a licensed employee of the North Pole that represents Santa, I am in fact not the real Santa Claus)

Anyway as you can imagine now I have gone two years without decorating (the exterior) of my home for Christmas. I am plotting a great comeback in my mind....converting to LED....extra receptacles....reindeer.....backup nuclear generator. It is going to be great. I am also looking forward to having the assistance of my new exterior illuminator in-training, Kenzie.

Here is one last picture of Kenzie.....now that is just cute!

Until next week,

Ashley