Let There Be Lights

As I type, my husband is putting the vintage lights on the Christmas tree. I'm waiting for him to stand in front of the tree and announce "Lights! Me make lights!"--- a la Tom Hanks in that movie Castaway when he finally was able to make a fire on the beach. I think his line was: "Fire! Me make fire!"

Speaking of Tom Hanks... you all need to see that movie Polar Express. Tom Hanks does the voices for about five of the characters. Absolutely wonderful holiday movie. If you aren't in the holiday spirit yet, that movie will get you there right quick. And I read in The Chronicle this week that Hollywood is making a movie of "The Da Vinci Code," and Tom Hanks will have the starring role. That was such a great book.... I hope they don't mess it up by cutting up the author's story too much. Which they almost always do.

This morning started out sunny, but turned cloudy by early afternoon. Not that cold outside, and if I wasn't still recovering from this cold, I wouldn't have bothered with a jacket. This is totally stupid weather for this time of the year, but I guess with all the snow and rainstorms elsewhere, I shouldn't be complaining.

I didn't do all that much today..... I stopped up at A's this morning to say hello and catch up with what's been going on since I saw her on Thanksgiving. And I had to sign her guest book and date it Thanksgiving, since I forgot to sign it on that day. We both have guest books for friends to sign.... we usually remember to have them sign the book, and people who always come here are familiar with the guest books and love to do it. But we all forgot about it on Thanksgiving day. Too much food... the brain couldn't function properly after the pumpkin pie and the homemade brownies. And let's not forget the chocolate truffles.

Anyway... I signed the book.... and A has to get our friend F to sign the book for Thanksgiving, before everyone starts signing for the Christmas party. Details... details.... Come to think of it, I have to look and see how many pages are left in my own guest book. I've been using the same book now for the eight years we've been in this house. I have a new guest book ready to take its place when all of those pages are filled up. More details....

This weekend is the annual "Dickens On The Strand" holiday celebration in Galveston. We usually go every year, and have only missed a few years since we've lived here. If it's raining, we don't go... if it's too cold, we don't go. And I think we were out of town a couple of times. "Dickens" is a huge street fair... the island city of Galveston closes off the main streets in The Strand district... no cars, no cycles, just people walking around. Vendors come from all over the country and set up booths. They sell foods, clothes, games, crafts, every blessed thing you can imagine that has a Christmas theme. There are puppet shows, choirs, magic shows, bagpipes, hand-bells, the Budweiser Clydesdales, and an on-going performance of "A Christmas Carol," written by Dickens, of course.

And in the middle of the afternoon, usually around 2:00, there is the Queen's Parade. A Galveston woman who looks like Queen Victoria is the star of the parade. She's dressed in beautiful period costume, complete with crown. And she's got that queen-ly wave down pat. About four years ago when we went to Dickens, we were watching the parade in 98-degree sunshine. Just after the "Queen" passed by, I fainted dead away. I opened my eyes and found myself flat out on the sidewalk, looking up at my husband and a dozen other people who were making sure I just fainted from the heat, rather than something serious.

Actually, what I fainted from was an overdose of hot cinnamon-sugar pecans. We had bought some before the parade started and because I didn't have lunch yet, I was hungry and began munching on those nuts. All that cinnamon and sugar on an empty stomach, under that hot sun. Not a good thing. I don't think I've eaten those hot pecans since then.

So we'll see how the weather is tomorrow, and see how we both feel, before making the decision whether or not to drive to Galveston. We're both still sneezing and sniffling here. "Dickens" will be there this whole weekend... Friday, Sat. and Sunday. Oh-- one of the great parts about "Dickens"--- there is an entrance fee to get into The Strand area where the street fair is held. (They charge a few dollars to keep the 'riff-raff' out, as Galveston officials say.) But if you come in some sort of Victorian costume, they let you in for free. Galveston encourages everyone to dress the part, to make it more fun for the tourists who flock to the Island at this time of the year.

I have, in the back of my closet, my Dickens outfit: a long black velvet Victorian-looking skirt that I wear with a black velvet top. Add a pretty shawl over that, and either my dark western boots or my lace-up shoes, and that's about as close to Victorian as I can look without going overboard. One year, I wore a black straw hat, which kept blowing off every time the Gulf breezes stirred up the air in The Strand. Haven't worn a hat to "Dickens" since. My husband doesn't dress up for Dickens. He usually wears a colorful Hawaiian shirt and a Santa hat for the festival. And every year we go there, he will tell me "I really should get a costume together for this."

There are people there in very elaborate Victorian costumes... we see them every year. Gorgeous gowns with bustles for the ladies, top-hats and Edwardian-style suit-coats for the men, and there is one man who dresses up as Father Christmas every year. He wears a huge, long, heavy fur-trimmed brown fur coat, heavy boots, a fur hat, and he carries a wooden staff that's covered in sleigh bells. He has holly and berries draped around his neck, and he carries a "Good Boys/Good Girls" list. That man shows up whether it's 98 degrees or 50... same outfit... his photo is in The Chronicle every year. As far as I know, Father Christmas hasn't ever fainted during the Queen's Parade.

So that's my story of the day....... hopefully, by tomorrow morning, I will be getting out the boxes of ornaments and decorating the big tree. I told my husband that this is the longest time that a tree has sat naked in our living room.