My Favorite Christmas Music

Moving right past Thanksgiving (which was okay,but not great) I started listening to Christmas music yesterday to try and get a little Christmas spirit and thought I would share a couple of my favorite Christmas music CD's. I have 234 Christmas songs on I-tunes, so I usually start that up on my computer in the kitchen in the mornings. Some of the songs are the kind you have to be in the right mood for, either too corny, too sappy and sentimental, too experimental, etc. but they're fun once in a while so I keep them. One of my pet peeves is when an "artist" really butchers one of my favorite Christmas songs. We have an all Christmas radio station which I enjoy, but some of the songs are really out there. I can't get into the metal version of many Christmas songs for instance. Anyway, these two are my favorites right now. I've loved A Charlie Brown Christmas since I was a kid. We also have the piano music, so I also have the memories of my kids playing the songs on the piano. DH got me the Josh Groban CD for Christmas last year and that is a great one too. Enjoy and if you have a favorite, leave a comment.

Peter Mayer

I went to the most awesome concert last night. It was my first experience with a house concert and I loved it. DH and I and four other couples went to this concert in a neighboring town. A couple we didn't know hosted it in their home for about 50 people. Everyone brought some hors d'ouerves to share and some brought wine. Peter Callahan, a local musician opened for him with three songs. Following that, Peter Mayer played a long set, we had an intermission time where we could munch on food, mingle, have a glass of wine, purchase CDs, etc. and then he played another set. If you are not familiar with Peter Mayer, he is a folk singer based out of the Twin Cities who writes his own songs. Seeing him live is wonderful as he intersperses his playing with stories that are wonderful, spiritual, funny, and thought provoking. He will be performing at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, it would be fun to go then too. After the concert, we invited all of our friends back to our house for dessert. It was the kind of night that was good for the soul; beautiful weather, laughing and visiting with friends, trying something new that turned out so well, and of course the music.