Christmas Eve 2014 - Church

I didn't sing this year. Dale was to sing at the 7:00 pm service. He was feeling spotty and wasn't sure he would make it. He decided at the last minute to go through with it. Mom picked me up and we attended  the service at Gethsemane together. My little buddy, Emma, was excited for me to watch her dance at the beginning of the service. She did a great job. I remember looking  over at Mom while  singing silent night. She was holding a candle. It was so wonderful looking at her beautiful face and hearing her beautiful voice singing that beautiful carol.

Christmas Eve 2014 - Walking Athena

Dad was on my mind a lot tonight. I walked Athena by the cemetery and took a snapshot of the mausoleum where he's buried, albeit it was quite a distance from where I snapped the shot. The above image was made by enlarging the dot that was the mausoleum and then running the photo through a computer generated filter. The walk we took was beautiful. The temperature was mild and there was the anticipation that precedes Christmas in the air. The mausoleum looked like a distance light in the darkness which is a theme that seems quite appropriate for tonight. 

Christmas Eve 2014 - Family Guy

Caught a Christmas themed episode of Family Guy while waiting for Mom to pick me up for church. What a trip.

Christmas Eve 2014 - Dinner

 

Dinner turned out great. My second martini wasn't bad either.

Christmas Eve 2014 - More Athena

Christmas Eve nap.

Christmas Eve 2014 - Kalle Anke

Last year at the American Swedish Institute, I discovered the phenomenon of Kalle Anke. Kalle Anke is Donald Duck and every year in Sweden a version of Disney's American Christmas special, From All of Us to All of You, is broadcast on Christmas Eve

According to Wikipedia:

"In Sweden the show is called Kalle Anke och hans veneer onskar God Jul (Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas). It is broadcast on SVT at 3 PM every Christmas Eve. . . The title reflects the fact that Donald Duck is far more popular in Sweden than Mickey Mouse. The show is one of the most popular shows all year in Sweden.  Every year the viewers number between 3 million and 4.5 million in a country with just more than 9 million inhabitants. Few TV shows fetch more viewers, among these are Melodifestivalen/Eurovision Song Contest and certain major sports broadcasts."

"The following shorts are usually shown, in integral or edited formats:"

-Santa's Workshop

-Clown of the Jungle

-Pluto's Christmas Tree

-Mickey's Trailer

-Ferdinand the Bull

"These feature films are represented through important scenes:"

-Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

-Cinderella

-Lady and the Tramp

-The Jungle Book

-Robin Hood

At 3 PM today, Dale and I watched an old DVD of Disney cartoons that I have on hand for the nieces and nephews. It's not the line-up of the Swedish version but it did the trick for the purpose of trying to recreate the Swedish experience. Being a bit Swedish myself, I'll consider this a nod to my ancestry.

Christmas Eve 2014 - Making Dinner

I made turkey noodle hotdish for dinner. The ingredients include macaroni, cream of mushroom soup, corn, and, of course, ground turkey. It gets topped off with lots of cheddar when served up. I didn't sing this year but Dale did. The service was earlier than last year's, 7 to be exact. Dale's call was 6:00. I wanted to make something easy since we'd be eating early. This fit the bill. It's also a wonderful comfort food. After finishing my egg nog I made a Tanquerey martini. I listed to Cyndi Lauper and Ed Ames while cooking. The Ed Ames album brought me right back to living room of the house on Stevens. 

Christmas Eve 2014 - Egg Nog

Had some more egg nog today while getting dinner started. Unlike yesterday, this serving had bourbon in it. Quite smooth.

Christmas Eve 2014 - Athena

I've believe that angels really do walk the earth. although many of them don't look the way people expect them to. Athena, my Christmas angel, thanks for being in our lives and for watching over us.

Christmas Eve 2014 - Merry Christmas