Music Evolution

Today's post is gonna be a bit of a break from vintage stuff.  I'm still a vintage loving fool, but I have been collecting much less lately.  Something about a problem with running out of space for goodies.  LOL.

I do have a post of some recently acquired vintage treasures in the works, but for today, I'm going to focus on something completely different.  Today I feel like sharing some of my current favorite music.

Am I the only person whose musical tastes seem to be continuously evolving?  I have always been a rock fan (surprised?  I prefer bands like Linkin Park, Staind, Chevelle, Shinedown, Halestorm, and Sixx:A.M. among others).  But lately, I've felt pulled in a different direction.  My current favorites include some Folk Rock groups among other genres.

Up first:  The Lumineers - Ho Hey



I'm thinking that these Folk Rock groups help appease my love for Rock music as well as my rural American roots.

Next:  Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait



When I looked up this next group, it appears that they are classified as Indie Rock, but they have a really folksy sound to me.

Imagine Dragons - It's Time



Finally, this group isn't folksy, but I absolutely love their sound and most of all, the lead singer's voice.

Last:  Alabama Shakes - Hold On



So, that concludes my list of currently trending music here at the Cul-De-Sac Shack.  I hope you find something on this list that brings joy to your ears.  What is currently trending with you?

Happy New Year!

Glory to God in the Highest!

On this, the day of our Savior's birth, I wish you a very Merry Christmas.  May you and your family know true peace and happiness today.  If you are traveling today, I pray for travel mercies for you.

Where ever you may be, Rejoice!  For today is the day our Savior came into this world to save us all!

Luke 2: 1-14 NIV

The Birth of Jesus

    ¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register. 
    ⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 

The Shepherds and the Angels

    ⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord.¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 
    ¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 
    ¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest, 
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Merry Christmas!

Silent Night

I have made it a tradition here on the blog to share the same post each Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Here is this year's Christmas Eve post, along with today's carol, Silent Night.

Tonight we continue family tradition, heading to church for Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion at 6:00 which always ends with the congregation holding candles and singing Silent Night.  Then we're heading over to Grandma's house for dinner afterward.  We have done this all of my life.  Grandma's now 92 years old, and we provide the food instead of her, but we still meet at her house. 

This year's beautiful version of Silent Night is sung by Jackie Evancho.  

Carol of the Bells

My absolute favorite Christmas song is Carol of the Bells.  This unreleased version, by the group Thrice, ranks right at the top of my favorites.

Confession time:  I love the song Carol of the Bells so much, that one of my favorite Christmas CDs that I burnt a few years ago is about 1/3 different versions of this song!

Have an amazing Saturday!

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!

 This is one of my favorites, and my Christmas ringtone on my phone.  I'm even wearing my Grinch face t-shirt to school today since it's the last school day before Christmas!  Have a great Friday!

Today's Christmas Song - Santa Baby - as Sung by Eartha Kitt

A true mid-century Christmas classic.  Have a great Wednesday!

Ave Maria

I'm planning on doing a Christmas song each day before Christmas.  Today's selection is Ave Maria by Placido Domingo and The Vienna Boys Choir.  This is by far my favorite version of this song.  Have a great Tuesday!

What This Season Is REALLY All About

I think that Linus said it best.  Merry Christmas!

(Click through for a short video.)

Father / Son Project Time

This may be the death of one of us.  Anyway, spirits are high at the moment.  Dad and I brought his 1967 Mustang Fastback in from it's 30 year hiatus in the pasture at the farm on Saturday.  It's going to be fun if we ever get it done.

Here's the list of things needed:

Everything.

LOL - Actually, the body is almost rust free, just needing to have the floor pans replaced.  Otherwise, it's pretty much a complete overhaul.  Rebuilding the motor is first on the list, followed by a complete gut and replacement of the interior.  I'll let a professional tackle the bodywork.

Have a great Monday!

Everyone Went to Mick's! (Part Two - The Party!)

After a fun afternoon of treasure hunting (see yesterday's post), I returned to my motel to change and get ready for the main event of the trip, Thanksmass!

After a bit of a drive, we arrived at the Casablanca, and I was excited to see the progress of the addition that Mick is building.

The Casablanca was all ready for a night of fun.  Tables were set for a large crowd.  Shortly after I arrived, the rest of the guests began to arrive, and the party was on!

The dinner was exceptional, with everyone bringing something in a Pyrex dish.  All the food looked amazing set on the tables.  If anybody went home hungry, it was their own fault.  There were many more fun activities that evening, which I am going to let Mick tell you about on his blog, Everyone Goes to Mick's (I'm sure he'll have a great write up about it once his Tech Week is over for the upcoming musical at his theatre).

As the evening went on, gifts were exchanged.

From Mick and Patricia I received two fun things.  First, this amazing piece of Pyrex to add to my collection of promos / rare / unusual pieces.  The Pyrex Fish Dish, complete with its original box.  WOW!!!  Thank you!  I have never see this before, and I'm so excited that it is mine!  Has anyone else ever run across this piece?

They also gave me a vintage Salt Lake City wall plate.  Now, there is a bit of a story behind this.  Mick, Patricia, and I all are big fans of the current Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon."  Now that there is a road cast of the show, this plate was a promise that when the show gets close to our area, we are going to go see it together.  I can't wait!

Which brings to mind this song:

Christine, of I'm Not Old, I'm Vintage, gave me a fun creamer of a little chef with a fly on his face and a vintage toy where you have to get the little balls to stop on the cat's eyes.  Fun!  Thank you so much, Christine!  It was wonderful meeting you!

After many of the guests left, we all played a most entertaining game called Paper Telephone, which had all of us rolling in laughter.

With a 6 hour drive home facing me, I knew I needed to get back to my motel and get some rest, so I left the Casablanca at around 1:45 am and fell into bed at 2:30 am.  Glad I didn't have to check out of the motel until 11:00 am!

Some random pics from the evening (before I filled up the memory card on my camera, that is):

Patricia and Mick

Miss Casablanca and Mick

Miss Patricia in her vintage Christmas dress.

It was great to get to visit the Casablanca for the third time (I'm now officially a member).  It's a little more fun each time!  Thanks for inviting me, Mick!

And, now that I'm a member, I have this song on my mind:

Everyone Went to Mick's! (Part One - The Finds!)

Hey everyone!  Long time, no post.  Sorry about that, once school started back up, the blog fell behind on the priority list.  Here's hoping that this is the beginning of the end of that.

This past weekend, the wonderful Mick, of Everyone Goes to Mick's blog, held his annual Thanksmass celebration.  This was my second year for attending the event, which saw me driving a little over 400 miles Friday afternoon on the Oklahoma turnpikes to the great state of Texas.

After checking into my motel and taking a nap, Mick and his girlfriend, the lovely Patricia, met me after their play practice and we went out for dinner and made a trip to Walmart.

The following day, Saturday, was a big day!  Mick and Patricia met up with me and the delightful Vintage Christine of I'm Not Old, I'm Vintage for some thrifting and antiquing.  I found some wonderful treasures (one of which nearly caused Mick to kick me)!

I'm not one for taking my camera everywhere, so I don't have pictures of the thrifting trip, but here are my finds!

First:  We were in a great shop downtown Wichita Falls called Alley Cat.  There are some fun finds there, and it was quite busy due to the fact that they were having free pictures with Santa.  Now, this is the kind of shop where many of the vendors take vintage pieces of furniture and give them a restyle with paint.  I liked some of it, but personally, I prefer wood furniture to have a natural finish.  While wandering around the store, I came to a very large booth filled with many such examples of repurposed furniture.  Most of the pieces were very reasonably priced.  There was a dining chair that was refinished in a bright green paint that I am fairly certain was a piece of Broyhill Brasilia priced at $30.  I looked up from this and spied a two-tiered end table with curved legs.  I knew instantly what I had found, but a quick peek underneath confirmed it.  A Heywood-Wakefield table finished in a purple and gray paint finish that had been distressed so that some of the wood showed through.  Not my taste.  Price? $25.  Well, I'll pick up just about any piece of Hey-Wake for that price, so after deciding that I could strip it down and refinish it (I've got to purchase a refinish kit online), it came home with me.  The lady that owned the booth was there and said to me "I just had a feeling a guy was going to buy that table."  She also told me that she had just put it in the booth that day and that she had been told that the brand of the table might be kind of a big deal (I kept my mouth shut on this comment).  The lady up front when I paid seemed to know what it was and in an almost apologetic way mentioned that the booth owner had told her that the finish on it was in pretty bad shape before it was painted.

In the same store, I came across a vintage aluminum Christmas tree that hangs on the wall.  It didn't have a price on it, so I just passed it by.  After paying for the table, I decided to inquire about the tree, which was laying on a trunk by the register.  The shop owner came over and told me she would take $10 for it.  SOLD!!!  Little did I know that Mick was wanting it as well, and trying to get Patricia to inquire about it at the same time.  Apparently Mick then stood behind me acting like he was going to kick me...lol!  Anyway, I ended up with the tree, but Mick made sure that it was displayed that evening at Thanksmass.

The other treasures of the day:  A vintage Fisher Price car garage like one I had as a child (needs a good cleaning, but I'm sure my nephew will love it!), a creepy looking Christmas book titled "Santa's Twin" and a vintage bottle of Russian Pepsi.

Stay tuned for the second part of the trip, the events at Thanksmass!