Peaches in September

Ever since I fell in love with Mary Chapin Carpenter's song, "I Am a Town," the month of September means peaches to me. Have you heard this song? Take a couple of minutes to click below, close your eyes, and soak it up. It's my gift to you today.

http://youtu.be/BlnMmwGoFY8

Isn't that pure perfection?

Last night, I made a quick peach crisp with South Carolina peaches. Yes, I know I live in the "Peach State," but South Carolina actually produces more peaches than Georgia does. Instead of following a recipe, I did this:

I peeled three peaches and sliced them up. I placed them in a small Corningware casserole dish. I sprinkled a bit of sugar over the peaches. Then I mixed rolled oats and flour together at a 3:1 ratio, diced up some butter and "forked" it into the oat/flour, added some brown sugar and a bit of cinnamon, and mixed with my fingers until it was crumbly and yummy. (I tested it to make sure.) I sprinkled this over the peaches. I like lots of topping. Then I baked everything at 350 til the topping was light brown and crunchy.

Perfection.

This was wonderful both warm and cold. No cornstarch, no lemon juice, little sugar, pure flavor.

And if this is your first introduction to Mary Chapin Carpenter, you're welcome.

A Blessed Christmas to You All

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
as of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
in the Body and the Blood
he will give to all the faithful
his own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
spreads its vanguard on the way,
as the Light of Light descendeth
from the realms of endless day,
that the powers of hell may vanish
as the darkness clears away.

At his feet the six-winged seraph;
cherubim with sleepless eye,
veil their faces to the Presence,
as with ceaseless voice they cry,
"Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!"

-- The Divine Liturgy of Saint James, Fourth (or Fifth) Century A.D.

Here are two renditions perfect for the mystery of the miracle. The first is an instrumental.



The second is an a cappella solo.



May the peace of Christ, which transcends all understanding, rest on you and yours this season and forevermore.

Streaming Christmas Music -- From Europe and UK Web Radio

For an interesting twist for your Christmas listening at home, check out this website: ListenLive.eu, which features radio stations in Europe and the UK streaming live on the internet. Last night, I rolled and cut out cookies while nodding along to music broadcast from France, and this morning it's the UK.

I love hearing old favorites in new (to me) arrangements, as well as songs I know and unfamiliar tunes. I've never heard Lou Rawls's wonderful rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" until I hopped on Cherie Noel last night.

And the best? No commericals! Every once in a while, a Voice says the name of the station, but that's it. On Cherie Noel, the Voice also flung out something more I couldn't comprehend. So much for my conversational French.

I'm going to work my way through the list this season just for fun. Why don't you come along?

Malevolent Genes and a Bit of Chopin

Miss Priss suffered her first migraine headache this past Saturday. Despite our hopes that that particular gene would pass over our children, we were fairly certain one or both would suffer. Himself and I both do; his mother does, and both my parents do. Our gene pool is full of it. This is how I picture the hateful things swimming around:

 Photo from Ugly Animals.

Nice, huh?

Himself only gets a very few per year, but they are the BIG CLASSIC variety when they hit. I suffer from cluster headaches mostly, with only a few horrid episodes per year and no vomiting. Poor Miss Priss was struck with a classic. Bless her sweet heart.

Regarding the Chopin: This afternoon, I plunked down in front of the piano and opened My First Book of Chopin: 23 Favorite Pieces in Easy Piano Arrangements, which I ordered from Dover Publications.

I've picked through a few of these, and today my piece of choice was "First Ballade," a kid-friendly theme from "Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23," transposed to C major. I was pleased I was able to stumble through it.

My interest piqued, I hopped on YouTube to see what this piece really sounds like.



Well. What can one say after that, besides Brava!

If you're interested you can download a FREE score here. But I assure you it is very different from the arrangement I played today. If your skill level is along the lines of mine, here's an option for you. Yes, there's a drawing of a young girl playing the piano on the cover. I don't let that bother me.

I just play for the joy of it.