The following pictures are from the front of the food line at my family's Thanksgiving feast. My camera is not taking the best pictures lately, but I situated myself in the kitchen were there was plenty of light. These were the pictures I got.
Thanksgiving this year seemed quieter than normal. Im not sure why, but it was nice. We got together at my Auntie Lucy's house for our regular Thanksgiving meal and I think there were maybe 30 of us. Even though my aunts and mom shoulder most of the heavy cooking, the rest of us chip in with the sides for this gigantic feast. Each year I bring cranberry sauce. Im not sure how I got this dish, but it is my responsibility. Matt makes noodles which is a dish that his mother makes at holiday meals. Noodles are now part of our Thanksgiving meal too. My cousin Nicole has perfected the veggies side dishes. This year in addition to string beans and brussel sprouts (yum!) she made some carrots that were super yummy. My Auntie Mel makes a wonderful jello/blueberry/whip cream concoction that I love. But my most favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal is, and always has been, the stuffing. Usually my Grandma Nena makes an oyster stuffing, but this yearmy Auntie Lucy made this delish version with cranberries and sausage. OMG... just thinking of it makes my mouth water. It was sooooooo good!
Except for the "food cam" I didnt get many pictures this year. However, Miranda's fiance Chris got this great one of the family. Its a little pixely because I took it off facebook. I want this one framed.
I sat down tonight to write a post about the Harry Potter movie, but I had some Beatles songs playing on itunes and couldnt concentrate. You see, Im one of those people who cant write if there is music on. I get too distracted. Usually its the music that grabs my attention. A good beat will get me tapping my toes every single time. Sometimes, the words will grab me. Actually... no. That pretty much never happens. Its always the music.
Instead of fighting it I decided to take this opportunity to list my current top 10 (or more) favorite Beatles songs. It should be noted that my favorite songs vary over time. Some songs always make list (I'll designate those with an asterisks) and others come and go with my age, experiences and mood.
Ive been listening to the following playlist for a few days now and Ive noticed some common threads. - I like later Beatles, post 1965. The early stuff doesnt do much for me. - Favorite singer/writer of the four: Paul McCartney. Not that I didnt know that already. It was just reinforced by my favorite songs. Second? George Harrison. I miss that guy's voice and unassuming talent. - The slower and sadder the song, the more I like it. Strange. - Most of my favorite Beatles songs are favorites because I respond to them on an emotional level. My favorites tend to remind me of someone or something in the past. The music is important, but mostly its about how the music makes me feel.
Here it goes and in no particular order.
*1. I Am The Walrus. This song is a sentimental favorite. When I was a kid, my dad would play and sing lots of Beatles songs to my sister, my mom and me. This song, however, is the one that reminds me the most of my father and of my childhood. When I had my sons, I was quick to introduce them to this song. In my life, it seemed impossible that they could have a fantastic childhood without knowing it, singing it, and dancing to it. I am happy to report that they can sing it word for word. Success!
2. For You Blue. This song is a recent favorite. I love the music - that Americana sound and the slide guitar. I heard that George Harrison wrote this song for his first wife Patti. She is like the "ultra muse" for all my favorite artists. George allegedly wrote "Something" about her and Eric Clapton (whom I LOVE) wrote Layla and Wonderful Tonight about her. Damn that Patti!
*3. Blackbird.
*4. She's Leaving Home. This was my favorite songs when I was a young girl. The instrumentation in the beginning with the harp, violins and cello is so sad and mournful. Ive always gravitated towards sorrowful, languid songs and this one felt so thick with regret. When I was young, it was easy for me to identify with the protagonist - the girl. I imagined myself leaving home and my parents being devastated and wishing they had treated me better. haha. This year when my sister and her family moved to Wisconsin, the song came back into popularity with me. I tortured myself by listening to this song over and over and over again during the week she left. Currently "She's Leaving Home" has been played 77 times in my itunes library - the most of any Beatles song.
*5. Eleanor Rigby. Just like the song above, its the strings in this song that make it a perineal favorite. I cant seem to drag myself away from those gorgeous violins and cellos. I never understood the lyrics of this song. I cant imagine them actually making sense of something. Random side note: I remember when I was very young (like maybe 2nd or 3rd grade) my best friend Linnea had this song on a single. I didnt realize that other kids my age listened to the Beatles so I took it as a sign that Linnea and I were destined to be friends.
6. While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Ive always loved The White Album so this song has always been on my radar. That being said, it didnt become a favorite of mine until my college years. For some reason, I never realized Eric Clapton played guitar on the original recording with the Beatles. When I first heard the story I about fell out of my chair. I dont know how that fact escaped me for so long, but once I knew about it the song breathed new life for me. I love how the guitar cries and whines inbetween the vocals. I always figured it was George, but gosh... it was EC! It makes me so happy that these two friends (Eric and George) have their lifelong friendship immortalized in collaborations like this song. I must admit that when I heard the version of this song played at A Concert For George, I liked it much better than the original. Maybe its more poignant to me because that version was recorded as a memorial to George once he had passed. I find the video incredibly moving on so many levels. George was gone and his friends and family got together to celebrate his life and play his music. Dhani, George's son, played guitar next to EC and the reamining Beatles on this iconic song. Its crazy powerful and a definite favorite.
7. When Im Sixty Four. I have grown up hearing my dad mockingly sing this song to my mom about 100 times. He likes to exaggerate while he sings and my mom likes to act irritated by his antics. My parents are sooooo different so when I was younger I actually wondered "would she still feed him when he's sixty four?" My dad turned 64 a few years ago and guess what? She still feeds him. :)
8. Here Comes The Sun. I cant hear this song without thinking of my niece, Abbey. She was named after the Beatles album Abbey Road and for weeks before her birth I listened to the 17 song album over and over and over. In my opinion, its one of the best Beatles albums ever. Once Abbey was born "Here Comes the Sun" stood out to me as her song. Abbey is my parents' first grandaughter. After three, active grandsons my mother didnt hide her excitement about having a girl to coddle and spoil. I figured Abbey would be a baby just like the rest of them, but from the very beginning her foreign yet charming ways were obvious to all who encountered her. It was more than her pink clothing and girl themed accessories that captivated and mesmorized us. When Abbey was born, she brought a totally different awareness to our family - an undeniably female spark that was missing before her birth. Our lives have never been the same.
*9.Two of Us. When I hear this song Im flooded with hundreds of childhood memories of me and my sister, Jennifer. The two of us. Both of us swimming in the pool. Both of us playing girls softball. Both of us washing dishes after dinner. Both of us wearing matching outfits. Both of us listening to our dad's records. Both of us sharing a room. Both of us walking home from school. Both of us getting similar Christmas presents. Both of us taking baths. The two of us. When Paul sings "You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out of here," I think of us because its true. When I had my two boys born so closely together, I thought they would also be like the two of us. They arent of course, but it didnt stop me from dressing them up in raincoats and taking pictures of them in the sun just like this song. I did... oh yes I did. The boys were probably 6 and 8 years old and that photo is one of my most favorite of them in the world. I still hold out hope that, in my lifetime, I can have one shot of me and Jennifer with raincoats too.
*10. A Day In the Life.
*11. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End. When Matt was in Iraq in 2003, we made him a video and sent it over to him for Fathers Day. My mom shot various footage of the boys and me and she set it to music I had chosen. It is impossible for me to listen to these three songs without seeing the images of that video in my head. Recently Matt, the boys and I sat down together and watched that video. Matt and I were crying our eyes out. I dont know what it is, but something magical happens when images are set with music. Sublime magic.
12. Real Love. This song was recorded by The Beatles in 1996. I think the reason I like it is because it was created after John's death and with the help of Yoko Ono. Apparently John had some demos that were never recorded for an album and Yoko gave a couple to Paul for a new Beatles song. Can you actually imagine the good will it must have taken for Yoko and Paul to get together and make this happen? Its a miracle. I love the video of this song too: the old footage spliced with the video of the guys making the song. Its touching to see George, Paul and Ringo get together with the tapes of their lost friend to create one last song. Here's the video:
13. Till There Was You - I typically dont like early Beatles songs, but when I heard this song a few years back it took on new meaning for me. When I was younger, I thought this song was simplistic and sappy, but then I met Matt and the meaning of the song changed. I was amazed and how well it captured how falling in love feels. My favorite line is "There was love all around, but i never heard it singing. No, I never heard it at all, till there was you."
14. Hello, Goodbye. When I lived in Mexico, my room had a tv with two channels. Every single morning, one of those channels played the same music videos in the exact same order. "Hello Goodbye" was one of those videos. In the video, the fab four are performing on a stage. Towards the end a bunch of barely dressed, large breasted women pop onto the stage and dance along with the Beatles. I always got such delight watching Paul, George, Ringo and John watch those beautiful ladies dancing beside them. John appeared especially captivated by the lady nearest to him. I started off many a morning with that video. Lucky me. I found the video:
15. Let It Be.
*16. Get Back. Three words: "Get back, JoJo." hee
It took me more than a week to write this post. I must be the slowest blogger on the face of the planet. Sorry about that. Happy Saturday.
Halloween this year was all about Harry Potter! There has been only one other year that we have "theme dressed" as a family and it was the year we all donned Lord of the Rings costumes. This year, I got my wish and the four of us dressed as Harry Potter characters. Seamus was Harry Potter (of course,) Finn was Seamus Finnegan (a Gryffindor student,) Matt was a dementor and I was Professor Severus Snape. The boys have been so into the books this year and we are so excited to see the last film coming out later this month. It seemed fitting that we celebrate this holiday in Harry Potter style. I only got one picture of the four of us that wasnt blurry and yucky. Thanks to Miranda for getting this shot. Matt was quite terrifying in that get up. We got lots of freaky looks from other cars while driving to my cousin's house to meet up with family. Fortunately, Matt didnt scare any kids while trick or treating. The Steelers were playing the Saints on Halloween night and I absolved Matt from having to choose between trick or treating with his kids or watching his beloved Steelers. After a quick group photo, we raided my cousin's neighborhood of its sweets. We stayed out a little longer than normal this year and as a result, raked in tons of candy. We had plans to meet up with other friends for more Halloween revelry, but didnt make it. The football game was intense and Matt wasnt doing particularly well with how it was playing out. Usually, Matt will only watch Steeler games in his house with other Steeler fans, but this year he had no choice but to begin watching the game with other family members. Im not sure this was working for him so as soon as there was a lull in the game, we jetted back to our house so that Matt could finish watching in the comfort of his own home. I was soooo glad we got home during the fourth quarter because when the Steelers lost 20-10, Matt did not hide his frustration. It was not a pretty sight and I was thankful no one else was around to see his outburst.
On a lighter note, I loved the boys costumes so much this year. They looked so freaking cute! We stopped at the store to pick up some candy before heading over to my cousins house and so many people recognized them with their ties and cloaks. We are definitely dressing up for the The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 movie on November 17th. Happy Monday!
