Saturday 9: First Christmas

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The song mentions snowmen and snow on a windowpane. Has it snowed near you yet?  It sure has. We had a minor storm last week that hit right for the morning rush and created quite a mess. We got 3-4 inches of snow that time. We've had lots of flurries since then and yesterday we got about half an inch at the end of the day. Now we are gearing up for 3-5 inches and frigid temperatures starting tomorrow afternoon.

2) Diane Keaton sings that hearing "I'll Be Home for Christmas" makes her miss someone she loved who won't be coming home at all. Is there a Christmas song that reminds you of a loved one?  No, nothing specific, but like me, my dad loved Bing Crosby so any of those make me feel nostalgic.
 

3) After the song was first released for Christmas 2024, Diane said she appreciated how many people posted on her Instagram, sharing their "First Christmas journeys," explaining how they navigated the first holiday season without a special someone. What have you recently posted on social media (other than this blog post)?  A list of things I'm thankful for here on the blog and on Facebook, a photo of our Christmas lights this year.

4) Diane appeared in the Broadway musical Hair and sang in movies like Annie Hall and The First Wives Club. Still she didn't consider herself "much of a singer." How about you? What's something you do, even though you're not completely comfortable doing it?  Now and then I have to speak in front of a group and at work I'm finding that more and more I am singing, if not loud and proud, then at least audibly even though I really, really stink.

 

5) This was Diane's first and, sadly, her only record. She was nervous doing it, but it helped that the lyrics was written by her friend, Carole Bayer Sager, and that both Carole and her writing partner, Jonas Myrin, were with Diane in the studio. Tell us about a friend who came through for you.  I had a dear friend who was there through all the grief our estranged son and his wife put us through. She allowed me to cry, be angry, and anything else I needed. She really helped me get through it.

6) After her 75th birthday, Diane said she was excited that new ventures were coming her way and she found herself saying "yes" more often. In addition to recording this week's song, she accepted an unexpected offer from Look Optic to design eyewear. Have you recently tried something you've never done before? OR What's something you'd like to try?  I am terrified of snakes...absolutely phobic about them...but when a local pet store came to work with several of their animals recently, I decided to face my fear.

Did I like it? NO! Am I over my fear? Also, NO!!! But I did it.

 

Now for some questions about the holiday season ...

7) Do you display the holiday cards you receive?  I have a metal Christmas tin I sit them up in. We really don't receive that many these days.

8) This is a big time of hear for necklaces, hats and headbands decorated with jingle bells. Will you be wearing any bells this season?  I wore some today!

 
9) The website Morning Save included these three items on their list of this season's popular gifts. Would you rather receive: a. cup holder/phone mount for your car; b. sherpa lined clog slippers; c. set of three stainless paring knives with rosemary green plastic handles?  None of those excite me that much, but I could like either the phone mount or the knives.

Thanks, as always, to Sam @ Saturday 9!

Play along here.