Christmas 2020

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If there was ever a Christmas in our modern history that needs an infusion of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, this is it. From the Gospel of Luke (and the lips of Linus from Peanuts):

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Wishing my readers peace this holiday season. Take good care and be well.

2020 “Uketide” Tunes – Part IV

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After a fun debut, Aria joins me again for the grand finale of our Yuletide ukulele series, Robert Alex Anderson’s Mele Kalikimaka. There is a twist, however! For fun, I rewrote the lyrics for one verse and changed the song title to Rainy Kalikimaka, which is typical weather for Christmas in Oregon. For the record, it’s in the forecast this year.

Here are the revamped lyrics:

Rainy Kalikimaka is the thing to say
On a wet and stormy Christmas day
That’s the Northwest greeting that we send to you
From the land where Doug firs sway
Here we know that Christmas will be gray and cold
Some years we may get snow but that gets quickly old
Rainy Kalikimaka is the Northwest way
To say Merry Christmas to you

Hope you get a few laughs from this. Listening to me try to hit those higher notes is definitely giggle-worthy. I need to work on transposing! That said, we enjoyed making the video:

Mahalo for watching us do songs for a third year in a row. May you have enough malasadas and shave ice to satisfy your sweet tooth…and spike your blood sugar. Ha! Mele Kalikimaka and best wishes this holiday season!

2020 “Uketide” Tunes – Part III

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Santa has done his musical thing, and now Aria joins me for a song she picked. (There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays was written by Robert Allen and Al Stillman. Perry Como recorded the song in 1954 and again in stereo in 1959, but the iconic version of this Christmas favorite was released by the Carpenters in 1984.

While a lot of us won’t be going home for the holidays this year…or will be relegated to the house for the duration, we hope this brings a smile to your face. Questionable singing and all:

Our traditional holiday send-off video is still to come next week — with a twist!