I spent the the last hour

With all the holiday lights on, listening to the two Christmas albums Pentatonix has put out.  I love their harmonies, and their rendition of 'Mary Did You Know?' is hauntingly sublime. Now I'm all relaxed and sleepy. I still have things to do,  but they may wait till tomorrow,  when I'll take a friend to an appointment in the evening,  and I can take the laptop and work on game notes, for example. The plan is to get up early tomorrow and do the dishes and straighten up a bit,  take out the trash and recyclables, and maybe work out at the complex gym. Good night!

This actually might get me in the holiday mood. :)

Technically it's 'Pedestrian on foot injured in collision with other nonmotor vehicle in nontraffic accident, initial encounter', but I love this interpretation.

Okay, this is a Christmas carol on Solstice night

but it's an unusual one, a Spanish villancico from the 16th century...and it's sung very nicely a cappella by the Monkees. :)



Here's the translation:

River, roaring river, guard our homes in safety,
God has kept the black wolf from our lamb, our lady.
God has kept the black wolf from our lamb, our lady.

Raging mad to bite her, there the wolf did steal,
But our God almighty defended her with zeal.
Pure he wished to keep her so she could never sin,
That first sin of man never touched the virgin sainted.

River, roaring river...

He who's now begotten is our mighty monarch,
Christ, our holy father, in human flesh embodied.
He has brought atonement by being born so humble,
Though he is immortal, as mortal was created.

River, roaring river...

Thanks to Vanessa Irvin Morris for sharing it on Facebook. :)

Okay, I'm not Christian

But this is the season that Christian music comes into it's own, and I do love music. Here are some my favourites:


(This version is by both Andrea Bocelli and Mary J Blige. It is, of course, the same tune as 'Greensleeves'.)


(Although Sting made it popular, it is based on a mediaeval Basque carol.)


(I also have a fondness for anything by Rankin-Bass, and this was my favourite of theirs when I was growing up, although for a nice almost pagan-y Christmas story from them, be sure to check out their version of L Frank Baum's 'Life and Adventures of Santa Claus', which I discovered only as a young adult.) :)