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Ackshully, I got tagged by Bella over at To Say Nothing of Reality.

This tag, I like it.  Another!

So the RULES to this tag are as follows:

1.) Link back to the person who tagged you.
2.) Answer the Questions (which are not supplied here, but given via Bella's blog.)
3.)Tag five (or more - hahahahaha) people.

Soooooo, I linked.  :-)

Here are the questions lifted from Bella's blog:

1.) When does the Christmas season officially 'start' in your house?
Officially?... It starts AFTER Christmas.  Right now we're in the Advent season.  However, if you're talking about Christmas SPIRIT, it kind of rolls up (on me) on Thanksgiving.

2.) What is your earliest memory of Christmas?
I remember being super little, like three or four, and waking up and smiling into one of my older sisters' face as she woke me and hissed, "It's Christmas!"  I remember thinking, "Wow, Christmas.  That's so cool!"

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3.) What is something that is something that is iconically (if that's even a word) Christmas for you or your family?
Probably the food.  Christmas morning is the only day in the world that we have Italian sausage and soft rolls and orange juice for breakfast, and usually the *main* day that we have gnocchi and ham for dinner.  We also do the Advent wreath and sing O Come Emmanuel at dinner.

4.) What are some of your Christmas Traditions?
We always listen to O Holy Night (Nat "King" Cole version and Josh Groban version) on Thanksgiving.
We also watch Holiday Inn on Thanksgiving.
We celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6 and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.
We do the Advent wreath and do Christmas rings, counting down the days to Christmas.
We decorate the house, usually starting around December 6th or 8th.
We bake and make gnocchi the week before Christmas.
We watch Christmas movies.  Many, many, many. :-)

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5.) What is one of the traditions that you want to carry on even after you're married?
Just one?  I want to make gnocchi and ham every Christmas, and I definitely want to keep the tradition of Epiphany.

6.) What if your favorite thing when preparing for Christmas? The baking, decorating or cleaning?
The decorating.  Totally, the decorating.

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7.) What is a special/unique Christmas memory?
About 23 years ago my Grandpa passed, right around Christmas time, and my mom was not here for Christmas.  So all of us kids at home saved one present and left it under the tree, and when she got back in January we celebrated our first Epiphany on January 6th, and we have celebrated it ever since.

8.) What do you like better, giving or receiving gifts? 
I LOVE giving gifts.  I sit right next to the person and am like, "Open it more... and more... and more... can you guess what it is from the box? Huh, huh, can ya, can ya?"

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9.) What are some of your favorite Christmas cartoons?
Mickey's Christmas Carol.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
The First White Christmas - The Story of the First Christmas Snow.

10.) What are some of your favorite Christmas movies?
It's A Wonderful Life (My absolute FAVORITE.)
Angel In the House (a recent discovery).
Silent Night.
A Christmas Carol with Reginald Owen.
(These are the four I NEED to watch.)

After that I like to watch:
One Magic Christmas.
While You Were Sleeping.
Doctor Who (Eleven's) Christmas Specials.
A Keaton Christmas Carol.

11.) Do you have a real Christmas tree or an artificial tree?
We have an artificial.  I am of two minds between real and artificial.  I love the smell and authenticity of real.  I don't like how they shed needles or die so soon.  However, I don't like how fake smell... odd, but I do like that you can leave them up through the entire season.

12.) Do you have a favorite Christmas book/story? 
The Crib of Bo'Bossu.  Makes me cry.  EVERY time.

13.) What is your favorite Christmas song?
O Holy Night (Josh Groban and Nat Cole's version)
Believe (Josh Groban)\
What Child is This (Josh Groban and another version that is a group version that I can't find that I LOVE.)
Little Drummer Boy (Tennessee Ernie Ford and Josh Groban)
In the Bleak Midwinter (Julie Andrews)
The Little Road to Bethlehem (Hayley Westenra)
Peace Shall Come (Hayley Westenra)
And too many others too count.  But those are the top seven I could recall one after the other.

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Imma not tagging anyone, but I wish youse all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :-)

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When was the last time you saw a white rabbit, six-feet tall? (Or is it six-foot-three-and-a-half?) Well, I saw one Friday evening, and let me tell you, it was a pleasure. It’s always a pleasure when I run into Harvey, and it’s been happening since high school. I’m talking, of course, about the 1950s film, based on the Pulitzer-winning play of the same name.

The premise of Harvey is basic and yet unpredictable. Elwood P. Dowd is a forty-something gentleman who does very little in his life, beyond wander around town, meet strangers, and drink martinis with his pal Harvey. Harvey, of course, is the aforementioned rabbit. Most of the people in town think he’s downright nuts, including his sister and niece, which is why they try to have him committed. However, as Vita Louise (his sister) says, “Something protects him.” Could that something be an invisible rabbit? It seems so, as hilarity ensues over miss-communication and a bit of magic.

You’re left to wonder until the very end: is Harvey actually real? Elwood refers to him as a “pooka.” If you look up “pooka” on the internet, you’ll find the following: “The Pooka (Irish for goblin) is a creature of Celtic folklore. According to legend, the pooka is a deft shape shifter, capable of assuming a variety of terrifying or pleasing forms, and may appear as a horse, rabbit, goat, goblin, or dog. … The pooka has the power of human speech, and has been known to give advice and lead people away from harm. Though the pooka enjoys confusing and often terrifying humans, it is considered to be benevolent.”

So the legend really does exist, which is probably where playwright Mary Chase got the idea. So does Harvey exist? Or doesn’t he? You’ll have to watch the movie and see …

I love the plotline, but I love Jimmy Stewart more, especially when he says things in this movie like, “I’ve wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it.” I suppose I first came upon Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life. (I still cry every single time when George Bailey’s little brother says, “To my brother, the richest man in town.” Oh, for Pete’s sake, I just got a little teary typing the line!) It’s a Wonderful Life is my favorite Christmas movie, but it probably has a lot to do with Jimmy Stewart.

I’ve always been drawn to the guy. He’s just so sweet and unassuming. He’s handsome, too, in a nerdy sort of way. Then, there’s the psychotic passion he revealed in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, followed by It’s a Wonderful Life and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I love the look in his eye when he’s really on a roll. He is and always will be one of my favorite actors.

In Harvey, it’s even better, because he reminds me—down to the detail—of my sweet, kind, and inevitably cheerful Grandpa Schwind.

The character of Elwood P. Dowd is a man who has come to terms with what life is all about. It’s not about power or popularity. It’s not about hustle and bustle. Elwood’s life is about making new friends—connecting with people and re

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