Mount Vernon 2011

Mom and I just got back from a trip to Virginia where we visited my brother Pete, his wife Stephanie, and their two children, Abby and Xander. We we all had the chance to visit Mount Vernon to tour the mansion and the grounds of the estate. It was beautiful. The gift shop had a 'Christmas corner' where I found the ornaments pictured here. I gave the glass ornament of the Mount Vernon mansion to Stephanie, the gingerbread Martha to Abby, and the gingerbread mansion to Xander. I also picked up the same ornament I gave to Stephanie for myself.

Feast of the Annunciation

It was the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25 when Mom and I were in Washington D.C. visiting Pete, Steph, Abby, and Xander (they actually live in Virginia). This feast is important for a number of reasons, but I find it particularly noteworthy here as it is the name of the Minneapolis parish we grew up in and celebrated a lot of Christmases.

The Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis is a Roman Catholic parish that was attended by my family starting in 1969 when we moved to south Minneapolis. The church is located at 509 West 54th Street near the corner of Diamond Lake Road and Lyndale Avenue.

The following history is from Annunciation's website:

"The parish of Annunciation was created by Archbishop Dowling with the appointment of the Rev. Francis J. Lang, as pastor, on September 8 1922. Most of the pioneer parishioners were young and middle-aged couples, many with children. Before 1922, most of the people in this area worshipped at Incarnation parish to the north and Assumption parish in Richfield to the south. The first parish Mass was offered on October 1, 1922."

"Within a year, this young community occupied the first rooms of a new church-school building, which still serves our community well. On August 5, 1923 the first liturgy was offered in the building and on September 10, 1923, four Dominican Sisters opened Annunciation School, with 72 pupils."

"The Post-War Boom, 1945-1960, brought the challenge of rapid population growth and expansion. On December 16, 1962 the first Mass was offered by the community in its new worship space."

I remember the big summer rummage sales in the school gymnasium in the summer in the 1970's and I remember the parish festival, Septemberfest, which I believe began in the 1980's. Dad contributed a lot of time and effort to the set up and take down of that festival.

Stocking Stuffers - Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

Jelly Belly jelly beans appeared on my radar in the very early 1980's after Ronald Reagan became president. Mom had heard that the president liked them and often put these jelly beans in our stockings starting around this time. I've heard that Reagan endorsed them and kept them in a jar on his desk at the White House and also carried them on Air Force One.

The following is from Wikipedia:

"Traditional jelly beans started out with plain, uncolored pectin centers that were merely sweetened with sugar. Only the outer candy coating was colored and flavored. The third and fourth generation of the candy family decided to produce a superior jelly bean to set itself off from traditional jelly beans."

"The centers for the company's mini jelly bean were colored and flavored. This flavor enhancing process was also used on the outer candy shell. With the new generation of Jelly Belly beans the company used real fruit juices and natural flavors when possible to boost the taste experience further. The finished Jelly Belly beans contained about half the sugar of the regular jelly bean, and were more flavorful than the generic jelly beans sold in stores."

All I can say is that they were very yummy...

Saint Joseph's Day - 2011

Saint Joseph is my patron saint and today is his feast day. Pictured at left is a photo of a statue of Joseph and the infant Jesus which was given to me by my mom a number of years ago.

The following is a poem by G.K. Chesterton that I'd like to post in honor of my patron saint.

Joseph

If the stars fell; night's nameless dreams

Of bliss and blasphemy came true,

If skies were green and snow were gold,

And you loved me as I love you;

O long light hands and curled brown hair,

And eyes where sits a naked soul;

Dare I even then draw near and burn

My fingers in the aureole?

Yes, in the one wise foolish hour

God gives this strange strength to a man.

He can demand, though not deserve,

Where ask he cannot, seize he can.

But once the blood's wild wedding o'er,

Were not dread his, half dark desire,

To see the Christ-child in the cot,

The virgin Mary by the fire?

-G.K. Chesterton

Stocking Stuffers - Gummi Bears

I remember being exposed to gummi bears for the first time on a choir trip to Germany in 1981. I came home with stories about them. Santa started to put them in our Christmas stockings around that time. They were completely addictive. I remember inviting my friend Josh over to the house for Christmas day dinner one year about 1983 or '84. We had gotten some big bags of gummi bears in our stockings and Josh helped himself to quite a few. Even after all these years, whenever I mention my friend Josh to my brother Pete, Pete always says "He ate all the gummi bears!"

The following is from Wikipedia:

"A Gummi bear is a small, rubbery-textured confectionery. The candy is roughly 2 centimetres long and shaped in the form of a bear."

"The gummi bear originated in Germany, where it is popular under the name Gummibar (rubber bear) or Gummibarchen (little rubber bear). Hans Riegel Sr., a candy maker from Bonn, started the Haribo company in 1920. Trolli is another gummi candy manufacturer and the first to introduce gummi worms in 1981. Gummi bears are one of the few types of candy to have been turned into a television show."

Stocking Stuffers - Life Savers Story Books

For many years, mostly in the 1970's, Santa would stuff the Christmas stockings of Joe, Sam, and Pete with Life Savers "story books". Each story book had about ten to twelve rolls of lifesavers in a variety of colors and flavors. The package they were in opened up something like a story book. Ten or so rolls of Life Savers lasted a while and I remember eating them well into March while watching Saturday morning cartoons.

The following is from Wikipedia:

"Life Savers is an American brand of ring-shaped mints and artificially fruit-flavored hard candy. The candy is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in aluminum foil rolls."

"In 1912, candy manufacturer Clarence Crane of Cleveland, Ohio, invented Life Savers as a "summer candy" that could withstand the heat better than chocolate. The candy's name is derived from its similarity to the shape of lifebuoys used for saving people who have fallen off of boats."