Hear the Bells

Posted on by

Dear Friends,
A Christmas song that remains near to my heart, like the satin chime of a throaty bell is the tune, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. The passionate words were written on December 25, 1864 by a master of American poetry, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Wadsworth’s prose were polished into a shimmering melody by John Baptiste Calkin in 1872.
Though Wadsworth penned this song beneath the onus of war, I like to imagine it represents worldwide peace arrived at nonviolently…
Christmas BellsI love playing “Bells,” on my piano (albeit badly). I don’t practice as much as a should. Hmm, is there a New Year’s Resolution ringing in my ears? 🙂
my pianoThank you. May you fall asleep to the sweet lullaby of magical bells…
Galeen’s Bell Song rendered a week ago after plinking the ivories awhile. I couldn’t get Rocky the Shepherd or Mojo the Dachshund to pose, so Snoopy signed on for a very reasonable rate. 🙂 

24 thoughts on “Hear the Bells”

  2. You know, I didn’t know that Longfellow wrote those words! Thanks for sharing that — I’m glad to know it. Of course, I love the reappearance of Galeen and her “dear” friend, and I think Snoopy looks like he can handle just about any holiday tune that comes his way (nice piano, btw). And “the satin chime of a throaty bell” — I’m writing that one down, Rose-lli! 🙂 Have a great day — Christmas will be here in a moment.

    Like

    Reply

    • Hi Miss Deb,
      So very sorry for the delayed response time, “…I was delayed Christmas shopping…” (not really, I just wanted to quote Loretta Young from The Bishop’s Wife 😉 ) Crazy few days (okay here comes the guilt list) – all day wrestling tournament on sat (Max took first – which was great, but more importantly he didn’t get hurt and is enjoying the experience) then had to take Max Xmas shopping (mom promise) then I had to bribe him to go grocery shopping for daughter’s holiday party (mom promise) at our house, of course, and these girls eat more than Santa’s entire elf marching band and reindeer… Then, of course, house had to be clean for party (why, I don’t know – it’s not like these teens care) then had to prep food after picking up daughter from work sunday, then girls came over at 6 pm then I went upstairs did mucho laundry then crashed and that dearest Deb, was my past 2 days in a nut shell (I’m the nut 😉 )
      Now I have to catch up on all the blog-nog and go see your posts 🙂
      Yippy Christmas almost here – my day of legal pajama all day wearing!
      Hope you and hubby and critters are doing swell and Sophia is playing along!
      I love that Snoopy – I hug him often! Owning a baby grand was always a dream of mine – I’ll save the story for a post and tell you all about it.
      AnnMarie 🙂

      Like

      Reply

      • Okay, I’m kind of exhausted reading all that you’ve done — I may need a nap now! And I still haven’t hit the shower and I have to give a darn final exam this aftie, which is good, then I’ll be done! Yay! Well, congrats to Max on taking 1st. Amy Hempel has a great line: “There’s first, and there’s forget about it!” So there, yay Max! Parties — I know, why clean before, right? But one always does. You’re a good mom to take your kids shopping and allowing them to have parties. I guess I missed out on all that. Well, on Wednesday night I’ll see all the nieces and nephews, so that’ll be my “kid’spierence.” Confession: I still haven’t gotten up the tree! Now, why botha? LOL Say, hubby bought a new vehicle this weekend and it has SIRIUS and true to what you said in a post earlier: Elton John — his songs are always on! I like Snop, too (will watch Charlie Brown tonight or tomorrow). I’d like to hear the story of the piano — so write it (she said)! LOL

        Like

      • I’m glad you’re exhausted – I was exhausted after writing it 😉 I tell you, wrestling is a tough mental sport – it’s just you and the other guy – and at the end of the day there’s no other teammate to blame – I continue to tell him – it’s not the winning it’s the going…
        I’m not a good mom I’m just stumpin’ for a good gift this year 😉
        You know honestly, I never gave much thought to getting married or having kiddies – things happen as they do – and I bet you’re one hell of an auntie!
        GET A TREE UP MISS! Even a little fake one – those are so adorable!
        Ah, so Sir Elton has found you too – beware he’s everywhere – and since he’s been knighted – he’s developed super powers…
        Congrats on the new wheels – safe and happy with it!
        My sister and I always do the goofy dance from Charlie Brown – you just have to – it’s very cathartic and never fails to make us giggle like idiots 🙂
        AM 🙂

        Like

      • I know wrestling is a tough sport, mentally and physically. I used to have wrestlers in my classes at one of the colleges where I taught and they were forever watching their weight, and going to the gym by 5 a.m., etc. And it’s like tennis (well, singles anyway): you’re on your own. You’ll get a great Christmas gift, I’m sure! And no, I’m not that great of an aunt — at least not until they get older and can go out and drink and smoke with me … no, I’m kidding! I meant to say, Not until they can “talk” to me, on an adult level. 🙂 Thanks re: new car. Hubby is driving me crazy playing with the “touch screen” (everything’s touchable). I keep telling him to watch the darn road! 🙂

        Like

      • Max – the big son – is 207 pounds and not heavy…his shoulders are pretty broad at 14 – geez, can’t believe it! He is in the 220 weight class so at least he’s got some wiggle room, unlike my brother or nephews who always had to be very careful especially ’round the holidays.
        LOL Aunt Deb – I think they appreciate you now and will only more so down ye old adult path – you can show them the yellow brick road and the other colors too 😉
        I find the touch screen more cumbersome than the old fart buttons. I’m trying to get a handle on the voice thing – it’s cool you can say things like, “climate 70” and the car does it hands free!
        I’m working on, “gifts purchase!”
        AM 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      • I just watched the movie trailer for Big Eyes. I knew the secret was out but I was unaware she made a movie. Good for her! It’s about time she got the credit for her beautiful work.

        Like

      • In the same way I want to see Reese Witherspoon in “Wild” based on the true story of a woman who got her life back together by hiking the Pacific Coast Rim by herself. Filmed in Portland, OR

        Like

      • That was a fascinating read. I belong to a ladies book club and we have great fun dissecting books and drinking wine (not necessarily in that order). The movie should be terrific.
        I hope to see that one too – but, I don’t want to overplay my hand. I’ll shoot for actually getting out to see one movie and then maybe up the ante to 2.

        Like

  5. Did you know the artist that draws Garfield got his start after asking for help designing Garfield. He asked legendary artist Charles M. Schulz of Peanuts fame. Charles suggested making Garfield’s legs and feet bigger so he could stand up.

    Like

    Reply

A paintbrush for your thoughts...

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.