Sing we of 19 Days till Christmas!

A French carol for today, "Noël nouvelet" which again I found through choir music. This one dates back to highschool, I think. The tune is lively to match the joyful lyrics. I present the original french lyrics because the English version "Sing we All of Christmas" has many variations on the lyrics (and I happened to find the below video which blew me away!). However, included below are the literal translations of each verse.

The picture today is of some of the music I'll be singing for my choir concert "Lully Lullay" though you can also see my blue marker "war wound" from babysitting an almost two year old this morning.


Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici,
Dévotes gens, crions à Dieu merci !

          New Christmas, Christmas we sing here,
          Devout people, let us shout our thanks to God!

Chorus :
Chantons Noël pour le Roi nouvelet ! (bis)
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici !

          Chorus:
          Let us sing Christmas for the new King! (repeat)
          New Christmas, Christmas we sing here.

L'ange disait! pasteurs partez d'ici!
En Bethléem trouverez l'angelet.
Chorus

          The angel said! Shepherds leave this place!
          In Bethlehem you'll find the little angel.
          Chorus

En Bethléem, étant tous réunis,
Trouvèrent l'enfant, Joseph, Marie aussi.
Chorus

          In Bethlehem, all united,
          Were found the child, Joseph, and Mary too.
          Chorus

Bientôt, les Rois, par l'étoile éclaircis,
A Bethléem vinrent une matinée.
Chorus

          Soon, the Kings, by the bright star
          To Bethlehem came one morning.
          Chorus

L'un partait l'or; l'autre l'encens bem;
L'étable alors au Paradis semblait.
Chorus

          One brought gold, the other priceless incense;
          The stable thus seemed like Heaven.
          Chorus

Rejoice for only 20 Days Remain till Christmas!

The for carol for today "Good Christian Men Rejoice" is far more well known than the last few I posted. However, most people don't know past the first verse. And it is a beautiful song. We're singing it in our choir concert on Sunday.

The picture for today is of our "joy men" decorations. I'm not sure if I've posted a picture of them before, but this year their home is on the piano. A fitting place because joy is oft expressed through singing.


1. Good Christian men, rejoice,
With heart and soul and voice!
Give ye heed to what we say:
Jesus Christ is born today;
Ox and ass before Him bow,
And He is in the manger now.
Christ is born today.
Christ is born today.

2. Good Christian men, rejoice,
With heart and soul and voice!
Now ye hear of endless bliss:
Jesus Christ was born for this;
He has opened heaven's door,
And man is blest for evermore.
Christ was born for this.
Christ was born for this.

3. Good Christian men, rejoice,
With heart and soul and voice!
Now ye need not fear the grave:
Jesus Christ was born to save;
Calls you one and calls you all,
To win His everlasting hall.
Christ was born to save.
Christ was born to save.

Lying Low for 21 more days till Christmas!

Only time for a quick post tonight before bed. The carol is "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" which is slightly more known than the previous three I posted, but it's a gorgeous, Polish carol to sing. Again, my mom and I sang it last year as a duet for caroling.

The picture is of my dog, Sandy, doing her usual annual routine of sleeping on the tree skirt until we finally wrap it around the base of the tree. Funnily enough, she doesn't dare touch it then. What a scaredy-cat we have for a dog. But she's cute alright!

Infant holy, infant lowly,
For His bed a cattle stall;
Oxen lowing, little knowing
Christ, the babe, is Lord of all.
Swift are winging, angels singing,
Noels ringing, tidings bringing:
Christ the babe is Lord of all.

Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping
Vigil till the morning new
Saw the glory, heard the story,
Tidings of a gospel true.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow,
Praises voicing greet the morrow:
Christ the babe was born for you.

A beautiful arrangement of the carol:

Rest while waiting for the remaining 22 days till Christmas

Tonight I spent a few hours working at the local OCC distribution center. Towards the end of my four hour shift, our group uncovered four boxes wrapped in paper that was literally "hand" painted. Judging by the size of the hand prints, it was most likely done by the children of the family. Four very lucky children are going to receive these beautiful gifts.

The carol for today is "Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head". It's a beautiful Appalachian song which my mom and I sung for caroling last year as a duet. I love the haunting melody in the minor key.

[Refrain]
Jesus, Jesus, rest your head.
You has got a manger bed.
All the evil folk on earth
Sleep in feathers at their birth.
Jesus, Jesus, rest your head.
You has got a manger bed.

1. Have you heard about our Jesus?
Have you heard about his fate?
How his mammy went to the stable
On that Christmas Eve so late?
Winds were blowing, cows were lowing,
Stars were glowing, glowing, glowing. [Refrain]

2. To the manger came the Wise Men.
Bringing from hin and yon,
For the mother and the father,
And the blessed little Son.
Milkmaids left their fields and flocks
And sat beside the ass and ox. [Refrain]

(This is an old recording, so sorry for the bad quality of sound, but it was the most expressive version I could find even though the soloist is slightly flat and under pitch on the higher notes...)

23 Days till Christmas! How Great Our Joy!

And the title of today's carol is in the post title - "How Great Our Joy". I was first introduced to this song back in high school when my choir went caroling. This traditional German carol was one of our staples during our events.

The picture today is of a decoration staple in my room. Aren't jingle bells joyful sounding?


1. While by the sheep we watched at night,
Glad tidings brought an angel bright.

Refrain

How great our joy! Great our joy!
Joy, joy, joy! Joy, joy, joy!
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

2. There shall be born, so He did say,
In Bethlehem a Child today.

Refrain

3. There shall the Child lie in a stall,
This Child who shall redeem us all.

Refrain

4. This gift of God we’ll cherish well,
That ever joy our hearts shall fill.

Refrain

Masters, There are Only 24 Days till Christmas!

Upon this the first day of December I present to you the first of many pictures thusly proffered for your amusement. But enough with the speech from of old. It is time to announce my little twist on the countdown this year.

At the end of last year's countdown, I thought of the many Christmas carols which are beloved but highly obscured by crowd favorites like Jingle Bells and Joy to the World. So, I thought to explore the less widely known carols at a pace of one a day. The carol for today is "Masters in this Hall". I sang it years ago when I participated in a Madrigal dinner. We processed in on this song. I don't think we sang all twelve verses, but we did sing quite a few. This song sketches out the Christmas story from the point of view of a poor man who accompanies the shepherds to Bethlehem.

The picture today is of my first Christmas present which arrived earlier today. Presents feature largely in the Christmas season nowadays, but few remember that it started with the greatest gift of all: a baby.

1. Masters in this Hall,
    Hear ye news to-day
Brought from over sea,
    And ever I you pray:

Chorus
Nowell! Nowell! Nowell!
    Nowell, sing we clear!
Holpen are all folk on earth,
    Born is God's son so dear:
Nowell! Nowell! Nowell!
    Nowell, sing we loud!
God to-day hath poor folk raised
    And cast a-down the proud.

2. Going o'er the hills,
    Through the milk-white snow,
Heard I ewes bleat
    While the wind did blow: Chorus

3. Shepherds many an one
    Sat among the sheep,
No man spake more word
    Than they had been asleep: Chorus

4. Quoth I, "Fellows mine,
    Why this guise sit ye?
Making but dull cheer,
    Shepherds though ye be? Chorus

5. "Shepherds should of right
    Leap and dance and sing,
Thus to see ye sit,
    Is a right strange thing": Chorus

6. Quoth these fellows then,
    "To Bethlem town we go,
To see a mighty lord
    Lie in manger low": Chorus

7. "How name ye this lord,
    Shepherds?' then said I,
"Very God," they said,
    "Come from Heaven high": Chorus

8. Then to Bethlem town
    We went two and two,
And in a sorry place
    Heard the oxen low: Chorus

9. Therein did we see
    A sweet and goodly may
And a fair old man,
    Upon the straw she lay: Chorus

10. And a little child
    On her arm had she,
"Wot ye who this is?"
    Said the hinds to me: Chorus

11. Ox and ass him know,
    Kneeling on their knee,
Wondrous joy had I
    This little babe to see: Chorus

12. This is Christ the Lord,
    Masters be ye glad!
Christmas is come in,
    And no folk should be sad: Chorus

And since you probably don't know the tune, you will by the end of this video!

Weekly Roundup

Photo Credit

To start off, advice for self-editing your own writing and the top 10 tips for self-editing.

What's the value of adversity in a writer's life?

While building a social media presence as an author, a facebook page is becoming essential. But how do you build one that works?

A warning for bloggers: be careful which pictures you use.

And lastly few fun and hopefully inspiring videos:

Alas the sorry state of our English language in the present day. John Branyan tries to illustrate what we've lost.

What a breathtaking and inspiring video! (Enlarge to full screen for maximum effect.)

Until next time!

Links Saturday

Ok, ok. I know the schedule says that Saturdays are when I'd be posting in depth discussions on writing or some other topic related to writing. However, I don't have anything that comes to mind to discuss, so I'll link to you another blog which has an interesting discussion. And I've discovered so much juicy information these past few days that I had to share it. I've learned more about writers, writing and publishing in the past month on Twitter than I have in years previous. I think I made a good choice to dive in (even if Mom thinks I'm crazy [Yes, I do love you, Mom]).

Before the long discussion, another giveaway to report! Sophia Chang is giving away a book and a 25 page critique over at her blog to celebrate her blogaversary. Head on over to enter! (And tell her I sent you. ;) )

Another goodie. "The Story Within" (Penguin books) author Laura Oliver is judging a weekly contest based around writing prompts. Each week will have a different winner and the weekly winners will be entered in a drawing for the Grand Prize: a 2 hour consulting (critiquing?) session with Laura Oliver. So, put on your thinking caps and head over to Laura Oliver's site to read the prompt. Week one entries are due on the 18th! (It's only 250 words or less so I think it's perfectly possible.)

For those of you considering self-publishing, you might find this article informative. It's not just writers seeking traditional publication who have to be careful of scams. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/12/self-publishing-cons_n_1203007.html

And now onto that writerly discussion post I mentioned in the first paragraph. I found it particularly enlightening. (Excerpt below.)

The Business Rusch: Why Not?

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

On TV’s most popular drama series, NCIS, the main character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, walks through the office, and if he hears a stupid statement, he slaps the speaker on the back of the head. Now, this is fiction, mind you. In any real office, military or not, he’d probably be fired, brought up on charges, or forced to have sensitivity training.

But that’s not my point.

My point is: I can relate.

I walk past writer after writer after writer, and as I hear what comes out of their mouths, I want to slap some sense into them. Because words don’t seem to be working.

Which is odd, considering that writers use words as their stock in trade.

The biggest problem writers have as a class isn’t that they work too cheaply, which I wrote about last week, or even that they don’t understand business, which I write about almost every week, but that they think too small.

Huh? you think to yourself as you read this. My last novel clocked in at 140,000 words. I invented an entire world. I don’t think small.

Oh, yes, you do. Every damn day. It’s the rare writer who actually has ambitions—real ambitions—and stands up for them. It’s the rare writer who not only dreams of glory (bestseller lists, millions of dollars, fame, lasting acclaim, or whatever) but actually works toward those dreams.

Click here to continue reading. It's a long post, but well worth the time spent reading it.

One last goodie. I must applaud these indie bookshop owners for all the time invested in creating this video and if I lived in Canada anywhere near them, I would be hopping in the car to visit. Enjoy!



Until next time!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Though a bit tired at present from unwelcome insomnia last night, I have had fun today. We opened presents, watched other people open ours and generally enjoyed ourselves. Then, we set up the new slackline (!) and laughed ourselves silly at everybody else's acrobatics. Dad, in particular, seemed to be attempting to walk it at a 45 degree angle. Now why would he do something that silly? But he did improve on the 2nd go around.

I was going to post pictures of us on the slackline so you could laugh as well, but I ran out of time to get the picture edited and uploaded, so instead here is a wonderful cello rendition of the Carol of the Bells. Another excellent video by The Piano Guys!

Until next time!

4 Days till Christmas!

It's starting to get close now! I can't believe that only four days separate me from Christmas. So, in light of that I was desperately sewing my fingers off today on the present I'm making. However, I still didn't get it done! But, I don't have more than one day's work left. Yay! Since I'm short on time today, I'll leave you with a hilarious video. It has nothing to do with Christmas and everything to do with dancing.

Until next time!

9 Days till Christmas

Yet more lovely distractedness today. For this video the question is, is it real or fake? I found it even more interesting and distracting to read through all the comments debating that point. The first video is the actual prank and the second video has segments on how they did the prank and the results.

On another thought relating to Christmas and writing, do you know of the idiom circulating about how giving is better than receiving? Well, I've come to believe in recent years that it is very true. Lately, I've found it more fun to give people presents and see their reactions rather than receiving presents. So, giving being more fun than receiving could almost be given the placement as the second stage to the process. But then I began thinking. Isn't writing similar? We all start out by receiving (reading), but somewhere along the way, those of us that are writers start enjoying the process of giving (writing) more than receiving (reading). Just a thought.

Short version:

Long version:


Until next time!

10 Days till Christmas

Back yet again slightly later than I had hoped. This christmas present I'm making is throwing me off my stride both on here and for writing. Though, I anticipated it delaying the latter. So I leave you with a very amusing video. I hope you like sheep + led lights + people with too much time on their hands.



Until next time!

14 Days till Christmas/How to Wrap a Cat

So, I'm breaking my tradition today of putting a picture for each day of the countdown. I really just didn't know what to photograph today and was panicking slightly until I saw this video shared on facebook. Please take this in place of the usual picture and enjoy!

It makes me wish I had still had a cat. Oh the sorrow of being a cat person when living in a house with an allergic to cats person. I haven't had a cat since I took on a stray twelve years ago. Her kittens were soooo cute!

On the writing front, I stumbled across an interesting blog post today. I found the link in my daily digest for the yahoo writing group I'm in. It details how the writer boosted her daily word count to 10k. Click here for the blog post.

I'm not sure I could pull off the first tip mentioned, but the other two sound like things I could work on. So, I cobbled together an excel sheet to keep track of my time writing so I can gather some statistics on how I write. That should help improve my productivity. Now, to find a way to counter procrastination....

Until next time!

NaNoWriMo: Day 28

Well....today I backslid again....Around 1k words written which means I'll have a little less than 4k to write on each of the last two days. It sounds like I might have to sacrifice my usual tv shows tomorrow night. It depends on how much I can cram into the afternoon.

Oh, I nearly forgot. I should mention that I had a brainwave on how novella #2 should end, so I do know where this story is going now. And I planned out the sequel. :D "Jump #3 - Atlantis" has now been greenlit.

Words written today: 1,032

Words total: 42,251

Words behind: 4,415

On a sweeter note, I leave you with the video which caused my distraction earlier this evening and started my destructive, downward spiral of video hopping in which I discovered a new musical group that I might have to add to my favorites (look below for one of their videos if you dare) and which led to my writing so few words today.

(Click here for promotional/music video for Shine since I couldn't embed it)

Until next time!

NaNoWriMo: Day 25

My goal for today? Write 3k! Actual writing count? A few hundred. How pathetic is that? It's getting to critical point on how behind I am. I think the graph is hovering around 3k per day to finish on time? Help?

Words written today: 491

Total words: 34,227

Words behind: 7,439

On a lighter note (literally) I leave you with this amazing video I found. I nearly died from bliss. The pianist/composer is top notch and he's arranged an amazing piece.

Until next time!

18 Days till Christmas!

It's inching closer and closer than ever. And so is the end of the semester! I'm very glad to be done with this semester in a few days. Then I'll be able to rest and relax and write for almost 6 whole weeks. What a lovely idea!

My two things for today are not both Christamsy. The first is my video that me and friend made a while back. A Fairy Mistake is the title of it. Enjoy!

Click here for the video.

As for the second item, tis the usual Christmas picture. This time of the Christmas tree set up outside the elevator door at ground level in my dorm. Tis nice to wait for the elevator beside a tree decorated with such pretty ornaments.

Until next time!