I Love Those J-I-N-G-L-E, Bells...

This photo is from the blog "Simply Marvelous" a beautiful blog on horses.

I have two favorite versions of the "Jingle Bells" song; one sung by Frank Sinatra and the other by Harry Connick Jr. Every time I hear them, it puts a little hop to my step and I can't help but sing along.

One of my favorite holiday trivia questions is this :

What is the name of the horse pulling the sleigh in the song "Jingle Bells" ?

I'll wait while you sing the song in your head....

We had friends stop over last night and over a glass of wine, we discussed the holiday and if we were "all done". I was so surprised that I found myself saying "yes"! I cannot remember the last time I felt "ready". It seems I am always cramming to get last minute things done like baking cookies, mailing packages or cards. This year, my cards have been mailed, packages have gone out and I have only a few recipes left to bake. It is leaving me feeling as if I am forgetting something!

Friends and family joked because last year, we did not send a Christmas card, but a Happy New Year card. From our discussion last night, I now realize why. There were other priorities.

This time last year we were without power due to a massive ice storm. I'm not talking a few hours without power, I'm talking days. My husband was in Chicago. He was trying to beat the storm home (which he did) and come to my rescue as I had a very long day bailing out our sump pump and snaking extension cords to neighbors' outlets to help me save our month old finished basement. Can one feel thankful and also feel like they are getting kicked in the pants at the same time? Well, I guess that's how I would describe it, because thankfully, the other half of our neighborhood DID have power, so I was able to plug in to get the sump pump working. The kick came when at night, I could look out my window and see every light, every Christmas light display and even heat escaping from chimneys, as some neighbors were blissfully unaware that Siberia was out their back door.

Generators were at a premium on day 2. We were able to get one and keep the sump pump and our refrigerator working. I never realized how dependent we are on electricity! More luck for us: we replaced our electric stove for a gas version, so at least I could cook! By day 3, winter camping in our house was beginning to get old and we decided that if the power did not come on the next day, we would go where it was available. While sharing pizza with our friends, we noticed that Christmas lights were blazing on our side of the neighborhood. We asked in disbelief, "Now why would you waste generator power on lights?!!" Then we saw lights up and down the street. "We have POWER!!, Ok, love ya and thanks for the pizza, but we are going home!" I never knew turning on ALL the lights in one's house could bring such joy! I guess I was listening to the radio when the power went out, because as we walked in, I could hear Frank singing "Jingle Bells".

Did you figure it out?

I know, it's a trick question. The song doesn't say- but most people think it's Bobtail. The lyrics are actually:

"Bells on bob tails ring, making spirits bright..."

It was fun to sing it though, wasn't it?

Yup, my spirits are bright this year and so are the lights on my tree.