Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

By Francis P. Church, first published in The New York Sun in 1897.

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor—

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Well, okay then

There's a shift happening within me that is very new and very big. Quite unexpected as well. You see, it seems as though I've suddenly veered off my current path and now find myself on another path, which is mostly uncharted territory:

I think I'm a vegetarian.

Maybe it's not such a crazy new path. My eating habits have certainly changed a fair amount in the past five years or so. I haven't had soda of any sort in a couple of years - not that it was ever a huge part of my diet, but I did drink it occasionally. Fast food isn't really on the menu for me, other than a soup or sandwich from Tim's or a slice of pizza now and then. The husband and I had burgers from DQ a year and a half ago, in a moment of road trip desperation, and we were both SO sick that the very thought of going back makes me feel ill.

(Obviously I'm talking savoury food here. I have definitely eaten more than my fair share of fast food baked goods from Starbucks and Tim's, not to mention ice cream from DQ.)

I've been thinking of myself as a flexitarian for a while now, since reading In Defense of Food. I can easily go a few days without eating meat. But then, about a week or so ago, I read an article that led me to this book.



Okay, don't laugh! I know it's written by Cher from Clueless, but it's very well-written and informative. Alicia Silverstone has been full-on vegan for some time now and the book is well-footnoted, citing various studies and the like.

But I'm not here to defend it. I'm here to tell you that it got to me. That her descriptions about how animals are treated made me cringe and feel rather sick to my stomach. It's not that it all came as a huge surprise. I wasn't walking around thinking that all of the cows I have eaten had long, happy, peaceful lives in big grassy fields and then, when they were done enjoying the sunshine, they fell over dead naturally and then became my hamburgers. To be honest, I didn't really think about their lives. And when I did come across happy-looking cows in a field, I didn't think of hamburgers.

I buried my head in the sand a bit. Not all the way, but it was definitely lodged securely.

Now that I've read this book, I can't seem to put my head back in the sand. So I haven't touched meat in about a week and a half. And I'm cutting back on dairy, too. And I can't say for sure if this is going to stick, but it seems like it might.

Don't worry though! I have every intention of reading more books and thoroughly learning about this new lifestyle choice. If you have any hints or suggestions - send them my way!

Aaaaaaaannnnnnd....Action!

Here's the thing - I didn't even want a wedding video. I'm not sure why, exactly. Maybe I was imagining a big old camera and a boom mic? Maybe I was just in cost-cutting mode. But when the Husband's good friend offered to record the day on his digital dvd cam (he's in the film business) at the last minute, I said, "Why not!?" Still, I didn't think to much about it and it wasn't really on my radar.

Until all the pomp and circumstance (and laughter) of the day was done and then I couldn't wait to get my hands on it, so I could relive every moment from a different point of view.

Well, the Husband finally got it last night and we watched it over dinner and beyond. Not only do we have the whole ceremony - including the amazing speeches that were included within - but we also got all of the rest of the speeches from the night. And we were both almost in tears while watching, both from the overwhelming emotions of that night and from laughing at our crazy friends (who were totally making fun of us).

THANK GOODNESS for good friends who have hindsight on their side and know that those are moments you're going to want to keep for a long, long time.

You've got to have friends

At one point, about a week before the wedding as we were finalizing the seating chart, we realized how incredibly talented all of our friends are. The small crowd at our nuptials included writers (both of books, television shows and movies), editors (book and magazine), actors, singers, directors, visual artists, interior designers, seamstresses, poets, aerospace engineers, carpenters, producers, photographers, teachers, gardeners, musicians and more. In fact, we came to the conclusion that we were probably the least interesting people at our own wedding!

But it's probably good to surround yourself with talented people, right? Keeps you motivated to be the best that you can be.

Anyway, I bring this up because last night we went to see this guest in The Messiah. She was the soprano soloist in a gorgeous burgundy gown and the whole show came alive when she stepped up to sing. I have known her since I was 15 and she was a gorgeous 14-year-old. (At 15, I was not so gorgeous...) We both wore overalls a lot and her talent, even then, blew us all out of the water. I get SO proud when I watch her perform. (Well, I'm pretty crazy proud of all of my talented friends' accomplishments!) Want an idea of how good she is? Watch this:

A snippet of history

The Olympic Torch ran right past my apartment tonight. I almost watched from the balcony, but instead chose to be part of the action. And somehow I picked the perfect spot to stand:

8 days to go!

A little view of Christmas chez moi. As the day itself draws closer, I've confirmed something important about myself—I cannot live in a house with large amounts of Christmas baking. I'm looking forward to bringing a bunch of it to the office on Friday and sending some more with the Husband to his office. Then we'll STILL have some, which we'll bring up north next week. And then?

A baking moratorium. For at least a little while.

Oh, I'm monkeying around with the blog a bit, which you've probably noticed. This isn't the final form, but I like the more neutral template for the moment. We'll see what 2010 brings. Another new look AND a baking moratorium.

The Gingerbread Forest

The Husband and I devoted some time this past weekend to creating our very own gingerbread woodland creatures.



Check out the moose! He's our favourite:



And a whole forest full of yummy, yummy animals:



Ready for Christmas!

Oh Christmas Tree

Ah, how I love a Christmas tree! They're so beautiful. And sometimes they are perfect design elements that carry a home's style into the holidays.



But that one's not mine! This one is:



The Husband and I bought it on Thursday evening, started decorating it on Friday night and then finally finished it off this morning. As you can see, it's slightly wonky, with a few branches sticking out much further than the others, and it lacks a certain overall design aesthetic. But what it does have is a whole bunch of history.

These apple ornaments were the very first ones I ever bought for myself, my first Christmas away from home back in 1996:



I bought my angel that year too, from a very country-chic store. I certainly wouldn't describe our apartment as country-chic in any way, but I'm still drawn to the simple apples and the homey angel with the paper hair.



The first year that the Husband and I were dating, he took a two-week trip to Scotland in the fall. One of the gifts that he brought home for me was this little plaid Santa:



The second year that we were dating, he took me to The Bay at Eaton Centre to see their big Christmas display, which they call Christmas Street. He bought these ornaments that day and he gets excited about them every year when we bring them out.



Two years ago I asked my mom what happened to all of the ornaments that hung on our Christmas trees during my childhood, since both my parents remarried when I was in my twenties. Turns out that she had many of them tucked away, so she sent them across the country to me. Included in that precious parcel were all sorts of German wooden ornaments from our years overseas, such as this little Oktoberfest guy:



And some elaborate crafty ornaments we made almost 30 years ago that involved blown eggs and some fancy decoupage:



Those old ornaments are probably my favourite, because they bring back that feeling of childhood Christmases with my original family. (Not that I don't adore all of the new versions of my family, but there's something special about remembering where you started.)

And finally, we have the ornaments supplied by the fantastic guy I chose for a husband:



Nothing says Christmas like the dark side of the Force!

Now for the money shot:



Ahhhhhh, Christmas.

Holiday bits and bobs

Phew! I finally buckled down tonight and finished all the cards. By the way, if you were at the wedding, you're getting a hybrid holiday/thank you card. Hope that's okay! There was just no way I could conceive of doing thank you cards AND holiday cards for everybody.

Speaking of cards, check out this charming holiday stationary:





These holiday options come from Rifle Paper Co. They also make personalized calling cards with a little illustration of your face. I'm putting those on my wish list for Santa. (By the way, most of my own Christmas cards came from Zellers. I got them on sale at the end of last December...)

Another fun thing that I found on my blog rounds are these clever cheat sheets for gift buyers:



How cute, eh!? You know, when I worked at La Senza while I was in high school, a man once came in with a wallet-sized version of something like this, with all of his wife's sizes on it. I have never forgotten that smart man! Oh check out Made in England by Gentlemen to download your own cheat sheets. (The Husband did note that the boy's cheat sheet should include things like what size of TV he would like and electronic things like that. Little does he know that I'm totally buying him a sweater!)

One more thing for all of you looking for an adorable, homemade, Canadian gift for someone special (or your special self):



My super-talented, crazy-smart, beautiful friend makes, names and sells these little bunnies at craft shows around Toronto. Check out her blog to find out when and where. If you think these are awesome, wait until you see the rest of her stuff!

And now I'm going to do some household tidying to prepare for the soon-to-be temporary addition to our little home: our Christmas tree! Luckily a little lot selling trees has sprung up less than 100 metres from our front door, so we won't even have to vacuum pine needles out of the back of the car. Stay tuned for a post with pics!

Left to my own devices

I may have inadvertently spent too much time alone this weekend. Not on purpose, but the Husband headed out of town and I had enough stuff to do that I didn't make any plans. I expected him home this evening and planned to bombard him with all of my need for human interaction. Alas, snow squalls up in Owen Sound mean he's going to sit tight until tomorrow morning. So the solitude continues.

Thank goodness for my blog!

Okay, so the big excitement of the weekend was the first batch of professional wedding photos! So far we only have the online web gallery, so I can't post any of the pics here. But you can see them all yourself if you click here and then use the password: Archeos.

I have LOTS of favourites! And I kind of wish I could turn 072 into a mask to just wear around when I'm having an off day. Tell me which ones are your favourites!

The crazy part is that we'll be getting EVEN MORE in a couple of weeks, when we get all the digital files and our proof book. Can't wait! I'll be sure to post some then.

I did a fair bit of movie viewing over the weekend, including this one:



I watched it while I was doing the Christmas baking, because I wanted something festive. I didn't expect much, but I was entertained! Although, I have this vague recollection that there were reports that Vince and Reese didn't get along during filming, so I couldn't help but look for cracks in their performances.

In order to bring some artistry to the weekend, I finally watched this:



Marion deserved that Oscar, I tell you! An incredible performance. But what a seriously sad life that poor Edith Piaf had. I felt a little guilty getting entertainment out of her pain.

I also became one of the zillions of people to see this:



I'm still completely on the fence about this whole phenomenon. Maybe I'm just too old? Although, I generally love all things produced for tween and teen girls. I also really enjoy Amanda Bynes, which is why I was so disturbed to see this:



She used to be cute and funny. Now she just looks cheap and slutty. Poor Amanda!

Anyway, in addition to a variety of chores, some exercise and a flexing of my creative muscles, I also ate more of the baking than I intended to and made this fantastic soup. All in all, a pretty good December weekend! But next weekend will definitely involve other people!

Sugar and spice and everything nice

Growing up, my mom did a ton of baking for the holidays. She would start in October, filling our basement freezer with mincemeat tarts, shortbread, Nanaimo bars, cookies and more. Unfortunately for her, my sweet tooth knew no bounds and I would routinely dip into the frozen supplies, depleting her stash and occasionally leaving her a little short when company arrived. To this day I have a soft spot for frozen baked goods.

Today, with the Husband up north, the house to myself and the holiday spirit humming within me, I took a page from my mom's book and baked up a storm. I baked enough that my cat, hungry for some attention, took it upon herself to pull a soup bowl off the ottoman, breaking it.

I baked enough to make quite a mess. Here's a shot I snapped when I was already half way through the clean up!



I made my mom's famous Nanimo bars. (I haven't perfected how to make them pretty yet. But they taste fantastic!) I confess that the Husband and I made these two years ago, and when the chocolate on top refused to cut nicely without breaking, we deemed them not worthy for presentation and ate the WHOLE PAN ourselves.



Chocolate chip butterscotch bars. This was a new recipe and they turned out pretty damn delicious, if I do say so myself.



And my first go at shortbread. I don't think I'll use this recipe again, but they have Toblerone pieces in the, so how bad can they be?



Next week, with my lovely Husband, it will be time for sugar cookies and gingerbread! We got some awesome cookie cutters as part of a very generous wedding gift and we can't wait to use them.

Oh! And don't fear for our figures! We have a few holiday events to attend, so all of this is being baked so we can spread it around. After all, that tropical honeymoon is fast approaching...

It's a good thing needles don't bother me!

Warning! If you have very strong feelings AGAINST vaccinations, just do yourself a favour and don't read this post. Seriously, Jenny McCarthy and company - just look away!

Okay. Welcome to the rest of you!

I am in the process of becoming a human pincushion.

It all started with my first trip to see my new doctor, who is clearly very pro-vaccine. In our delightfully thorough first meeting, she asked all sorts of questions that my last doctor never even touched on. (He also made me cry once, but that's another story.) The topic of chicken pox came up and I was all, "Ya, I'm pretty certain I never had that." And she was all, "Well, for some people it's just one pock and they don't even notice. Let's take some blood and find out if you're immune." The blood test was very clear - I have never, ever, ever had chicken pox. And not only is it bad to get as an adult, it's REALLY bad to get if you're pregnant. So I made an appointment and got a needle in each arm. One side for chicken pox and the other for measles, mumps and rubella. (Also things I never had.) On the way out I am prompted to make an appointment for early in the new year because I need a booster to complement the first shots. Sigh.

While I had an audience with my doctor, we had the whole H1N1 discussion. I had debated with various people about whether or not to get the shot. I didn't have a strong feeling either way, to be honest. I also have a pretty wicked immune system, if I do say so myself. (And I maintain that it's because I'm not fanatic about germs and stuff. Germs happen. I avoid eating spoonfuls of dirt, but other than that I don't stress too much.) But the doctor sort of talked me into it, so I'm headed in next week to get both the regular and the H1N1. More holes in my arms.

THEN the Husband asked me if I thought we needed any shots for our upcoming honeymoon (42 DAYS!) and so I asked my doctor's office about that. They said I should get the Twin RX vaccine for Hep A and B. It involves two shots fairly close together AND a booster. Holy crap!

So, if you see me out and about and I have a slight glow about me, it's just because I'm slowly, but surely, becoming bionic with the help of modern medicine.