Welcome to Day 9 of the Virtual Advent Tour!

Christmas music is one of the most important parts of my holiday celebration. My parents have lots of Christmas albums, and Rudi and I do, too. (I’ll be honest; they’re mostly mine.) For years, my dad made Christmas mixes — first on tape and more recently on cd — and I’ve made my fair share, too. You can read about my process in an earlier Virtual Advent Tour post here.

Part of my weekend plan is to work on my Christmas mix, but in order to do that I like to review as much of the new holiday music as possible. If you follow mainstream music, you’ve probably heard She & Him have a new album out, as do Kacey Musgraves, Pentatonix, and Leslie Odom, Jr. (Aaron Burr from Hamilton). Instead of sharing their songs, which you’ve probably heard on the radio or tv or in the shops, I thought I’d share a half-dozen lesser-known 2016 Christmas tunes with you:

This is an album of electronica. I particularly like the third track, “Gungla the Snowman” by Nonsens:

I know nothing about Woodsy Pride other than that they’ve recorded a Christmas album. Their version of “Greensleeves” is a little dark and a little ponderous, but I like it:

I feel like Best Coast is on the cusp of hitting it big, but that they might still not be on everyone’s radar. Their singer, Bethany Cosentino, has a ’60s girl group sound.” They recorded “Christmas and Every Day” for an American Girl holiday movie streaming on Amazon:

You may be familiar with Low, who released their LP, Christmas, in 2009. (I really loved “Just like Christmas” off that album.) “Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)” is sad, but sometimes you just need sad and not everyone gets that.

Sloan has been around forever, or, at least since I was in high school. While they’re very popular in Canada, I don’t feel like they’re as well known south of the border. Here’s “December 25”:

Finally, here’s The Christmas EP from Mike the Prophet, which includes the fastest version of “Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming” I’ve ever heard:

After heading north on Wednesday and celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday, I still had three days in Connecticut to enjoy.

On Friday, Karen and I got to have lunch. We walked and talked and ate. I drank a very tasty hot eggnog with a shot of gingerbread syrup in it.

Yesterday was a low-key day. Rudi went to watch ski racing. I slept in and then bummed around for a while with my knitting. (No, the Christmas mitts are not done yet. I’m hoping tomorrow night.) My parents went and bought their tree and then the three of us went out for pizza. We finished the evening with a fire in the fireplace and viewings of Prancer and Going My Way.

Today was a busy day. I got up early and wove in some of the ends on my knitting while watching CBS Sunday Morning with my folks. Dad and I took Cranberry, their dog, for a walk, and then I did a little raking. We got their tree into the house. Mum and I made cookies. Dad and I played pool. We all enjoyed one last weekend meal together, and then Rudi and I headed south, leaving just after 8. Traffic was light the whole trip, and we enjoyed all the outdoor light displays folks who live along the highway had set up. We pulled in an hour ago, much to the delight of our cats. Now, it’s time to sleep.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from The Broke and the Bookish asks about the things I’m thankful for:

I’m thankful for my family. I’ve got Rudi and we’ve both got our folks, and Josh and Matt. Not everyone’s so lucky.

I’m thankful for my friends, both near and far.

I’m thankful for our cats. Posey and Jeremiah are getting old and cranky and they and Corey do things that drive me absolutely crazy, but I wouldn’t trade for anyone.

I’m thankful to have a roof over our heads. D.C. has a growing homelessness problem, so I know that’s not something to take for granted.

I’m thankful to have a job. I’m thankful that I like my coworkers most of the time and that I get to research and write for a living.

I’m thankful for my 23-year-old car and it’s glowing toothpaste green color. (I’m also thankful for my mechanic, who fixed the exhaust system earlier this fall so we don’t have to drive north tomorrow with the windows down the whole way.)

I’m thankful we have relatively good health and thankful we have healthcare that will take care of us when we need it to.

I’m thankful we have such a good public library system, with many branches, generous hours, and plentiful books and movies that we can borrow for a long time for free. I’m thankful for the weekly Twitter book chat they host and their download services.

I’m thankful to live in a city with so many bookstores. Even though the charity bookstore that was close to our house closed earlier this year, we still have lots of great options.

I’m thankful for an impressive collection of yarn and for the skills I have learned about how to turn it into garments.

How about you? What are you thankful for?

Rudi and I kicked off the weekend by catching the late show of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I have complete faith in J.K. Rowling, so I went in expecting to enjoy the show, and we’re pleased to report that our faith was justly placed.

I slept in later than I’d hoped on Saturday, which meant that just after I headed out for my bike ride (which I’ll write about another day), the clouds moved in and the wind picked up and the clothes I was wearing for the 70 degree day where no longer nearly enough.

When I got home, I promptly piled all the clothes I owned on and dove under a blanket and a cat and dozed the rest of the night away. Sure, I woke up to eat homemade pizza and to drowsily watch the first hour of Free Birds, but mostly it was an unproductive evening, although I did get the laundry into the washing machine before I went to bed.

Which meant today needed to be far more focused. I got up at a more reasonable hour and got myself into the shower before heading to the farmers market to procure vegetables and breakfast. I cleaned a little and hung up the laundry. When Rudi got home, we went to the grocery store and the library together and were grateful for prompt bus arrivals that meant we didn’t have to wait long in the chilly, gusty weather.

Rudi made a delicious gardener’s pie (a vegetarian shepherd’s pie) for supper, and I worked on sending out our Christmas party invitation and evaluating our Christmas card stock. (It’s lower than I’d hoped; apparently my post-holiday stocking up was the year before last.)

We watched a little tv, and then Rudi retired for the night. I listened to an audiobook and worked on my Christmas mitts. (I think I figured out the rolling picot problem, but it’s going to require redoing the top of that one mitt. I also knit a thumb onto one of them, but it’s too wide, so I need to rip it back and decrease a couple stitches and try again.)

Now, having had a cup of cocoa, I’m going to go find a place in the fridge for the leftovers and the quince we pulled out for me to poach, and wash the dishes, so I can get to bed.

I hope you had a nice weekend!

I know this weekend will fly by. Here’s some of what I hope I can squeeze in:

• Watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
• Get outside early on Saturday before the rain moves in and the temperature drops 20 degrees.
• Complete two final Coffeeneuring bike rides.
• Knit on my Christmas mitts.
• Return books to the library.
• Send out our tree-trimming invitation.
• Do laundry (including handknits).
• Write an Into the Stacks post
• Clean the kitchen.
• Buy Christmas stamps.
• Assess the Christmas card situation to see if I have enough.
• Poach the quince I have in the fridge.

What are you hoping to accomplish this weekend before Thanksgiving?

I’ll be honest: After Tuesday, all I really wanted to do was to take to my bed and stay there. So, Saturday morning, I did just that, not getting up until I was done being asleep. But the problem with post-return to standard time is that the sun sets here at 5. Therefore, sleeping until afternoon is not really as good a thing as it is in the height of summer, when the final daylight drips from the sky close to 10.

I biked over to the library to pick up a book I had on hold, and then meandered around Georgetown for a bit.

Rudi came home from his bike ride, and we headed to the grocery store, coming home with three bags of supplies. (It’s less exciting than it sounds; toilet paper and cat litter take up a lot of space.)

We enjoyed burgers for supper and watched Saturday Night Live.

This morning, we got up early and were off to the farmers market, arriving home just in time for the moment of nature on CBS Sunday Morning. I had time for a muffin and a cup of tea before I had to race off to the garden where I met a fellow gardener to help rake up leaves from the park for our compost bins. Afterwards, I picked two beans, three peppers, and the final tomatoes from the plants.

Rudi and I went for a bike ride in the afternoon, heading over to a cafe he knew of past Georgetown. We sat in the sun for a while, and I started a book and found my place in a piece of knitting that had been sitting for ages.

This evening, Rudi had plans, so I took myself up to the park to enjoy the final rays of sun with a thermos of tea and my book.

At home for the night, I did some laundry, made a sandwich for supper, and baked a batch of cookies, before finishing my novel.

It was a good weekend, and while I’m glad I got some sleep, I’m glad I got up, too.

How was your weekend?