Christmas Tunage...

When delving into Christmas music there are all kinds of dangers you can encounter for Music is subjective. While you can love a song it may sound like fingernails on a chalkboard to others.
This Christmas music list is MY list not yours, this is not a debate. If you think I am out of my mind great, so be it. If you hate something on this list and feel the need to comment realize you are also commenting on a choice that means something to me.
What appeals to me in a Christmas song? For me personally it's a time of peaceful hope. Being a man of faith, it's a celebration of when Jesus came to Earth. On a humanistic side, faithful or not, it can be a time for humans to just step back and care for one another without looking for something in return, something we should be doing all year. If a song lyrically hits those targets, my heart takes notice. Musically, if it's a traditional carol, either stick to tradition or do such a unique cover and make it your own. If you do that then my ears take notice.
   I have 500+ Christmas cd's even I will admit that's too many. I am using my iTunes play count to guide me on what I've been listening to the most the past few years and see if there are any new additions... Let's get started.


#1. Lowen & Navarrow's "At Long Last...Christmas"
#2. Jill Phillips and Andy Gullahorn "Christmas"
#3 Dave Grisman's "Acoustic Christmas"
#4 Riki Michele's "Come let us adore him"
#5 Smalltown Poets "Christmas"
#6 The Gypsy Hombres "Django Bells"
#7 Eric Tingstad & Nancy Rumble "The Gift"
#8 Uncle Daddy "Christmas"
#9 Mel Torme's "Christmas Songs"
#10 Amy Grant's "Home for Christmas"
#11 Riders in the Sky "Christmas the Cowboy Way"
#12  A compilation, Bethlehem Skyline
#13 Andrew Peterson "Behold the Lamb"
...and quickly climbing my "plays" numbers is (just got it) Carolyn Arends brand new "Christmas: the Story of Stories"
#14 The Cambridge Singers " Carols of the Nativity"
#15 Fernando Ortega "Christmas Songs"
#16 Casting Crowns "Peace on Earth"
#17 Christmas Cocktails
#18 A Very Blue Rock Christmas
New for 2016
#19 Colorfair

#20 Ginny Owens, The Greatest Gift

#21 Cara Dillon


    This should be enough for you to understand what my photo editing area sounds like during the holidays. If feeling stressed I will full admit I will pull some of these out even in the Summer. These tunes put me in a better place.
Now I know there are hundreds of more artists and albums this is just my personal top choices.

    In this time in the world when there is so much hatred, there's a passage that can be implemented  no matter what religion you practice or if any at all. The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" or treat others how you would like to be treated, Not hard...

Peace Y'all!!!

Right out of a movie...

The mysterious bachelor uncle that may have shown up for Thanksgiving or Christmas or may be off golfing in FL, we never knew.
My Mother's Brother Phil, never married. He was always alone. Growing up, we only heard from him a few times a year. At his funeral a woman showed up with a shoebox full of letters from the 1940s and gave them to us. Phil had amazing elegant handwriting and these were all love letters from Phil to this woman. I mean LOVE letters. She was Catholic and my Grandpa was a pretty tough Protestant who forbade the union. Phil's letters were full of "You are a good person don't listen to what my family says" affirmations towards her. All this while he's in flight school then stationed during the war. None of us knew this happened or that he was even capable of "love". I found a wedding announcement in his possessions from her saying that she married in 1946. I speculate that it had such an impact on him that he never married. Her husband passed and at the funeral, sobbing told us Phil was the only one she ever really loved... We were all shocked and saddened.
This seems like it should be a movie script but it actually happened. The fact that this was all hidden until after his passing boggles my mind.