Good morning and Merry Christmas!!!

Put on fresh pots of Christmas Blend coffee and the seasonal teas. Put out some more candy canes. Cold beverages are looking good and kettle is primed.

Enjoy the holiday, y'all!

Natalia Sarsgard (formerly Tsarikova) is a marvelous Russian-born soprano with a love of rock music. Her holiday release is a cover of what may be my favourite song right now, Nightwish classic "Ever Dream".

So after a bit of hunting around, I found a suitable coffee. Christmas Blend is from a place called Murchie's. Got some brewed up.

For teas, we have Santa's Secret from David's (mint black tea) and Naught & Nice from Tea Haus.

Cold beverages are the usual, but I made pink lemonade just to brighten things up for the holidays.

And the kettle is ready for making hot chocolate or other fine teas.

And there's a treat out, too.

Apollo5, and their sibling group Voces8, have been favourites of mine for a few years now. This new arrangement of "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan still managed to blow me away. Soprano Penelope Appleyard, who opens the performance, did the arranging and it is magnificent.

Death Wish puts the "dark" in "Dark Roast" in a special way, so I've put some on. I'll find something cheerier for the holidays.

Teas? I've got Tea Haus' Christmas blend Naughty and Spice along with some more conventional Yorkshire Gold (a nice black tea blend).

Cold beverages? The usual, but in freshly cleaned pitchers decorated with with red ribbons.

And the kettle stands ready for hot chocolate or our selection of other fine teas.

I've got the fire going and stockings hung. A tree is blinking its lights in the back corner. Garlands festoon the counter.

I would say that Christmas is here.

Peach, I think. Haven't had either in a long time, though. Last pie I had was blueberry, in honour of a major project at work that somehow got codenamed "Blueberry Pie". And now we've added "Ice Cream" in the form of a follow-up that has now been merged with the main project.

Anyhow, pie with or without ice cream?

Never had it with custard. Or really cream sauce either. The sauce Mom used to put on was some kind of dark, sweet one. Couldn't even tell you now what it was. I will take custard.

Ice cream or cheese on apple pie?

Ape walks in and wipes brow. Had to scrape ice off the flipping car again. Winter. You know I hate it.

Washes sundry pots and pitchers

Now, we have some dark roast Nicaraguan in the coffee pot. There's Russian Caravan and Yorkshire Gold in the teapots. Hot chocolate and other teas are stocked up. Pitchers are filled with fresh iced tea and lemonade.

I am truly in a writing rut. Nothing I start goes anywhere but the bin. Maybe the muse will show up on the coming long weekends or my cruise next month. Do muses like cookies? 🤔

Porcupine Tree, with one of their "hits" (for their fanbase anyhow), "Fear of a Blank Planet" from their new live album.

I don't think we have an iHeart affiliate around here. They are rarer in Canada than in the US, I guess. Not interested in 24x7 Christmas anyhow.

Been listening to UK artist Steven Wilson, both solo and with his band Porcupine Tree, quite a bit. His blend of rock, pop, prog, jazz, and even metal is quite appealing to my eclectic musical tastes.

How cold are we talking? I was out in single digit weather yesterday, but once we get much below freezing (I'm talking Celsius, by the way), my inclination to do so drops noticeably unless there's a good reason to do so (e.g. when my kid was little and I took him tobogganing or to an outdoor rink for skating).

Laptop or Pro tablet (e.g. MS Surface) with a keyboard dock?

It's Sunday. So where the eff is the sun. Dark as all get out here. with some rain to boot.

But here in Inspirations, we have the flickering firelight to keep us cozy even on the dreariest of days. And to remind of summer, there's Tobermory Flowerpot Island coffee brewing. Teas are English Breakfast and Sunday tea. Kettle is ready for hot chocolate and other teas while the cold beverages are refreshed.

Later...

Hey there and happy weekend.

Got some Fire-Roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe in the coffee pot. Teas are Scottish Breakfast and Earl Grey Cream. The kettle is filled and ready if you want hot chocolate or other teas. Mini marshmallows and various coffee and tea additives are all stocked up. Usual cold beverages are in the fridge.

One week until the holidays. No big plans here. Probably a visit from my son and d-i-l. We have a vacation coming up in January so that's our big plan, I guess.

Dang. Missed the beignets. I got in a walk today, too. 10C and sunny, which is pretty good for a week before the Winter Solstice here.

Kind of flailing with writing. Nothing is really holding my attention past a few paragraphs. Will keep trying different ideas to see what sticks.

Christmas Cake. Haven't really had a good one since Mom died (she made it every year).

Wrap gifts or use gift bags?

With the recent passing of Denny Laine, who co-wrote the song, this live cover of Paul McCartney & Wings' "Mull of Kintyre" by The Trews ft. the Pipes & Drums of the Royal Highland Fusilliers of Canada is timely. It's a lovely, fairly faithful rendition of a song I have loved since I first heard it on its initial release.

Ape strolls in, looks around, grunts. Grabs broom and gives the place a pass. Wipes down the furniture. Washes the coffee and tea pots along with the pitchers from the fridge. Gets a fire going.

How's things? We have some Nicaraguan dark roast from Las Chicas in the coffee pot. Teas du jour are Irish Breakfast and Russian Caravan. Pitchers in the fridge have fresh lemonade and iced tea. Kettle is ready with hot chocolate (lots of mini marshmallows) and other tea selections.

There. Back in shape.

Later, alligators.

Hi there. Sorry, this place has not exactly been top of mind of late. Been working away at writing for another site. Plus busy days in life and work. Will attempt to visit more regularly going forward but we shall see.

Thanks for covering, Red.

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” - Isaac Asimov

Good evening! Ape here. Had plumbers in today to find and fix a leak in my shower stall. Hopefully it's all done. Now I need a ceiling repaired. 🙄

I'll put the kettle on for a green tea (sencha, the Japanese variety). There's plenty of hot water if someone wants something else.

Meditating on my next story. Been kind of focussed on a piece for another site but it nears completion (I think).

Mulled wine sounds nice. I like nog, too, but it's a bit rich for my blood and my friend's egg nog spoiled me for any others. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. (yes, rum was involved, why do you ask?)

Real or fake Christmas tree?

Boo!

No, I have not vanished. Just been kind of flailing around recently.

Nice to see you joining us in Inspirations, red. To be honest, what we really need is more people active on the site as a whole. We get a rush over from (redacted) every time there's a comp but they never stay. Guess we're not fun enough or something.

Hope all are well. Will try to be around more.

And 7 out of the top ten songs on that list were from Floor Jansen's debut solo album Paragon. No surprises there. I fell hard for her voice when I got into Nightwish and her first solo effort after 25 years in various bands is rock solid and full of the powerhouse vocals that are her trademark.

My favourite song off the album is, hands down, "Daydream".

And after nearly 6 months off recovering from her busy Spring and having a baby, Floor returns to the stage Friday night in Amsterdam with Anneke van Giersbergen opening and a guest appearance by Irene Jansen, Floor's sister and occasional singing partner.

Interesting video by Marcela Bovio explaining the origin of her album Through Your Eyes (2018).

Which produced a large number of the songs on my most-played list for 2023 on Amazon Music. It's an amazing album that I quite love. One of my favourite songs from the album.

Yeah I know someone through another site who is "de-cluttering". We need to go through the basement, which is basically our warehouse, eventually.

Getting on in the say but I will put on a pot of medium roast coffee and some Assam tea.

Kind of caught up in life and writing for other sites so nothing really happening for here right now.

At home. My mother was actually born on New Year's Eve so it was always a family night at home for her birthday and I guess the habit stuck. The only time I have been out for New Year's is if I am on vacation over the holiday, which has happened a couple times.

Healthy party tray (e.g. veggies) or hit the chips and dip?

Whoa, that is some seriously epic symphonic metal. Not a surprise to see Natalya working with them. She's always done a great job with symphonic metal covers. Apparently the album came out November 3 so I am off to Amazon Music, my streamer, to see if they have it.

Good morning!

I am brewing so fine Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from FireRoasted. Teas are Irish Breakfast and Duke of Earl. Fresh pitchers of lemonade and iced tea are in the fridge.

So Sara's new avatar reminded me of the famous Coca Cola polar bear ads.