Navy Holiday Concert

Last night we heard the U.S. Fleet Services band present a free holiday concert at a local high school on the VA eastern shore. 

As we remember the anniversary of Pearl Harbor today, we appreciate the services of these talented members of the U.S. Navy. All are also very talented musicians and vocalists.

Sadly, the overall attendance was disappointing with a half-filled auditorium. 

(As mentioned in an earlier post, we're on the road before Christmas and spending the bulk of that time in VA at our home, The Frog & Penguinn, which is under contract. Sadly, there's no wi-fi at the house, so this was done at the local library. We expect to be back in NH to celebrate Christmas and catch up on fellow bloggers. Thanks for your comments on several pre-scheduled posts.) 

Holiday Films

We watch holiday films this time of year . . . 

Our collection includes about 50 holiday films and/or classic TV shows on DVD (we upgraded from VHS). We view them from Thanksgiving to New Year's and try to average one per night, but sometimes miss a night so double up other nights.

With some classics, we watch the original and the remake. For example, 1947 The Bishop's Wife (Cary Grant, David Niven, Loretta Young) was re-made and re-titled in 1996 as The Preacher's Wife (Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance). Another example is the 1947 and then 1994 versions of Miracle on 34th Street. Our preference is for the vintage B&W film. 

Then, there are the weekend movie marathons when we watch several films in sequence, notably the series of Santa comedies with Tim Allen: Santa Clause (1994), Santa Clause 2: The Mrs Clause (2002), Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006). A second marathon is 1990 Home Alone and the 1992 sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. 

Of course, there's numerous versions of the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol of which we have several: 1984 version with George C. Scott, 1998 comedy Scrooged with Bill Murray, 2009 animated film with Jim Carrey, and the 1992 Muppets animation.

Then, there are the "unusual" holiday films, like the 1994 Mixed Nuts, with Steve Martin (named one of the worst films ever made). 
The 1950 The Great Rupert (re-titled A Christmas Wish) with Jimmy Durante featured a dancing squirrel. A 1940 film, Beyond Tomorrow (re-titled Beyond Christmas) is a sentimental tear-jerker.

There's also the classic films, we watch every year: White Christmas, Holiday Inn, It's a Wonderful Life. Our favorites also include these more recent seasonal romantic-comedies:  Love Actually (2003) and The Holiday (2006).

How about YOU . . .

If you enjoy holiday films, which ones and do you watch them every holiday season?

Happy Holiday viewing !

Baseball & Music

Actually these two have nothing in common, except that both were outdoor events we attended in Nashua, NH, this week on different evenings.

We're not avid sports fans, but couldn't pass up the chance to see the collegiate Silver Knights play at Holman Stadium once again as we did nearly 2 years ago.

The Nashua Silver Knights are a summer baseball team competing in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL). Its 24-player roster consists of New England athletes with local community ties who are currently playing collegiate baseball at Division 1, 2 or 3 levels. 

Holman Stadium, which was built in 1937 as a multi-purpose stadium by the City of Nashua, seats 4,375. It's named for Charles Frank Holman, who contributed $55,000 for the project at the time of its construction. 

The Silver Knights mission statement is to provide affordable family entertainment for the Greater Nashua community at Holman Stadium through baseball. Ticket prices start at $5.

The Silver Knights beat the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs 12-1, which may have prompted this team happy dance.

A free music concert, held outside the Nashua Public Library, featured Bill McGoldrick on acoustic guitar accompanied by Britt Hill, a talented singer and songwriter and senior at Berklee College of Music. The library hosts these evening outdoor concerts weekly in July and August.

Outdoor sports and summer concerts are a couple of things we enjoy most about summer road trips. How about you?