The Memory Tree

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Holidays!

The festive greetings seem louder this year and maybe they even mean more.

Bill and I once again managed to put the tree up and got it covered with memories. I am always so proud that each ornament carries its own story going back so many years.

There are the Hungarian hearts sold to me by a woman on a street in Budapest. It was my first trip to Hungary to see where my father was born.

And look at the smallest decorated glass globes! They are what are left of the very first ornaments we purchased 62 years ago when newly wed. We were so young and just starting our lives as adults.

I love the doggy memories too. One real ostrich egg has our pair of Golden Retrievers painted on, and another is of my brother’s Dalmation. The horses are there too – Martini and Lucy.

The list goes on and the finally the fully dressed tree each year is actually a biography of a family.

That is what Christmas is all about – Past, Present, and Future. So, I am wishing you, my family and friends, good health and happiness and more of the same and lots of great memories in days to come.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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Entertaining Tears

 

Hearing the Zither Once More

It began with a zither player named Tomy Temerson who came aboard our river boat in Germany to provide an evening of surprise entertainment.

His “zithermusik” was fabulous as we listened to tunes like Edelweiss, La vie en Rose, Maria Elena, and the theme from the Third Man.

The zither, according to Tomy, originated in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the German speaking countries of Europe).  And although it is an ancient musical instrument, its heyday was in the 1920’s. If you could not afford a piano you would buy a zither.  Tomy played for us on an instrument made in 1928.

Tomy Temerson, Zither Player

Bill was especially excited to hear this music since he listened to his mother play when he was a young boy.  And we were so moved by the beautiful music and the unexpected surprise of the evening that we were both on the verge of tears.

From: http://musicofyesterday.com

A zither is a stringed instrument that is plucked with a “plectrum” and could be one of the most ancient musical instruments.  It consists of a flat box which lies on the table, strung with five metal strings passing over the frets, and from 27 to 40 strings of various kinds played as open strings plucked with the fingers to form the accompaniment to the melody which was played with a plectrum, on the strings nearest the performer.

Hungarian Gypsy Music

On another evening two violinists came aboard, accompanied by a guitar player.

They played classical music that was so heart rending we were literally struck dumb.

And then they veered off to Hungarian gypsy music!

When I was a young girl, my Hungarian father extolled the beauty of such music.  He told me how it went from deeply tragic and sad to extremely lively and joyful, and that it inevitably would bring the listener to tears.

I was stunned to hear the music of my father’s origins played by a wonderful trio of beautiful  talented young people.

And yes, I was brought to tears.

As you might imagine, we purchased both CD’s!

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