In the Mood for Folksy Music - New Finds & Links

I LOVE Itunes, but it can also be a bit additive. Time can slip away like a cat on soft, padded paws as I follow the "If you like _____ then you'll like _____" links. Now that I am on winter break I have allowed myself a bit more time to enjoy it. I take small breaks between working on Christmas gifts (photo retouching - my gifts are all about photos this year) and cleaning. I received an Itunes gift card from Connie and have already spent nearly all of it. Here's what I am downloaded so far:
Cinnamon & Chocolate by Butterfly Boucher
No Christmas for Me by Zee Avi
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song by Fleet Foxes
Never Leave You Heart Alone by Butterfly Boucher
All the Pretty Little Ponies by Kenny Logins
Fidelity by Regina Spektor
First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst)
Samson by Regina Spektor
Hands in Pockets by Laura Gibson
and...The fun continues. I can hardly wait to see what else I will select!

I actually started out wanting some new Christmas music. I found wonderful playlists to enjoy for free on NPR.org. You find them by going to Programs>All Music Considered and search for Holiday Music. If you like traditional music you'll love the Choirs and Carols playlist. If you want something a bit more upbeat and contemporary you can find some fun stuff by listening to Holiday Music (2008) or A Holiday Mix (2007). If you are in the mood for a lovely story and some great piano music listen to A Holiday Gift from Marian McPartland to hear "The Gift of the Magi." There are others worth listening to that I have yet to download. I think you might enjoy it, too.

The Marian McPartland reading made me think of the year that I found one of my favorite pop-up books, The Gift of the Magi ruined by water and heat that had invaded our boxes of Christmas decorations. The find had stunned me. I had wrapped it carefully in plastic which later proved to only hold in the moisture and cause the book to mold as well as decay. It left me sad, so sad that I had to stop decorating for a while. I love my beautiful pop-up books. My mother had given that one to me many years before and I had displayed it each year on the top of my bookshelf. That year Larr searched high and low for a replacement. I think he might have even gone to the trash and copied down that information. But, as usually happens with pop-up, it was no longer available. He found another edition of the book. It was not a pop-up, but the illustrations done by Lizbeth Zweger, one of my favorite artists. The gift took me by surprise. It was one of those times where I felt like I had been really seen and considered. The gift, humble as it was, really touched me. As I listened to Marian McPartland read the story I felt a rush of that emotion and love. We are way behind in putting out our decorations, but you can be sure it will be on the shelf proudly displayed with my other lovely favorites.