“Silver bells, Silver bells, it’s Christmas time in the city.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The City of Paris tree<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n “Silver Bells” was our mother’s favorite Christmas song.\u00a0 I remember back in the 1950’s we had a record player that was roughly the size of a modern day refrigerator<\/strong>.\u00a0 I thought it was a miracle of engineering\u00a0that we could stack records on top of each other and they would drop in succession.\u00a0 At Christmastime our mother couldn’t get enough of “Silver Bells” so each time it concluded she rushed\u00a0to the record player to keep the next record from dropping so she could hear it again.\u00a0 The song was\u00a0our anthem; every year during the Christmas season we got\u00a0dressed up, including gloves and hat, to make the 22 mile trip into San Francisco<\/strong>.\u00a0 We had three destinations:\u00a0 the Christmas tree in the City of Paris rotunda, the windows at Gump’s, and getting a sundae at Blum’s on Union Square.\u00a0 Only Gump’s has managed to survive.\u00a0 Blum’s closed in the 70’s and Neiman Marcus is now in the City of Paris building.\u00a0 The magic of the City of Paris Christmas tree<\/strong> was not only its 40 foot size,\u00a0but the decorations\u00a0– tricycles, dolls, trains and all manner of toys, bright lights, glass bulbs and a huge star on top.\u00a0 Each year it was a bit different and each year I stared at it in wide-eyed wonderment.\u00a0 When Neiman Marcus bought the store they tried to carry on the tradition but judging by this\u00a0year’s effort –\u00a0a metal, blue spiral cone hung upside down – they have done an abysmal job of it.\u00a0 Where is the magic in that?\u00a0 <\/em>Makes me glad I grew up when I did.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Silent Night, Holy Night”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Our grandmother was in her 50’s when our grandfather\u00a0died in 1948.\u00a0\u00a0She\u00a0never re-married.\u00a0 She referred to him constantly<\/strong> and loved to keep his memory alive through stories.\u00a0 She had a full life but\u00a0was always a little sad around the holidays when she missed him most of all.\u00a0 His favorite Christmas carol was “Silent Night”.\u00a0\u00a0 When all of our relatives would come on Christmas morning our mom would always have Christmas albums playing (by now we had graduated to a “console”).\u00a0 The problem was that “Silent Night” would bring our grandmother to tears.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Unfortunately, of the approximately 87 Christmas albums our mother had,\u00a0“Silent Night”\u00a0seemingly appeared on all of them.\u00a0 So my job was to remember the various “cuts” on the albums\u00a0where “Silent Night” was placed and then race to the console to skip over the track before grandma dissolved into tears.\u00a0 I can’t hear that song today without thinking about her\u00a0and about the countless times I practically tripped over the Christmas tree lurching for the record player.<\/p>\n “Through the years we all will be together, if the Fates allow…”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n A jolly man indeed!<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n This will be the 15th Christmas without our dad.\u00a0 I miss him just as much this year as I did that very first one.\u00a0 He\u00a0was a happy, joyful guy,<\/strong> always\u00a0kind and helpful to\u00a0others.\u00a0 He was also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.\u00a0 All year long he embodied the Christmas spirit and when I was very young I thought he even looked like\u00a0Santa<\/strong>, \u00a0with his twinkling blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a\u00a0stomach that shook like a bowl full of jelly.\u00a0 He loved the holidays,\u00a0welcoming friends and family alike into our home.\u00a0 Our whole family misses his loving spirit but we also recognize\u00a0we were very lucky to have him<\/strong> as long as we did and\u00a0are grateful that he left us with so many cherished Christmas memories.<\/p>\n “…So have yourself a Merry Little Christmas now.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n One of Pop’s hallmarks\u00a0was the Ice Cream fizz he served every Christmas morning.\u00a0 Oh sure, most families had hot chocolate and cider while we were drinking gin.\u00a0 But don’t judge – it\u00a0has\u00a0given a roseate hue to many a Christmas morning<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0So this year we are once again sharing his recipe so that you and your family might also enjoy this wonderful tradition.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n POP’S CHRISTMAS ICE CREAM FIZZ<\/strong><\/p>\n Fill a blender 1\/4 full with ice cubes<\/span><\/p>\n Add 6 jiggers of gin<\/span><\/p>\n Add 4 scoops of French Vanilla ice cream<\/span><\/p>\n Add 1 small bottle of soda water (the size you get in a 6-pack)<\/span><\/p>\n My brother Bob adds an egg so the white adds some froth, brother Jack doesn’t add an egg. \u00a0Personally, I’d add it just because you can then claim it’s a protein drink.<\/span><\/p>\n Just blend it well and –\u00a0voila –\u00a0<\/span><\/em>you have a concoction sure to put a positive spin on everyone and every thing!<\/span><\/p>\n Our mom served them in a wine glass with a dash of nutmeg. \u00a0As we got older we would conspire with Pop and ditch the wine glass for \u00a0a chilled beer mug from the freezer. Saved having to go back for seconds…or thirds.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We wish everyone a Happy Holiday season<\/strong> – we’ll be back in 2017!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Music, in all of its forms, always seems to evoke memories of times past.\u00a0 That is never more true than at Christmas when emotions run a bit higher and\u00a0hearing a carol on the radio can make … read more![\"The](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/City-of-Paris-tree-212x300.jpg\")
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