Auld Lang Syne

Today's a day for looking back and forward. Elizabeth Scalia and Peggy Noonan with some great thoughts on the song.

For us personally, it's been an interesting year. We've had some challenges and lots of blessings. There have been an unusual number of marriages in the family this year, and we've gotten to meet some new family members. David just got an interesting new job. All in all, I feel pretty grateful right now. We won't be going out, but Ken brought us some sparkling cider with which to "tak a cup o' kindness". Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow.

Dougie MacLean with all the lyrics to the great old song here. It really is remarkable that this song has stuck with us through changes in culture and language. I think that's a good thing. Here's Guy Lombardo's instrumental if you want to sing it yourself. Another interesting tradition.

Hope everyone is looking forward to a bright New Year.

If you want something a little different for New Years Day, you might try Blackeyed Pea Confetti Salad

Goodbye to Kodachrome

A nice history of Kodachrome, with thoughts about its place in our emotions, here.

The story of Kodachrome is a romance itself, an odd intersection of the worlds of science and music.

Dad, the professional, preferred Kodachrome over all other films for slides, because of its color saturation and archival quality.

Somewhere along the line, I lost a roll of Kodachrome which contained images from a trip Mom and I took with Marianne and David, when David was quite small. Guess I'll just have to carry the images in my "sweet little 'magination". Dang, he was a cute kid.

One image I remember framing was little David in a yellow slicker which was too big for him, walking in misty rain along a boardwalk over mud flats between steamy hot pools in Yellowstone. He was cute even enveloped in yellow. We sang "How Much Is that Doggie in the Window", with variations, in the car. That wasn't on the film, but it's still an image in my head.