Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The Host with the Most: Our Dear Mr. Toast!

Dear Mr. Toast, your Christmas Tea certainly has brought the spirit of Christmas to each of us and right on time! As a thank you gift, please accept this little treasure from one my recent time travels back to London, 1843. This is a first edition of A Christmas Carol. I absolutely must read this every year and perhaps see a play or a film version as well. If I were one of the Book People in Fahrenheit 451....I would be A Christmas Carol.

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year!
I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.
The Spirits of all three shall strive within me.
I will not shut out the lessons that they teach"

41 comments:

Tess Kincaid said...

Yes, I totally agree. Mr. Toast kindled the Christmas spirit in our hearts last night with warmth and charm. Here's to Mr. Toast!!! :D

Barry said...

Yes to Mr. Toast! A very memorable party, at least I think I remember it.

Unknown said...

What a beautiful gift for Mr. Toast! Perfect, I would say.

Jen said...

Hello Firelight!

It was good to see you at the tea :) What a marvelous gift for dear Mr. Toast. I offer a toast to Toast: may he be blessed for giving us the gift of the Spirit of Christmas. And may we keep it, all the year :)

Happy Wednesday,
Jen

Lizzie said...

Yes, Mr. Toast hosted the most fantastic Christmas Tea party ever. May he be blessed for all bringing to our hearts the warmth, cheer, and fun of the spirit of Christmas! :)

Betsy Brock said...

What a wonderful and fitting gift for Mr. Toast! It was a superb tea! And you, my dear, were such a fun guest....you really know how to sing! :)

Michael said...

Well, how wonderful is this?! SUPERB!! It will fit nicely on my bookshelf, next to my Wind in the Willows classic hardback. :) How very thoughtful of you. Thank you so much! And, dear, Firelight, thank you for adding so much gusto to the Tea party we had, that I, in fact, just had to capture it in my "Next Morning Wrap Up" just put up for all to enjoy. now, i must go and see how all are doing. I imagine some might still be sleeping in!!

Skip Simpson said...

Sorry I missed chatting with you last night. I kinda rememembered, that someone was there from Alabama... just didn't remember who. Feel free to e-mail me anytime!

Skip Simpson said...

p.s. I am now one of your devoted followers.

Rebecca said...

Thank you for visiting the Tea Society, and how lovely, quoting Sting lyrics last evening :)...(I'm quite a fan of his music as well...one of the best concerts ever!)

Ah, I so love Dickens... What a perfect gift for Mr. Toast!.:)..

So wonderful to meet you, FireLight...Off to follow your blog:)

My Farmhouse Kitchen said...

I too had the most wonderful time yesterday at Mr. Toast's Christmas Tea.....it was such great fun..

I love that blog and would love to meet him..he seems like such a nice guy..and I met so many wonderful new friends...lucky me !

more later...
Kary

Anonymous said...

A happy toast to our host. It was a wonderful party. We had a most joyful time. Looking forward to getting to know him better.
QMM

karen said...

It was fun. Enjoyed this a bunch. Love the book. Old books are such treasures. The full moon tonight promises to bring Scrooge like dreams to us. I hope mine aren't the scary version.

Grizz………… said...

I came over from Weaver of Grass's blog because I saw you'd asked for some information on a line from a poem—i.e. the meaning of "turled low on the pin." I could be wrong, but my guess (especially if the poem has anything to do with sailing or boats) is that it's referring to a rope—or a "line" in sailing parlance—being wrapped, perhaps in a Turle knot, over a belaying pin, which is a device on old sailing vessels which was used for securing sail and other lines. You would "turle it low" to prevent leverage from breaking the pin.

But, this is just a sort of educated guess—so don't make any bets on it.

Unknown said...

Hello FireLight,

I'm not sure what I missed but Mr Toast is sure to enjoy 'A Christmas Carol'. It's a story I love. The new film is bound to inspire another generation and I hear there's another version already planned for 2010!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Hi Firelight! Thanks for visiting my blog. Sorry but I have no idea about that phrase - sounds more American than English to me. Love your dog - also see you love Herriot books - we live deep in Herriot country here so you would love it I guess.

FireLight said...

Weaver, I'll keep searching about the term.
Yes, Iam a huge fan of Herriot's works. I visited the Dales & Thirsk in 1989, when Alf Wight was still strolling into town once a week to visit with his fans at the surgery. My son(then age 7) and I met him...what a marvelous man. When we were in town, we stayed at the Three Tuns and met Wight's friend who was the well known weather forecaster! When people ask me what I will do when I retire...I usually say, "I'm going to Yorkshire. May buy a small farm! Who knows?"

FireLight said...

Derrick, we missed you at the Christmas Tea!
I plan to see the latest film version, and several of the old ones. I especially like the musical "Scrooge" with Albert Finney! As always, it is good to see you here!

FireLight said...

Hello Grizzle and welcome to my little space in the ethernet! Thank you for this very scholarly discussion of the phrase. There may be a connection.

FireLight said...

Maggie's Garden, indeed the moon last night was beautifully ghostly and dreamy. My son and I always have to do our moon observations when Mr. MoonLight is showing off like that!

FireLight said...

QMM, I have an idea for another event, having been so inspired by Willow's Ball & Mr. Toast's Christmas Tea...it was just so much fun! You still thinking of something for the first weekend in May? Thank you for stopping by!

FireLight said...

My Farmhouse Kitchen, wasn't it just too, too, too wonderful! Mr. Toast really knew what he wanted for us. I missed the dinner, but was thrilled to discover that the Hotel Jerome that I found all by myself from searching the net, seemd like THE place to stay in Aspen. I have to go there....again!

FireLight said...

Rebecca, if I could wave a magic wand and have a present for everyone I know who loves the story, I would give an original from the first 6,000 copies that Dickens himself paid to be printed because his publisher's told him they believed it had no commercial value. Later in his life, he went on tour with it, having edited it to a version he could read aloud to audiences. Most biographers agree that it was a personal favorite of his! Thank you, Mr. Dickens!

FireLight said...

Skip Simpson, you are a classic, dynamic Southern gentleman! As my daddy used to say,
"He's a first edition!"

FireLight said...

...mmm...., this seems like the least I could do for you....now click on the image and print it, put it on your fridge or bulletin board....and just tell friends and family that is just the image of your copy which is locked up in a bank vault in Alabama....and you can come visit it anytime you wish!

FireLight said...

Betsy, sing? Who me? I just know the lyrics to that beautiful old Chistmas carol "Soul Cake" that Sting does so magically on his new CD. I think I learned it a long time ago when my older brother listened to it on a Peter , Paul, and Mary album. It is truly what caroling was all about...begging for a bit of food and drink...and offering a song as payment. I am not sure my song was adequate payment for such a great tea party!

FireLight said...

Lizzie, I agree. The words from "Soul Cake" perfectly apply to our Mr. Toast!

"God bless the Master of this house..."

FireLight said...

Jen Chandler, I do not say it lightly when I say I try really hard to do "keep Christmas in my heart all year"...even more so with each and every year that passes.
Part of it has to do with realizing each December 25th.....that when the next one comes around...either someone dear to me may not be there, or I may not be there...so I just cannot allow it to be just ONE day of my year.

FireLight said...

Gaston Studios, read my responses to Rebecca & Mr. Toast here....you should follow those instructions as well! Thank you so much for stopping by!

FireLight said...

Barry, don't tell me you too had too much of Mr. Toast's mulled wine?? Wasn't it warm and delicious? Thank you so much for stopping by here...and hug that darling dawg of yours for me!

FireLight said...

Willow, I know this may sound far too idealistic, but I believe in Christmas for the whole world...for persons of every faith, race, or inclination....because the "reason for the season" is about a message for all of mankind:
PEACE ON EARTH * GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN!
Each of us can promote that ... and I think Mr. Toast just kicked this off in the most warm & charming way! We have all been blessed!

Betsy Brock said...

Well, I don't know if your singing was payment enough, but it sure was fun! :) I hear you may plan a cyber party of your own!

The Silver Fox said...

Dickens was a god. (Small "G," true, but nonetheless...)

And I love the quote from your profile, "Why isn't poetry divided into fiction and non-fiction?"

Tess Kincaid said...

FireLight, I totally agree. I believe all of us, all faiths and races, can experience Christmas in our hearts. Peace and love to you, dear friend.

The Silver Fox said...

Fascinating sidebar, by the way. Atticus Finch, Liz Taylor -- she likes it when I call her "Liz," trust me! -- Harold Lloyd (the "third genius"), and a great quote from "Winnie!"

Tess Kincaid said...

PS~~Your new holiday header is just delightful!!

Skip Simpson said...

firelight... wow! What can I say? I humbly thank you for the compliment m'lady. (Bows) If you have any moats that need a-swimming, or dragons that need a-slaying... well, you've got my e-mail, right? :D

Lizzie said...

LOVE your new header. :) Just stopping by to say hello, as I am kicking my weekend off early! :)

Jen said...

Your new header is beautiful! Love the painting and the falling snow is wonderful! Here's to a white Christmas (if not in reality then in dreams).
Have a wonderful weekend,
Jen

Rebecca said...

Conratulations, dear FireLight! You have won the Tea Drawing..Please email me with an address where I might send your "Tea" Package!...

Lovely meeting you, btw...

Michael said...

firelight, I came here to congratulate you on your win from LHTS blog drawing. Lucky you. I am thrilled to bit for you. Do tell us all how you enjoyed it. How very lovely.

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Recreational scholar, former high school and junior college English teacher. Animal lover (especially horses, dogs, and people), lives in the South, sometimes poet and essayist... "Ireland, Scotland, Britain, and Wales...I can hear those ancient voices calling..." Van Morrison from Celtic Heartbeat