Ten Great Christmas Records

If you don't already have music picked out for the big day, get on the ball.  The below selections are just a taste of what will be spinning at my house this Christmas.  There's a nice mix of sacred and danceable and I've provided links to download them all.

Everybody has one.  This is mine.

What Burl is to me, Bing is to my wife.

This one makes everybody's list every year for a reason.  It gives us all hope.

You've heard him sing but have you heard him SING?

 

This is what it claims to be.  Every other girl singer needs to hang it up.

The Season of Light meets The Wall of Sound.

Sinatra does the sacred hymns like no other.

Once Nat Cole recorded The Christmas Song , why did anyone else bother?  Definitive.

Sometimes I need a choir of voices to remind me of the holiness of Christmas.  Shaw.

This one is just fun.

Fishin' Fancy

It's 36 degrees here in Nashville but I can't stop looking at these old fishing photos from the Library of Congress database.  You may notice the common thread (there's always a common thread) being that all of these fellow are dressed up rather nicely for fishing by today's standards.  This tells me one of two things:  Either people took more pride in the way they dressed for fishing (and photos) in those days OR these gentlemen will literally fish any time and anywhere they can, regardless of where they have come from or where they might be going.  I can't decide but either way, I hope you find these as enjoyable as I have:

Can you name the famous opera singer on the right?

The bow tie makes this.

Is the Tarpon like the Jackalope of the sea?

Have vest, will fish.

1 in a series. Bavarian royalty?

And number 2.

Fishing buddies.

Smoke 'em out.

Fishing Patrol 

Quoddy® and J.Crew

Among the latest batch of classic American brands to be picked up by J.Crew in their ever-growing "partnership" effort is the legendary Perry, Maine shoemaker, Quoddy® .  I happen to love Quoddy products (my boat shoes are pictured below) so I'm glad about the potential visibility boost that comes with the J.Crew add.  While it might seem like a less logical pairing than Quoddy's association with more independent labels who offer primarily American-made items (like South Willard or Freeman Sporting Club) I still think it works.  So far, it looks like only three models have been picked up and only one of them is for men.  I found the Grizzly Boots through a search on jcrew.com but I cannot find them linked to the front page of the shop so I'm not sure if these are officially announced yet.  In any case, if you are looking for a pair of individually hand-made moccasin boots constructed from Horween leather, these may be just what you need.

Quoddy® Grizzly Boots at jcrew.com

 

My daily wear Quoddy® boat shoes

Dog Is My Co-Pilot?

Dogs of Flight