The Buzz: O Tidings Of Great Sequins

And we learn what happens when the vacuum gobbles up the Christmas lights

Candles and candles at Marshalls. Photo by the Author.

Goodwill Toward Men

Holiday indecision! This week we went to Marshalls, admired a wall of candles, sniffed a few, but left with none. We went to Ollie for a We’re Going In feature, heart thumping for bargains. (Click here if you missed that adventure.) Again, long story, we left empty-handed. When the bargain spirits aren’t smiling, Buzz knows to walk away.

Then, on the way home from Ollie’s, we ducked into the Union Road Goodwill, glowing like a second chance.

Again: nothing. Not even a quirky mug. We were almost out the door when — bam! — a burst of sparkle. Three holiday dresses glittering like a chorus line.

Buzz sprang to life. We flagged someone to unlock the, ahem, fitting room. Score, score, and score.

Like a visit from Santa! We’re still a little dazed by it. Sometimes the bargains don’t show up when you’re looking. That’s when luck taps you on the shoulder in sequins.

Orchard Perk

Buzz runs a few Etsy shops, and every so often the universe slips a little Buffalo magic into the mix. This week an out-of-town customer mentioned she noticed we lived in Buffalo — her son and his family, she said, lived in Orchard Park. That opened the door to a little friendly chitchat. We pontificated that our mom was from Orchard Park, that she lived on Quaker Road … We can’t remember what else we said. What we do remember was, next thing we knew, she wrote back that she was literally on a plane to Buffalo to see the Bills. “Look up No. 69,” she added. “You’ll see my last name.”

Buzz went full Buffalonian. “Get out,” we typed. “Reid Ferguson is your son?”

And lo, it was so. Buzz glowed for the rest of the day like the Christmas tree in the Ellicott Square Building — lit up, proud and sparkling.

Sleeper Hit

One of the joys of year’s end is when YouTube and Google Photos parade out their recaps of your year like digital Ghosts of Christmas Past. YouTube exulted: “You not only watched … you listened!” They then unveiled our Top 10. Buzz watched happily, secure in our choices. No. 3 was Schubert’s “Auf dem Wasser zu singen.” Vivaldi’s “Beatus Vir” was at No. 2 — both pieces we lived with for weeks while singing with the St. Louis Choir.

And then came Song No. 1. Surely another sacred gem? Perhaps a baroque masterpiece? Well… no. Our top track of the year was — how do we put this? — “Hungry Eyes” from the old movie “Dirty Dancing.” Why? How? When? There must have been a reason. But like any good surprise at Goodwill, sometimes the universe just hands you something sparkly and strange, and you roll with it. Don’t tell our choir directors.

Hold the Ashes

There is something sad about Christmas. It’s called Lent. Buzz dreads Lent. Come January, Lent hangs over our Christmas tree like a slow-moving cloud, drifting closer with every passing week of Christmastide.

And no, we’re not imagining it. At rehearsal Wednesday with the St. John Paul II Schola Cantorum, the hammer dropped: our first Lenten music. We love the composers but … no fair! we haven’t even had our first Tom & Jerry’s!

The Buzz

Who sang “Hungry Eyes,” anyway? We looked it up. Eric Carmen. Never heard of him. … Scritchety scratchety scratch scratch — that was Buzz’s vacuum cleaner eating up our Christmas tree lights. We turned the vacuum upside down, extracted and untangled them, plugged them back in and — they worked again. A Christmas miracle! … Our Christmas singing season begins Friday, Dec. 12, with “Carols By Candlelight” at St. Louis Church. The concert is at 7 p.m. You have time to stop in Johnny D’s at the Hyatt beforehand, where our husband, Howard, entertains from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Lots of good cheer!

Questions, We Have Questions

What is your thrift shop Christmas miracle? What’s the earliest you’ve ever been hit with Lenten gloom? What holiday mishaps have you survived so far this season? Do you watch your YouTube or Google Photos recap? Any surprises? If we can spill, anyone can!