My Word with Douglas E. Welch

Christmas Past – 7 in a series – Woman’s Home Companion 1932-12 by Maginel Wright Barney

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† Available from the LA Public Library

Christmas Past – 6 in a series – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (FREE) via the Gutenberg Project

One of my favorite Christmas stories and one that I read every year. In the past, I — along with friends — have streamed a live reading of the text the Sunday before Christmas. You’ll find links to past shows below. — Douglas

Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.
The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the
undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge’s name
was good upon ‘Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old
Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there
is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined,
myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in
the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my
unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for. You
will, therefore, permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as
dead as a door-nail.

Scrooge knew he was dead? Of course he did. How could it be otherwise?
Scrooge and he were partners for I don’t know how many years. Scrooge
was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his
sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. And even
Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but that he was
an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and
solemnised it with an undoubted bargain.

Read or Download A Christmas Carol in HTML, EPUB, Kindle and Text Format.

Listen to our 5th Annual Live Reading of A Christmas Carol

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** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Christmas Past – 5 in a series – The Wishbook Web

If you are looking for a deep walk through Christmas Past Nostalgia the Wish Book Web is sure to trigger many memories for you. I know it did for me, especially with these catalogs from the 1960s. I clearly remembering flipping through the pages and noting what I thought was really cool. Then I would circle the products and turn down the page corners so I could revisit them later. Check out your favorite catalog and then share your memories in the comments! — Douglas

Check out the catalogs at the Wish Book Web!

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** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Christmas Past – 4 in a series – A Christmas Carol (1947), Performed by Lionel Barrymore; Richard Hale

Play and Download This Recording  from the Internet Archive

“Of all the roles I’ve done, the one I’d like best to be remembered for is Scrooge. It is unquestionably one of my favorites.” Lionel Barrymore, Dec. 21, 1947. The New York Times. (Interview with Dorothy O’Leary).

When MGM Records released A Christmas Carol in 1947, Lionel Barrymore had been playing Ebenezer Scrooge for twelve years on the radio. Starting in 1934, CBS presented the Charles Dickens’ classic story each year and it soon became a much loved Christmas tradition. Barrymore, in his radio debut, embodied Scrooge to perfection. As he  revealed in a 1947  New York Times interview, “I seem to shrink and an unnatural meanness of disposition comes over me. I seem to be Scrooge in body and mind.”

Barrymore went on to play the role 17 times before his death in November, 1954, and only the direst of circumstances prevented him from playing it. When his wife died in 1936 he was unable to perform, and his brother John rushed to fill in for him. He also missed the performance of 1938 when serious illness forced Orson Welles to substitute. — Library of Congress

15% Off Everything Today! – Get These Amazing Vintage Lillies on Shower Curtains, Pillows, and More From Douglas E. Welch Design and Photography [For Sale]

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Shower Curtain Features

• Fits most standard size tubs and showers
• 12 button holes (shower hooks not included)
• Liner not included
• Made from 100% Polyester
• Vivid, full color print on front, white on back
• Machine wash cold

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Thanksgiving in the Desert

The day after a rainy Thanksgiving the clouds cleared away and the sun shone through. It was still windy and chilly but gorgeously clear.

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** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Christmas Past – 3 in a series – Sunset Magazine (1902)

Download this cover from the Internet Archive

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Interior, Il Corso, El Paseo, Palm Desert, California

This was the spot for our after-Thanksgiving Day meal. Amazing food and I loved the interior decoration. Up close you can tell the lampshades are made of layers of corrugated cardboard. Cool!

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library