In a weekend already jam-packed with concert and Christmas activities, we managed to squeeze in even more. After a lazy start to the day, we eventually made it to the late afternoon Service of Lessons and Carols at the Furman University Chapel. This was the first time in several years we had been able to get tickets, so I was very much looking forward to it.
The music was presented by the Furman Chamber Choir under the direction of Bill Thomas. Bill has always been able to achieve a clear, pure tone that this music demands. His emphasis has always been on quality and blend, and it is for that reason that I’ve always enjoyed singing under his direction. The Furman Chamber Choir did not disappoint. The service was ethereal and lovely, and was exactly what I needed to counteract last night’s bombast at the Peace Center. My tastes require a balance.
After the service, we stopped by Thaicoon Ricefire for dinner. Having been successful in purchasing wine at a grocery store earlier in the day, we were disappointed to be prevented this evening since Ricefire is in the county and not the city. I wish the state would just get rid of blue laws once and for all, and let each county decide how it’s going to handle it. It would be harder to reinstate the law on a local referendum than it has been to drop the law.
Dinner finished, we went on a light hunt. The first leg took us through Berea and the West Side to the Upper State Fairgrounds and the BiLo Gift of Lights. We could see most of it from the highway, but we decided to pay the $10 entrance fee and drive through. Some "gift." The lights were at their tackiest best, with corporate logos shamelessly worked into displays with Santa, various sea creatures, and at least two drive-through arch displays. The route wound past the Greenville-Pickens Speedway, which was lined with NASCAR vehicles done in lights, appropriately enough.
Not being satisfied with those lights, we drove back through town and hit a couple of other displays, then made it back home to collapse.