The Seventh Day of Christmas Part 1 - Walking Athena

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

We got snow yesterday and today the sun came out! It's so nice to see some sunshine after the gloom  and warmer than usual but clammy weather since Christmas. I took Athena on a lovely walk this morning.

After getting home I had some egg nog with a splash of rum. 

The Sixth Day of Christmas Part 2 - A Cozy Fire & A Charlie Brown Christmas

Monday, December 30, 2019

Started up the fireplace DVD this afternoon. 

Tonight Dale and I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas just before dinner. 

The Sixth Day of Christmas Part 1 - Gently Falling Snow

Monday, December 30, 2019

Woke up this morning at around 6 a.m. to sleet but it gradually changed to snow by 7:30.

It's nice to see some falling snow during Christmas time. On Christmas Day there was snow on the ground but it rained. This is Minnesota for heaven's sake. It's supposed to snow at this time of the year, not rain. Damn climate change. 

The Fifth Day of Christmas Part 4 - Fran and Charlie's

Sunday, December 29, 2019

House-church service with some of the former members of Gethsemane at Fran and Charlie's house tonight. Cindi celebrated the service and afterward we ate dinner. It was great to catch up with folks. 

The Fifth Day of Christmas Part 3 - A Bloody Mary Kind of Day

Sunday, December 29, 2019

Dale and I went to the gym this morning and then stopped by the store to pick up a Christmas present for John. Before we went to his place to drop it off we stopped by the Lowbrow for brunch and I had a Bloody Mary. That's not unusual but I mention it because I've decided to do a dry January. I'm allowing myself to drink for these last few days although I don't plan on overdoing it. 

The Fifth Day of Christmas Part 2 - Joe the Red Nosed Reindeer

Sunday, December 29, 2019

Ok, I'll fess up. I'm a red-nosed reindeer as well. I'm not as mature as Dale so I'm still waiting for my antlers to come in. 

The Fifth Day of Christmas Part 1 - Dale the Red Nosed Reindeer

Sunday, December 29 2019

Not many people know that Dale is secretly a red-nosed reindeer. 

The Fourth Day of Christmas - Noel's 21st Annual Holiday Fete

Saturday, December 28, 2019

According to Noel this is the 21st time we've done this so tonight we started our third decade. After we all arrived, Noel started with a toast to her deceased parents. Her relationship with a couple of her living relatives is fraught so she mentioned how much she appreciates those in her chosen family. 

Her tree, as always, looked great.

And also, as always, ... 

...her place was decorated to the hilt. She credited her mother with her love of decorating including decking the halls at Christmastime. 

The conversation was lively.

And it was good to catch up with everyone, especially Caroline and Stephen who we don't see as often. 

Dinner was provide by Mrs. Kowalski and consisted of chicken dummies, fruit, cole slaw, and for dessert, chocolate covered strawberries. 

Caroline brought an awesome apple/blackberry crumble. After we finished that we played a card game Noel picked up called Unstable Unicorns. Sick but fun.

I got a mini deck of cards in my Christmas cracker. I decided to give it to Little Bear when I got home. 

The Fourth Day of Christmas - Mom's Tree

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Mom texted me a picture of the tree I brought over to her place on Christmas Eve. 

I think it looks great.

The Fourth Day of Christmas - Walking Athena

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Another comfy couch day but this one wasn't planned. It's so slick we decided to heed the weather advisory and not drive. I'm not gonna complain because this has provide me a chance to do even more reading and relaxing. 

There was a break in the rain at one point so I decided to get Athena on another walk. By the time I got my yak tracks on and bundled up it was raining pretty steadily again. I took an umbrella and ventured out with our girl. Needless to say we got soaked. She more than I. 

The Fourth Day of Christmas - Chillin' Not Illin'

Saturday, December 28, 2019

I'm loving being on vacation. With Christmas falling in the middle of the week this break has felt like a series of 3 weekends right in a row. 

It's 8:00 as I write this. Dale and I were planning on going to the gym this morning but now we're not so sure. There's freezing rain and it's bad enough that authorities are recommending not getting on the roads before 10:00 a.m. I guess people are experiencing pile ups on the freeways. I'm fine chillin' on the couch. I've got lots of books to look at.

The Third Day of Christmas - A Day on the Couch

Friday, December 27, 2019

The Third Day of Christmas

A day with nothing planned! I hung around the house all day. 

I got in a lot of reading. Many Christmas books to look at. I've enjoyed re-reading parts of The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater. I appreciate his full embrace of the Christmas season and his desire and effort to create a truly festive atmosphere in his home. 

I also had time to listen to Christmas music including some Bing Crosby. All in all is was a great day of relaxation. Extended time on the couch is what I've needed for a while. 

Christmas Season 2019 - The Joe and Noel Post Holiday Shopping Adventure

Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Second Day of Christmas. 

Things are looking good around here. Most tchotchkes are displayed and the house is picked up and clean so it's simply time to sit back and enjoy the festive house.

Post-Christmas shopping this afternoon with Noel.  We had lunch at W. A. Frost and then proceeded get 50% off items from the J. J. Hill House, Ramsey House, and Gypsy Moon which were the only ones worth returning to. We were both pretty satisfied with our success. I now have even more to add to the festive atmosphere around here. 

Dinner in tonight with Dale. We mad a turkey pot pie with leftover turkey and gravy. 

We also had leftover Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole, and cranberry sauce. All of it delicious. 

Christmas Day 2019 - Merry Kiltmas

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

It's that time of the year again. I wanted to be all fancified for my hosting duties so I went with a blue velvet blazer. 

Christmas Day 2019 - What a Wonderful Christmas

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Quiet Christmas morning. 

Drank Bloody Mary's as I continued to clean the house and get it decorated for company this afternoon. 

More tchotchkes to set out...

Finally finished decorating the tree. 

As I got the house ready, Dale worked on the turkey. 

I don't think we've made one for about 5 years. Dale has really become quite the turkey-meister. 

As I finished up my tasks I was overtaken by a rather touching sentimentality while listening to the above song. It's not a real common Christmas Carol but I've come to love it quite a bit.

Athena's sweetness is alway appreciated around here. 

She got a lot of walks, attention, and rest today. She blends in with the chair in the above picture so I put a label next to her. 

After getting cleaned up I tended to getting the sweet potato casserole, my one contribution to Christmas dinner, ready to go. 

This was my first ever effort at the task and Mom, who's been making it for years, was horrified to find out I'd be using canned sweet potatoes. She was pleasantly surprised to discover it turned out GREAT (if I do say so myself) and she said as much. 

Our dinner guests, Mom, John, and Noel, started showing up around 3 p.m. which is about the time the turkey came out of the oven to rest. 

It turned out to be a lovely Christmas. The house looked great, the food was fantastic, and, I believe,  a great time was had by all.

I finished out the day with a little Irish cream.