Christmastide 2021/2022 - 7th Day of Christmas: New Year's Eve Cigar

Friday, December 31, 2021

Took a walk with a Macanudo ascot this afternoon.

It was fantastic. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 7th Day of Christmas: The Joe and Noel Post Holiday Shopping Adventure

Friday, December 31, 2021

Our annual hitting of the sales was rescheduled from this past Tuesday. Noel picked me up at 11:00 a.m. and we headed straight to Victory. I got a couple of snowman garlands. Very charming. Noel got a cool wreath. 

We headed to George and the Dragon at 50th and Bryant for lunch. Stopped at Patina afterward. Nuthin'. 

So different from the old days when we'd think about which stores had the stuff we were most interested in. We'd plot out in advance which order we'd hit the many stores we planned to visit. Our usual starting out time on Saturdays is 12 noon but on Boxing Day we'd start early, say 10:00, then take a break for lunch and then hit more stores. Way scaled back from years past and that's just fine. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 7th Day of Christmas: Donna Summer

Friday, December 31, 2021

Today's the birthday of the great Donna Summer. I believe she would've been 73 today. 

The Donna Summer Musical is currently playing at the Ordway in St. Paul through the weekend. I'd love to go see it but I don't think it'l work out time wise. I'm gonna regret missing it. 

Hers is one of my all time favorite Christmas albums. I believe it came out just before Dale and I had our first Christmas together. I remember listening to it in our apartment on Fremont. 

Rest well. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 6th Day of Christmas: Nesting Santas

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Don't think I've displayed my nesting Santas for a couple of years and it's been even longer since I've opened them up. 

This one I got at Roxanne's in Bayfield a number of years ago although it may have been called Bev's at the time. 

This one I have a hard time recalling where I got it although I think it may have been at the old Bibelot Shop. 

This little one I got at Roxanne's in Bayfield. I know they don't look small in this picture but that's because I cropped it. See the top photo for comparison. 

The nesting dolls upon which these are based are Russian in origin and are called Matryoshka. The following is from Wikipedia: "A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure, which separates at the middle, top from bottom, to reveal a smaller figure of the same sort inside, which has, in turn, another figure inside of it, and so on."

Also from Wikipedia: "The first Russian nested doll set was made in 1890 by wood turning craftsman and wood carver Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo. Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan, a long and shapeless traditional Russian peasant jumper dress. The figures inside may be of any gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. The dolls often follow a theme; the themes may vary, from fairy tale characters to Soviet leaders. In the west, matryoshka dolls are often referred to as babushka dolls, babushka meaning "grandmother" or "old woman"." [Note: The above two photos are from Wikipedia.]

Recently I heard that the Unicode Consortium approved a Russian doll emoji in 2020. I typed in "nesting doll" in a text message to Dale and what you see in the above screenshot is what I got. 

Type in Matryoshka and you'll get the same thing. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 6th Day of Christmas: Dinner with Warren

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Wonderfully laid back and quiet day again. I set out a few things. 

Put away some others. 

Set the "presents" under the tree. 

Listened to some of my playlists.

We had Warren over for dinner. He brought over a pork roast and some sides and we took care of the salad. Warren likes my signature tiki cocktail so I mixed us up some of those. I used a non-alcoholic ginger beer that a high school friend sent to me to top off the drink and it all worked together quite well. 

We watched It Happened On 5th Avenue which Dale and I haven't seen for a while. Warren had never seen it. It's a very charming and cute story set near and at Christmas time. Trivia, according to Wikipedia: "The story was originally optioned by Liberty Films in 1945 for director Frank Capra who decided to direct It's a Wonderful Life instead."

Warren was excited to meet Sylvester and was quite taken with him. Sylvester was his outgoing and friendly self and snuggled right up next to Warren and let him pet him most of the evening. Warren brought Sylvester a food bowl and some slinky-like toys that which he loved batting around. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 5th Day of Christmas: Creekside Supper Club

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

This afternoon Dale and I decided to try Creekside Supper Club which in the old Pepitos space. As it turns out this was their opening night. 

They started us out with a little baby relish tray. It had celery and also some pickled carrots and beets. The beets were particularly good. We went ahead and ordered the regular relish tray and it was fantastic: pickled asparagus and carrots, wild game sausage, cheese curds, and walleye spread. It was simply fantastic and probably. could've passed for a meal by itself. I had a cup of the corn chowder and it was perfect. Dale had a salad. 

For dinner I ordered the sirloin. I got it with a side of hash browns and it came with a huge piece of Texas toast. Dale got the salmon with a side of rice pilaf and he said it was divine. 

Oh, and I didn't mention that I ordered a Wisconsin-style Old Fashioned. It was so well made I had another. 

Now, the decor threw me off because I couldn't be completely sure they weren't going for irony. It was that spot on. 

For dessert I had a Brandy Alexander. It was so good it was like I got an old school malted milk from Bridgeman's only with Brandy. 

By the way, the staff was very friendly. All in all it was a great time and I can't wait to go back. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 5th Day of Christmas: Finishing Up the Tree

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Today I finally got the star on the tree.

And the tree skirt placed beneath it. 

And drank a little egg nog. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 4th Day of Christmas: A Change In Plans

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Noel and I were supposed to do our post-holiday shopping adventure today but she overslept. We decided to reschedule for later this week although I need to check with Dale to make sure I'm not double booking anything. 

With my found. time I put some finishing touches on the tree. Now I just need the star and to figure out where I stored the tree skirt last year. Maybe I'll have it all ready by New Year's Eve. 

Also got the angel display set up. According to something I found in House Beautiful magazine it's common to find an abundance of angels in German homes at Christmas. Sometimes they're on the tree but they're also displayed on sideboards. When I started this collection a number of years ago I didn't even know I was giving a nod to my German heritage. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 3rd Day of Christmas: Article - How Ghost Stories Became A Christmas Tradition In Victorian England

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

How did ghost stories become a tradition in Victorian England and why did the tradition never really catch on in the United States? Click on the link below for an interesting read. 

Link: 

https://www.history.com/news/christmas-tradition-ghost-stories

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 3rd Day of Christmas: Books of the Day

Monday, December 27, 2021

An Amazon order I put in a week or so ago arrived today. A received the books from Seth's A Ghost Story for Christmas series. There are three new ones this year. Today I read The Doll's Ghost by F. Marion Crawford in which the main character has an odd affinity for  dolls. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 3rd Day of Christmas: Christmas Season Cigar

Monday, December 27, 2021

Smoked my first cigar of the Christmas Season. Romeo y Julieta. Awesome. Lit up in my upstairs cigar lounge. 

Also noticed I had a little Bloody Mary mix left so I added a little vodka and mixed one up for myself. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 3rd Day of Christmas: Waking Up to a Blanket of Snow

Monday, December 27, 2021

The snow that began last evening continued overnight somewhat. I'd say Dale and I woke up to a couple of inches. Didn't take long to shovel it especially with both of us helping out. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 2nd Day of Christmas: Books of the Day

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Pulled a couple of old favorites off the shelf today. One was 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore which I've heard just about every year since I was born. The poem is also known as "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and "The Night Before Christmas." It was originally published anonymously as "Account of A Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. Clement C. Moore is said to have claimed authorship in 1837. The poem is often credited as responsible for the modern conception of Santa Claus in the United States and much of the world. The edition I read today is a reproduction of the version with illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith which appeared in 1912. I obtained my copy of this rendition at the gift shop from the Alexander Ramsey House in St. Paul. Noel and I took a tour of the house of the former Minnesota politician two or three years ago. 

The second book I revisited is Santa Mouse by Michael Brown with illustrations by Elfrieda de Witt. This story didn't appear until a 146 years after 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. I had this book as a little boy and reading it now brings back early Christmas memories of me in my room at the house on Stevens at Christmas time. It's about a lonely little mouse who befriends Santa Claus after selflessly giving a gift to the jolly old elf. My original copy of the book is long gone but about 20 years ago I spotted a copy at Barnes & Noble and snapped it up for the sake of nostalgia. One of my favorites. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 2nd Day of Christmas: Noel's Annual Holiday Fete

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Usually Noel and I do a Day-After-Christmas-Holiday-Shopping-Spree. However this year the store we really want to hit isn't opening up for their sale until this coming Tuesday so we've decided to postpone until then. Noel and I did get together though for her 23rd Annual Holiday Fete along with Dale and Caroline and Steven. 

As usual a good time was had by all. Noel got lemon chicken from Kowalski's and made a delicious salad herself to go along with it. Caroline brought dessert. Dale and I brought some wine and the Christmas crackers which contained some charms, bad jokes, and paper crowns. 

We all played a game Caroline brought called Ransom Notes. It was quite fun. One player would read a direction task card and then everyone would write their answer using magnetic words. For example, my response to the above direction is as follows:

We sang along to the Chrissy song.

And enjoyed one another's company. 

Although Noel didn't host in December of 2020 due to there not being a vaccine for covid yet Dale and I did a Christmas in August party in 2020 for the same crew. 

Noel brought a tree with lights...

...and Caroline brought her awesome berry cobbler. 

This little summer gathering in August of 2020 still allows us to say we've done this every year since it began. 

For the August 2020 gathering I didn't have a ghost story picked out so I googled 'short ghost stories' on my phone. Shown above are a couple of the better ones I shared. 

I didn't have any ghost stories to share at the December 2021 gathering but did have some ghost jokes. For example: Why are ghosts such terrible liars? Because you can see right through them.