Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Seventh Day of Christmas: New Year's Eve

 Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Mom's doing marginally better. Her spirits are up. I'm hoping I'll be well enough in a couple day to visit her. Listened to the Carpenter's today. Comforting, nostalgic, familiar. Exactly what I need. 

Speaking of comforting. 

Since I'm sick I've been in my robe since Sunday afternoon. Actually got dressed today and put on my boots to be extra dressy for New Year's Eve. 

Quiche for dinner. This is the most low key NYE we've ever had. I'm exhausted from being sick and we've both been dealing with Mom being in the hospital. Today Dale visited her on his own due to my illness. She's maintaining and making respiratory progress slowly and steadily. PT came to visit her today and gingerly had her sit up and slide her legs off the side of the bed. It was taxing for her and she ended up nauseated and her blood pressure dropped so that's as much as she could do today. She was very upset that she could not do more, recognizing that progress is going to be slow and incremental. Otherwise once she got comfortable again, Dale had a nice conversation with her and her spirits perked up a bit - even got her to laugh a little. 

We were planning to spend tonight with Mike and Charisse and couldn't cuz, well, I'm sick. This was 2015.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Sixth Day of Christmas: Gingerbread Man, Ghost Story, Pizzelles

 Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Moving through the package of gingerbread men I bought last week. They are delicious. Soft rather than crunchy and not overly sweet. 

Finished The Mistress In Black, a ghost story for Christmas illustrated by Seth, this morning. I really enjoyed it. According to the teaser on the back of the book: "From the moment Miss Anderson begins her new teaching job, she encounters ghostly figures and a strange scent of smoke. Whispers of arson and murder circulate among the staff, but Miss Anderson soon discovers there might be more to the tragic story of the women in black." Most of these old ghost stories I read from this series aren't overly scary but more subtly so. They're well written and atmospheric and mysterious. They can also sometimes convey a sense of sadness and melancholy like The Mistress In Black.  

Dale and I finished off the pizzelles tonight. 

Mom's maintaining in the hospital. I so sick I can't go see her and it breaks my heart. 

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Fifth Day of Christmas:

 Monday, December 29, 2025

I'm still sick. Krumkake helped me feel a little better. Mom showing some improvement today from yesterday made me feel a LOT better. I was too sick to go to the hospital but Dlae was able to go visit. Although she's still experiencing some pain she was more lucid and in better spirits. I talked to Sam, Becky, and Pete today about how she's doing. 

Lot's of lying around today. Didn't have energy to do much else. Contacting Sam and Pete and some of Mom's friends were my big accomplishments. Watched Rudolph.  I've seen this a GA-zillion times but there was something about the nostalgia and familiarity of it that was incredibly comforting. OK, so the gender roles in this thing are glaringly stereotypical and outdated (at least for people of a non-fundamentalist stripe). However, that said, I knew exactly what was going to happen. With all the chaos around being sick and Mom faltering it was nice to experience something that would bring NO surprises!! My brain just wasn't in a place to handle ANY twists or turns...

I also have a copy of the Rudolph book I had as a kid. The text is stilted but the pictures by Richard Scarry are very charming. 

Sylvester spent a lot of time with me today. I don't think he has any idea of what and emotional support he is. I appreciate him helping to regulate me.

Finished Lady Ferry, a ghost story for Christmas illustrated by Seth, this morning. I really enjoyed it. According to the teaser on the back of the book: "When Marcia is sent to stay with relatives, she's drawn to their houseguest, Lady Ferry: a mysterious old woman who wanders the gardens, with an impossibly long memory. Everyone has rumours to share, and Marcia soon wonders if Lady Ferry is cursed to live forever - or if she's even alive at all." I'd like to think she was a ghost. The story did a good job of conveying how old memories can be longingly fond but also rather nostalgic with a wiff of meloncholy.

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Fourth Day of Christmas: Pumpkin Pie

 Sunday, December 28, 2025

Not feeling well at all today. I've got a cold or the flu and I'm worried about Mom. 

Dale made me dinner and brought me some pumpkin pie. 

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Fourth Day of Christmas: Mom

 Sunday, December 28, 2025

Got this text this morning. The Apple Watch sends it automatically. 

Dale summed up what happened next in a text to his mom and Dianne. 

This is all so concerning. Not only is she dealing with broken bones but she's got the flue and possibly pneumonia on top of it. All of that said, at least she had that Apple Watch. 

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Third Day of Christmas: Chrissy

 Saturday, December 27, 2025

Noel had her annual holiday party tonight. Dale wasn't feeling well so he couldn't go. 

Noel's friend Kathy joined us this year along with our friends Caroline and Stephen.

Kathy brought cranberry Cosmopolitans which I helped her out with. They were very good. We stayed away from talking politics this year but we did note that we're feeling much better now than we were a year ago. 

We opened up Christmas crackers, played some games, and...

...put on our paper crowns. And we actually sang along to Chrissy the Christmas Mouse. 

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Second Day of Christmas: Boxing Day & Lucky's Grove

Friday, December 26, 2025

Finished Lucky's Grove, a ghost story for Christmas illustrated by Seth, this morning. I rather enjoyed it. According to the teaser on the back of the book: "In preparation for the upcoming Christmas celebrations, the servants of wealthy Mr. Braxton unwittingly cut a tree from the sacred grounds of Lucky's Grove. As guests arrive, injuries, illness, and mysterious occurrences soon plague Abingdale Hall - with the worst to come on Christmas Day." Da Da DAAAAA. 

Christmas cigar. Meant to smoke this one on Christmas Day but was feeling a little spotty. My body just doesn't want to cooperate with me sometimes. Pretty pleasant outside (for a hearty Minnesotan).

Had an Old Fashioned with my cigar. 

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The First Day of Christmas: Christmas Day 2025

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Woke up with Dale feeling SICK. He never gets sick. Read Santa Mouse, one of my favorites from when I was a kid. Had to cancel with Mom due to Dale's illness. She was very understanding. 

Coffee this morning. 

Sylvester on my lap. 

I'm feeling run down too although I don't think I'm doing as poorly as Dale. Read the ghost story Lucky's Grove in bed and then fell asleep and took a two hour nap. Dale came to bed too and took a long nap as well. 

Added more to the manger scene. 

Had an Old Fashioned and watched a lot of Modern Family. Didn't have a full dinner but ate lots of snacks. Dale at quite a bit less than I did. 

He had a few crackers but never felt much better. 

I had a gingerbread man after Dale went to sleep. 

Quiet Christmas Day. 

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -Christmas Eve 2025

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Arrived at Grace around 5:45 pm and got Mom settled while Dale parked the car. Also got myself robed. Choir rehearsal started at 6pm. 

The Choral Prelude started at 6:50. We sang:  As the Dark Awaits the Dawn by Chris Aspaas; Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers by Michael Praetorius;  Gloria, Et in terra pax, Quoniam Tu solus Sanctus, by Antonio Vivaldi; and People, Look East! arranged by Donna Archer.

I thought we sang beautifully. 

Other hymns throughout the service included: O Come, All Ye Faithful; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; What Child is This?; I Wonder as I Wander; Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming; O Little Town of Bethlehem; Silent Night; and Joy to the World. Fun to sing ALL OF THEM.

For our anthem we sang The Christmas Lullaby (Away in a Manger) by Dan Hustad. 

Susan's sermon was quite well done, I thought. She made it clear how easy it can be to lose track that the time in Palestine during Jesus' life under Roman occupation was authoritarianism to the letter but also how many similarities there are to now. 

So many folks were happy to meet Mom. She said the service was meaningful and had a wonderful time. 

We dropped Mom off back at her place afterward then went home and had ice cream.

\

Holiday Season 2025 - Christmas Eve Day 3

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Dale and I got cleaned up for the Christmas Eve service tonight. Watched Kalle Anke at 3:00 pm. Early dinner after that and picked up Mom for church at 5:30. I needed to be at church by 6pm for rehearsal. service at 7pm. 

Holiday Season 2025 - Christmas Eve Day 2

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

New lights for the tree this year. Had to string 'em out to get a visual sense of what I'm dealing with. I bought a number of packs with about 25 lights for a total of 200 lights. I double wrapped the tree using about 175 of them. By the way, the lights are actually pure white even though they showed up looking yellow in this photo. Now I just need to decorate it. 

Before putting the lights on the tree I strung all of them out to eyeball what I was working with. 

Also set out the stable for the manger scene. Too tired to unpack the whole thing so I just set out the ox. Figured he was probably the first of all of them there. One of the nice things about celebrating Christmas until Epiphany is that I don't feel it all needs to be done by Christmas Day. 

Christmas cigar.