Christmastide 2020: The 12th Day of Christmas - Twelfth Night

Tuesday, January 5, 2020

Quiet Twelfth Night. 

The Santa I ordered a while ago finally arrived today.

The 3 Kings arrive tomorrow.  Simple dinner of tuna open-faced sandwiches tonight. 

Christmastide 2020: The 11th Day of Christmas -

Monday, January 4, 2021

Tchotchkes are slowly being put away however the manger scenes remain up. 

Christmastide 2020: The 10th Day of Christmas - Maple Pecan Bundt Cake

Sunday, January 3, 2021

I needed a project to distract me from having to go back to work tomorrow. This  did the trick and it turned out really well too.  

The recipe is from Nigella Lawson's book 

It takes some attention to detail to make but it's well worth it. The batter is very firm and hard to spread out over the maple pecan filling. 

It made the house smell great as it was baking and cooling.  

I haven't made this for a number of years. It makes for a wonderful Christmas cake. 

Dinner was a most delicious lasagne. 

Christmastide 2020: The 10th Day of Christmas - Irish Cream

Sunday, January 3, 2021

A little Irish cream before I start my dry January tomorrow. 

The kings are approaching the manger scene in the dining room. 

Athena enjoys a Sunday siesta. 

Christmastide 2020: The 9th Day of Christmas - Listening Party

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Dale and I listened to a couple of our favorite Christmas albums during cocktail hour. We started with Christmas Cornucopia by Annie Lennox.  This album is amazing. Annie has taken traditional Christmas carols and added African  drumming and an African children's choir to many of the selections. My favorite Christmas carol is See Amid the Winter's Snow and the version of it which is contained here is gorgeous. 

Our other favorite is Christmas Spirit by Donna Summer. Her medley of What Child Is This/Do You Hear What I Hear/Joy to the World is glorious. I asked Dale what his favorite Christmas song is and he said O Holy Night. I love that one too and there is a version contained in Christmas Spirit. I first got this album on CD back in 1994. It reminds me of Christmases we spent in our apartment on Fremont Avenue. This one really has become an old favorite.

 

Christmastide 2020: The 9th Day of Christmas - The Joe and Noel Post Holiday Shopping Adventure

Saturday, January 2, 2020

Rescheduled from last week, Noel and I made the rounds for holiday sales at some of our favorite stores today. Our first stop was at A Rare Bird Antiques and then The Loft over at 50th and Xerxes.

 

Noel picked up some vintage glass ball ornaments at The Loft. I picked up a cranberry spice scented candle. Dale loves this brand. They are not overly sweet smelling. 

Our next stop was Victory at 44th and Beard. They always have such wonderful things although neither of us picked up anything there this year. We usually check out Brown and Green as well but they were closed this weekend. 

Our final stop was 14 Hill at 48th and Chicago. I found a couple more of the retro beaded ornaments like the ones I had purchased earlier in the season. I really like them a lot. 

On our way home we lamented how stores don't have as much holiday merchandise anymore and that a lot of what they do still have isn't quite as special and unique. Also, there's not as much hustle and bustle to accompany the holiday shopping experience. That always added to the energy and anticipation that comes with the lead up to Christmas. Of course all of this has quite a bit to do with more and more online shopping but it was especially more pronounced this year due to the pandemic. 

Christmastide 2020: The 8th Day of Christmas - New Year's Day: Evening Walk

Friday, January 1, 2020

It was a lovely evening for Athena's final walk of the day. Cold but not uncomfortably so if dressed properly. The sky was pretty and the lights displayed by many homeowners were joyous looking. 

Christmastide 2020: The 8th Day of Christmas - New Year's Day: Cocktail Hour, Christmas Music, and Dinner

Friday, January 1, 2021

Martini for cocktail hour. Dale stuck with red wine.

We listened to Christmas music while having cocktails. Dale said to me, "You know, I haven't heard that one song this year." I responded, "Which song." He said, "I don't know the name of it but it's the one that starts out 'Merry, merry, Christmas'." I knew which one he meant to I looked it up on my phone, found and played it. It's: 

Yes, Ring Those Christmas Bells, by Fred Warring and His Pennsylvanians. We listened and sang along and it was fun. 

However, while searching for it on my phone a version of the same song by Peggy Lee came up. This one was new to me so we listened and sang along. Again, more fun!

Simple dinner of a Kowalski's frozen pizza. 

Christmastide 2020: The 8th Day of Christmas - New Year's Day: Decorating

Friday, January 1, 2021

This season's star. 

Finally got the gift boxes around the base of the tree.

Added the shepherds to this manger scene. 

Christmastide 2020: The 8th Day of Christmas - New Year's Day: The Little Drummer Boy (Rankin/Bass)

Friday, January 1st, 2021

It was a fixture throughout the 1970s at least but doesn't get as much airplay as it once did, possible due to the more overt religious nature of it but also more likely because some of the facial features of some of the puppets are as seen racially highly charicatured.

The titular character, Aaron, feels alienated from other human beings and his anger toward them is quite evident yet just as apparent is his love for his animal friends. 

The theme song is beautifully sung by the Vienna Choir Boys and the climax to the specially is actually very touching. I found it on YouTube. 

I haven't seen it in years. I remember having it on VHS cassette and showing it to my 4th grade class the day before winter break in the mid 1990s. This is one of my childhood favorites. 

By the way, as I wrote the date above I have to say it felt really good to write a year other than the previous one. 

Christmastide 2020: The 7th Day of Christmas - New Year's Eve: Joe's Tater Tot Hot Dish

Thursday, December 31, 2020

High Minnesota cuisine for dinner: Tater Tot Hot Dish

Here's the recipe which is an amalgamation of 3 different recipes I found online. For that reason I'll call it Joe's Tater Tot Hot Dish:

1 pound of ground turkey

1 bag tater tots (I could only find a 28 oz. bag of mini tater tots. We used most of it.)

1 standard sized can of cream of mushroom soup

1 standard sized can cream of celery soup

1 small bag of frozen green beans (We used fresh green beans and I just eyeballed it. One of the recipes called for 8 oz.)

1 small bag of frozen corn, thawed (The smallest bag I could find was 10 oz. We used it all.)

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese.  2 cups is better.

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

French fried onions (I bought a 6 oz. can and didn't use more than a third of it.)

Set oven to 350 degrees. Fry off turkey with some Worchestershire sauce. Meanwhile, combine soup, beans, and corn in a large bowl. Then add turkey and mix well. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray and transfer mixture to it. Cover with frozen tater tots (no need to thaw) and cheddar cheese. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. When finished cover with French fried onions. Note: Sweet potato tater tots are another option. 

We watched Star Trek: Discovery during dinner...

and then had Oh Ho cake from Kowalski's for dessert. 

Christmastide 2020: The 7th Day of Christmas - New Year's Eve

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Perfectly perfect day for being lazy. 

For cocktail hour I had a gin martini (Hendrick's).

Dale had red wine. 

And we listened to one of my many holiday playlists.