Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Twelfth Day of Christmas: Mom, First Cigar of 2026

 Monday, January 5, 2026

First cigar of the New Year. It's been since the day after Christmas. 

Mom was supposed to be transferred to the TCU this afternoon but there was a scheduling mix up and they're going to have to wait until the morning. The doctor called and said he felt confident they had done all they could for her and that she's ready for the next stage of her recovery. He also reported that she was feeling a little discouraged today. I think it's setting in for her that this is going to be a long recovery. 

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

 Sunday, January 4, 2025

Visited Mom today and gave Dale the day off. He's been so wonderful with all the time he spent with her while I was sick. A couple of those days were really tough days for her too. She continues to do well. Hopefully tomorrow she will be moved to the TCU.

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Tenth Day of Christmas: Eggnog, Livvy, Old Fashioned, Mom

 Saturday, January 3, 2026

Had some eggnog left. Added a splash of rum. It was delicious and the eggnog to rum ratio was perfect. 

Listened to a little Livvy. 

Dale and I went to lunch at The Howe. I had an Old Fashioned. It's nice to be feeling well enough to have a cocktail. 

Dale and I went to visit Mom at the hospital. It was my first time there since she was admitted on Sunday. They use this chair to help move to her lounge chair. She's doing well. 

Christmas Season 2025/2026 -The Ninth Day of Christmas: Mom, Old Fashioned, and Kylie

 Friday, January 2, 2026

Finally starting to feel well enough that I'll be able to see Mom tomorrow. She had a tough day emotionally although she's making lots of improvement physially. This whole thing is just emotionally draining for her. 

Dale got home from the hospital around 2:00 pm and we were both starving. We went to The Lowbrow and I ordered an Old Fashioned, my first cocktail in a while. 

Listened to Kylie when I got home. 

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

 Thursday, January 1, 2026

Happy New Year. I gave up a long time ago saying the new year couldn't possibly worse than the last one. Maybe someday I'll be pleasantly surprised. I guess I could say the silver lining to 2025 is that I along with millions of other Americans started to push back against bullshit in a way we hadn't before. I'm planning on more of that for 2026. 

Read a version of The Night Before Christmas from my childhood. The illustrations are charming. The verse is lilting and rhythmic and its familiarity is comforting. 

Still not well enough to visit Mom in the hospital. Dale said she was feeling and looking much better. They'll be getting the ball rolling soon to get her set up for a transitional care unit. Looks like she won't be discharged until Sunday. We'll know more soon. 

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.