Martinmas 2023

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Martinmas snuck up on me this year as it often does. Woke up not feeling well this morning so I cancelled with Noel. Sat around all day which worked out just fine since I don't have the bandwidth to do much more. Work has just been exhausting which is probably why I'm not feeling well. 

Spent time looking through a new Christmas book I picked up last weekend while out shopping with Noel. It's simply titled The Christmas Book and it's published by Phaidon. The book contains more than 200 images of paintings, books, prints, sculptures, textiles, ceramics, and photography, and covers topics such as Advent; the Christmas tree and holiday decorations; gift giving and carol singing; and classic Christmas films and music. It's a delightful publication. 

Checked out some of this blog's previous Martinmas posts where I acknowledge the loss of our beloved black lab, Athena. Had an Old Fashioned tonight in her honor and used a lab themed lowball glass I picked up a few years ago. I still miss her greatly. She reminds me that disparate emotions can coexist within us - the joy of living with her and the pain of losing her. Cheers, Athena, I won't forget you. 

I believe loss can make us cherish even more what we currently hold dear. Sylvester came to us just under two months after we lost Athena. He too is an angel and I'm grateful for his presence. 

Chicken is a traditional Martinmas food. Dale and I decided to make a chicken pot pie for dinner. We use chicken thighs for the dish and the dark meat makes it especially rich. 

We watched Meet Me in St. Louis during dinner tonight. It's a great movie for November as two major parts of the movie cover Halloween and Christmas which this month bridges. The movie is just shy of being 80 years old and I believe only one member of the main cast is still living. Margaret O'Brien, born on January 15, 1937, is 86 years old. She's one of the last surviving stars of the golden age of Hollywood.

June Lockhart, another of the last surviving members of Hollywood's golden age is still with us at 98 years old. As a kid I absolutely loved her in the tv program Lost In Space. 

Some music Dale and I listened to during cocktail hour this afternoon. 

Holiday Season 2021 - Meet Me In St. Louis Part 1

Saturday, December 11, 2021

Dale and I stopped at Kowalski's after our second trip to Mom's place to pick up dinner. So full were Dale and I from our Brunch at Heather that we decided to just pick up salads. While eating our dinner we watched Meet Me In St. Louis. 

I've been watching this film since 1986. If you average out how many times I've seen it I'm guessing it would be getting close to around once per year and I've yet to tire of it. 

Dale and I were pretty beat from the previous week and we decided to head to bed just as the Christmas part was about to begin. 

Holiday Season 2020 - First Day of Christmas Vacation: In the Good Old Summertime

Saturday, December 19, 2020

This is gonna be a much less busy holiday season than usual. That's not necessarily a bad thing although I am missing getting together with folks. With the slower pace and extra time I may try to get watch more Christmas movies and specials this year. I never seem to get through all the ones I'd like to. 

Tonight we made a quiche for dinner and watched In the Good Old Summertime with Judy Garland and Van Johnson. I love it an haven't seen it for a few years although sadly I fell asleep about halfway through. The same thing happened with Christmas in Connecticut last weekend.  Oh well, no big deal. I've got time on my hands so rewatching won't be a problem. 

Despite falling asleep I woke up at a couple of my favorite spots. The first being when Judy sings Merry Christmas in Mr. Oberkugen's shop. It's a song you actually don't hear too often during the holidays although Bette Midler has a lovely version of it on her Christmas album. I also woke up at the end just in time for little Liza's cameo. 

Bloody Mary for cocktail hour (see above top). Made sure I had lots of stuff for the garnish: gherkins, pickled pear onions, cheese and olives (not pictured). 

My serving of pumpkin pie for dessert which begs the question:

I'd say I'm at a 3.