Christmastide 2026 - MLK Day: Dandelion Tea

 Monday, January 20, 2026

Dale picked up some Dandelion tea. I talked to Mom's friend Millie today who recommended it for my cough. 

Sylvester lurking in the background. 

Christmastide:MLK Weekend Monday - MLK Day

Monday, January 20, 2025

MLK Day. 

Woke up this morning. Freezing outside. 

Had morning coffee with this guy on my lap. Then went to the gym with Dale. Lunch at The Howe. 

Found this out today and I'm excited. 

Set out the holiday houses. Checked my voice mail and found out school for tomorrow is cancelled due to the cold. 

Christmastide - Old Twelfth Night on the Eve of MLK Weekend

Friday, January 17, 2025

This has been quite a week. Full moon on Monday, bitter cold earlier in the week which kept the kids indoors for recess which got them rather unregulated, assessments all week which got them even more unregulated, and Dale announced his retirement. Needless say I'm exhaused. 

Very uneventful evening tonight which was fine by me since I had about as much energy as a burnt out lightbulb. Frozen pepperoni pizza for dinner and Big Bang Theory on the TV. 

MLK Weekend 2024 - Sunday (Christmistletoe)

  Sunday, January 14, 2024

Another day of not having to hustle to get to work. 

Dale and I  drank coffee and took turns having Sylvester on our laps. 

The wind is whistling outside and it's even colder than yesterday morning yet it's very cozy inside. 

Went to church this morning on this 2nd Sunday after Epiphany. 

Dale had to count the collection after the service so I zipped over to Lake Harriet for a (very) short walk due to the cold. 

Despite the frigid air I was able to appreciate the beauty of the peacefulness and stillness. 

After my Lake Harriet visit I picked up Dale at church and we headed over to Creekside for brunch. 

                      

We both had omletes. Dale had the Denver and I had the mushroom and Gruyere. Delicious.

Stopped by Kowalski's after Creekside and picked up some potato salad to bring over to Warren's tonight. 

          

This afternoon Dale went to the gym and I had a cigar upstairs. 

 

Also listened to another childhood favorite Christmas album by the Harry Simeone Chorale. 

   

Dinner of BBQ chicken and ribs at Warren's townhouse. Gary was able to join us and we watched Crazy Mama starring Cloris Leachman. Oh so silly. Actually, just stupid. 

MLK Weekend 2024 - Saturday

Saturday, January 13, 2024

MLK weekend is here. Enjoying not having anyplace to be but home. It's cold and there's a light coating of snow on the ground. Dale and I are lounging on the couch and Sylvester is on Dale's lap. It's very cozy in here. We're contemplating shoveling the snow but we're not moving too fast to make that happen.

It's cold. Dale and I just got in from shoveling the little bit of snow that's on the ground. Glad we're not just south of us in Iowa which is also frigid but getting HAMMERED with snow. 

For us it's notable because we've been way warmer than usual this season and we haven't had enough snow at any given time to shovel any more that what we got overnight. We've been spoiled but we're bracing ourselves. Who knows when but the monster snowstorm WILL come.

I've come to regard MLK weekend as something of an extension of winter break. As a teacher I've always gotten a 2 week break around the holidays. Every other teacher I talk to says the two week mark is just when they feel they're starting to really relax. That's the case for me with summer break too. Anyway, the two weeks I've been back in school have been productive albeit tiring. There's some good stuff going on at work but I'll just leave that there for now as I need to give myself a mental break from thinking and talking about my job. 

I'm sitting down now with a Fresca and listening to Christmas with Ed Ames, one of my favorite Christmas albums from childhood. Hearing these songs brings me right back to the living room in the house on Stevens at Christmastime. 

We had Fran, Charlie, and Christine from Gethsemane over for dinner tonight and it was really delightful seeing all of them. Dale and I made a lasagna that went over very well. Fran brought over lychee martinis which she's been telling me about for a while. I loved 'em. They're one part lime rum, 1 part lemon run, 1 part vanilla rum, and 1 part lychee liqueur. 

                 

MLK Weekend 2023 - Christmistletoe and A Nice Day for a Walk

Sunday, January 16, 2023

Dale and I are feeling marginally better and felt we should spend a little time today trying to build a little strength back since we're each going back to work on Wednesday. We took a walk to the cemetery and stopped by the mausoleum to visit Dad. 

It was warm walking in the sun. 

On the way back we stopped by the mailbox to drop my DNA sample in the mailbox to send to Ancestry. 

MLK Weekend 2023 - Staying In. A Lot

Saturday, January 16, 2023

Dale and I both tested positive for Covid this past week. We've both had fevers and were sick as dogs. However, we'll feeling a bit better now. 

I had a fever of 102.1 on Wednesday. It dropped to normal by the evening. Dale, on the other hand, had a fever of 101 on Wednesday. 

Tonight Dale and I made a quiche and watched Auntie Mame.

We had banana chocolate swirl cake from Lunds. 

MLK Weekend - Rally

Monday, January 17, 2022

Attended an MLK Day rally in support of living wages and affordable health care for paraprofessionals in the district I work. 

Despite the chill it was very energizing.

And everyone who spoke did very well. Lots of references were made to the voting rights issues going on lately. 

MLK Weekend - Ghost Stories

Monday, January 17, 2022

Finished Mr. Jones by Edith Wharton recently. Quite well done and sufficiently spooky. The teaser on the back of the book reads: "When Lady Jane Lynke unexpectedly inherits Bells, a beautiful country estate, she declares she'll never leave the peaceful grounds and starts to make the house her home. But she hasn't reckoned on the obstinate Mr. Jones, who haas instructed the caretakers to deny all entry - yet is nowhere to be found."

Today I read, and finished, An Eddy On the Floor by Bernard Capes. This one was exceptional and got into my head. For this the teaser reads: "A man receives an unexpected appointment as doctor at the local prison. But when a terrified inmate begs to be moved, the young doctor begins to question his good fortune: The cell adjacent the frightened man has been boarded up for years - and no one will let the doctor inside."

I always enjoy Seth's illustrations. 

MLK Weekend - Christmistletoe

Sunday, January 16, 2022

Put out the Dala horses...

Lit some candles...

More candles...

And more candles.

We drank fizzy water for cocktail hour due to our dry-January.

Listened to some Christmas music that I didn't get to this past season. 

Dale and I made a chicken pot pie and Dale stir fried some vegetables.

For dessert I had pumpkin cheesecake from Lunds and Dale had a Dove bar. 

During dinner we watched a few episodes of the old Carol Burnett Show. Guests included Jonathan Winters, Lucille Ball, Imogene Coca, Phyllis Diller, Bobbie Gentry,  Diahann Carroll, and the Smothers Brothers; very nostalgic.