Countdown to Christmas: 2 Days

 Monday, December 23, 2024

Woke up this morning around 5:00. Last night was Dale’s first night away from staying with his parents this trip. So nice to have him here this morning. Hot tub with John about 7:00 am. Talked family, (my) work, and politics. 

Nice walk with Dale up to the sundial on a nearby trail. 

You stand on the month. . .

...and your shadow points to the hour. This photo was taken at 10:53 am. Pretty accurate. 

The trail ends with the sundial at the top of a hill. 

The views from up top are pretty nice. 

Dale and I took the same hike last time I was here in February. 

After our hike we went to lunch at IHOP.  Dale got breakfast and I got the shrimp platter.  The regular shrimp platter not the 55+ version. 

Dale needed some clothes so we did some shopping at Kohl’s. He got a pair of pants and some shirts. I ended up getting a couple of shirts as well.  Next off to the cigar store where I picked up a couple of cigars. Our final stop for errands was Safeway where I got some cereal   and some premade Old Fashioneds. Those should last me through Christmas. One would hope. 

At Safeway I also picked up an Archie Christmas Comics Digest. It’s a throwback to when Pete was born in late November back in the day. Mom was in the hospital for a few days which was how they did it back then. No get-‘em-in-and-get-‘em-out like they do now. They also didn’t let kids in to visit so Dad bought Sam and I comic books we could read in the waiting room. Archies were my favorite at the time and by that part of the year Christmas issues were out so he bought me a few. 

When we got home we were at the high for the day...

Was feeling a little sniffly so I decided to take a soak in the sun but not the water. 

I read a ghost story for Christmas from the Seth series titled Captain Dalgety Returns. I may  have to reread it as I found it tough to follow. 

Gathering at the home of Candace and Doug, John and Dianne's next door neighbors. They had a nice gathering of folks who live on the blockc and it was nice to meet so many of them. I met a woman named Nancy who is a retired primary teacher who left the profession around the time of Covid. We talked about the many joys of teaching but also about the joys of not doing it anymore. 

John and Dianne's other next door neighbor, Kirk, came to the party as well and is pictured here with us on the left.  The theme of the party was Mele Kelikimaka which is the reason for the leis. 

Dale and I back at John and Dianne's place after the party. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 1st Day of Christmas: Dinner with Mom & A Visit with Sam and Fam

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Mom came over just before the 2 pm Google Meet I'd set up with Sam. We had a nice conversation with Sam, Becky, and the boys. At one point the boys told us about the presents they got this year. Sam mentioned that Cairic got a helmet because he had been hitting his head a lot recently. Cairic looked quite excited and jumped up to fetch said helmet. We were a little concerned and Mom asked why he was hitting his head lately. Before anyone could answer Cairic came back with a medieval type helmet that looked something like a knight might wear. We were relieved Sam had been joking about Cairic hitting his head and had a good laugh about how funny it looked as he tried it on. 

The meet lasted just about an hour. By the time it ended it was 10 pm in Sam's part of the world.

Mom brought us a funny gnome as a Christmas present. I love it!

We had beef stroganoff for dinner which Dale and I made together. It was quite delicious. Dale also made his famous Brussels sprouts with bacon and maple syrup. So yummy. 

Shortly before Mom arrived I tried on my kilt for the first time since last year. On Christmas of 2020 I realized how much lockdown weight I had put on when I couldn't get the main snap of the garment any closer than about two inches apart. This year I was able to snap it. It was tight but I was able to snap it. I like to call it a Christmas miracle but much more sensible eating in 2021 than in 2020 was the actual reason. 

Sylvester did great with Mom. He was outgoing and very comfortable being next to her on the couch. 

After we all had some pumpkin pie Mom decided to call it a night at about 7 pm as she was starting to wilt a bit. Overall she did really well considering she sang at the 9 pm Christmas Eve mass at her church last night. So good to spend Christmas with her. She's the only one on the planet I've celebrated every Christmas with in one way or another. As I look back I can only come up with two or three times I haven't been with her on the actual day. Each of those times we made up for it by celebrating on one of the other 12 days of Christmas. Merry Christmas, Mom!

Holiday Season 2018 - Manger Scene

Friday, November 23, 2018

The kids wanted to set up the manger scene and asked me for a little help with the structure. My Dad built the creche back in the late 1960s and Mom sewed the figures. As kids we helped set it up every Christmas. Mom offered to give it to me about 10 years ago knowing how much I loved it as a kid. As much as I would have liked it I told her no and to offer it to Sam or Pete because they've got kid I thought would enjoy it. Pete ended up with it after a deal was worked out with Sam. Pete's kids added the Grinch and his dog, Max.  

Christmas Eve 2017 - Greetings to Sam and Pete

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Shortly before Dale and I headed of to the Christmas Eve service I texted Sam and Pete the above picture. Sam texted back the following... 

...with the message that they ended up with a white Christmas. I texted back that that's pretty good for Kansas. Pete texted that they're doing cheese fondue at their house.

New Year's Day 2016 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

New Year's Day 2016

For the Christmas season a neighbor family has had this on display:

Funny because I've been planning to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens with Mom today. It was quite a bit of fun in and of itself but also because I remember going as a family back in 1977 to see the first one. It was such a trip to see the original cast back up on the big screen again and I don't care what the haters say, I thought Carrie Fisher looked fantastic. 

When the movie was over, Mom turned to the 20-something sitting next to her and said with excitement  "I took him to see the original back in 1977." I giggled with glee but the gal looked back at Mom with a blank expression. 

In the car Mom leaned over and referenced the interaction saying, "I don't think young people who've grown up watching videos of the movies can understand how exciting it was to watch the original on the big screen for the first time." 

Nope, they can't. I can't forget the warm early June night when Mom, Dad, Sam, and I went to see it suburban Minneapolis. We had no idea what to expect. No idea. 

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Mom's Tree

Mom texted me a picture of her tree as we didn't make it over for Christmas Eve dinner like we usually do. She said she'd keep it up a little longer this year as she was away in Leavenworth visiting Sam and his family between Christmas and New Year's.

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - A Christmas Story

Dale and I watched A Christmas Story this evening. Way back in 1983 during Christmas break, my brother Sam and I hiked over to the Boulevard Theater on Lyndale Avenue to go see A Christmas Story. The Boulevard was a second run theater and it only cost 99 cents to get in. I had seen a review for this movie on Siskal and Ebert and thought it looked intriguing. Sam and I roared with laughter through the movie but after this initial viewing I never heard about it again. During one Thanksgiving in the mid-90s ('94 or '95) Dale and I were visiting Brenda and Irv for Thanksgiving and I came across the movie on cable TV. Whatever channel was showing it was doing a 24 hour marathon. I called Dale's attention to it and he had never heard of it before. He fell in love with it so we purchased a copy and have been watching it every year since.

Holiday Season 2013 - Holidazzle Parade 4

It's been a number of years since Dale and I have been to the Holidazzle parade. This is the last year of the event so we decided we'd better squeeze in one last visit for old time's sake. Our friends Warren and Brandon accompanied us. I believe the parade began way back in 1993 as an attempt by the Downtown Council to draw shoppers away from the new and competing Mall of America in Bloomington. It worked. Back in the day the parade was 5 or 6 nights a week but in recent years it's only occurred on Friday and Saturdays. Next year there will supposedly be a new downtown event but there's no word on what it might look like. Dale and I went a couple of times when we first met each other. Mom, Sam, Becky, and the boys went with us in 2007 or 2008.

Graphic by design: jdl
Photo taken December 20, 2013

Christmas 2012 - Advent Calendar Before and After

Here are the before and after shots of the Advent calendar Mom made for Pete's family.  I hope the kids enjoyed putting the pieces up as much as Sam, Pete, and I did when we were little.