Christmas Season 2024/2025: The Ninth Day of Christmas

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Started feeling the Sunday Scaries this morning. They’re hard enough to deal with on a Sunday let alone a Thursday so I had a little pep talk with myself. I decided I could sit at home worrying and anxious about going back to work on Monday or I could sit at home and enjoy still being on break. I decided to not overthink it all and just go with the latter. I was actually impressed with how easy it was to shift gears. 

Got in some nice cuddle time with Sylvester. 

Cold outside this morning.

Never-the-less, morning cigar in the garage with coffee.

While outside I got the table covered.

And the lawn chairs put away.

Also got in a few loads of washing and folding, new sheets on the bed, dishes, cat box, garbage out, recycling out, tidied up the fridge, resistance bands, 12,000 steps, and touching up the bathroom to name just a few.

Listened to lots of music.

Read holiday themed books.

Turned out to be an awesome day. Dale and I went to Lund’s for dinner of prepared foods. Dessert was vanilla bean ice cream with gingerbread cookies. 

Oh, and tonight we watched White Christmas. The movie turned 70 years old in 2024. Wow, when I first saw it it was just over 30 years old and I was younger than that! Now it would be like the movie had been made as recently as the 1990s. Yowza. 

Third Day of Christmas - Christmas On the Couch and More

Thursday, December 27, 2018

1. Sat on the couch and admired the tree.

2. Listened to 50s era Rosemary Clooney Christmas music.

3. Listened to Bing Crosby Christmas music and drank egg nog.

4. Ate some bark left over from Noel's holiday fete. 

5. Worked on the Joe and Mike Christmas Playlist.

6. Read How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

7. Read The Polar Express.

8. Ate leftover Chinese food from yesterday.

9. Listened to Christmas 2013 playlist and read The Night Before Christmas.

10. Took down the tree and all Christmas decorations. Including the two smaller trees pictured above. One was in the bedroom and one was in the dining room. 

11. Drank some egg nog.

12. Read Santa Mouse.

13. Listened to Christmas 2012 playlist.

14. Watched White Christmas with Dale while eating a frozen pizza for dinner.

15. The cowboy Charisse gave me didn't grow much from yesterday although it looks like one of his legs is a little more engorged. I took him out of water a few hours later...

Holiday Season 2018 - The Solstice

Friday, December 21, 2018

The solstice occurred today at 4:23 p.m. Mike texted me a picture as I was taking a screenshot of the time. 

It was of a retro pin-up picture done by a pin-up artist popular in the 1940s & 1950s named Peter Driben. The red and green garments have to be a nod to December. 

Mike also texted me a picture of Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen from White Christmas. I forgot a copy of the movie over at his place the last time I was there. We didn't get a chance to watch it. I'm hoping he's saving it to watch with me...

Christmas Season 2017/2018 - Ninth Day of Christmas

January 2, 2018

On the ninth Day of Christmas...

Mike and I got together at his place on the 9th Day of Christmas for cocktails and basement jazz. He informed me that he hadn't watched any Christmas movies this year. I was sure he had at least seen White Christmas, but no. Would have watched one with him except I wasn't able to stay to late. Fortunately I had enough time to listen to some music and share cocktails and conversation. He had recently spent the Christmas holiday in Arizona with Charisse, Shayla, and his in-laws. Jealous cuz here it was and still is...

Christmas Day 2017 - White Christmas

Monday, December 25, 2017

Dale and I finished watching White Christmas before Mom arrived. We had actually started  it yesterday but nodded off. 

Christmas Eve 2017 - White Christmas

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Just after our church service ended I checked my phone and noticed Mike had texted me the above picture. He's in Arizona visiting Charisse's family and I took it to mean they're watching White Christmas. When Dale and I got home from church we put together a grazing tray of pickled herring, crackers, apples, pears, ham, swiss cheese and French onion dip.  We also put in White Christmas and I texted the following picture to Mike:

I also texted this one:

...with the message "I'll be Danny Kaye to your Bing Crosby." He's such a good sport to put up with me.

Dale and I started falling asleep on the couch before the movie ended (just as Rosie Clooney gets dropped off at the train station by the general after he misunderstanding with Bing). We decided to go to bed but I got a brief second wind and ended up reading The Polar Express before I settled in for my long winter nap. I find the story magical. It's copyrighted 1985 so I didn't grow up with it but I encountered it in the early nineties when I began teaching. It touched me when I first read it as it made me think about what it means to believe. 

Christmas Season 2016/2017 - The Day After: White Christmas

Saturday, December 26, 2016

Mike texted me a couple days ago that he and the gals were watching White Christmas. Can't believe it was 30 years ago this year that I watched this movie on a local broadcast television station by myself in the sunroom at the house on Stevens. I remember loving it and I love it just as much now as I did then. Dale and I watched it tonight.

Christmas Season 2015/2016 - Odds 'n Ends: White Christmas

Dale and I watched it this year. It was just as fun as always. Dale and I have seen Rosemary Clooney perform a holiday show two times. Both times at Orchestra Hall and both times with our friend Noel, and one of those times with our friend Julie.

Holiday Season 2015 - Follow Up Conversation with Mike

Holiday Season 2015 - Checking In with Mike

Monday, December 21, 2015

Mike checked in with me by text last night to let me know they were watching White Christmas.