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.
Sunday, January. 5, 2025
We’re celebrating 12th Night tonight.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Lit some candles for Old Twelfth Night.
Had an apple tart for dessert.
Twelfth Night occurs on January 17 and is still celebrated in some rural communities in Great Britain.
Saturday, January 6, 2024
Epiphany
Got most of the remaining tchotchkes put away. Lit the candles in the dining room right before dinner.
Shortly after dinner got everything else put away.
Sylvester was poking his nose around where the tree used to be and looked a little confused.
Thursday, January 4, 2024
The 11th Day of Christmas - 11 Pipers Piping
Got home from work a little earlier than usual and had a cigar in the garage. First cigar of the New Year.
Not much else going on tonight. Dale had to work a little later than usual.
Lit the candles.
Turned on the lights.
And tried to enjoy the atmosphere during the waning days of the Christmas Season.
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
The 9th Day of Christmas: 9 Ladies Dancing
Took down the Belsnickles in the dining room...
...to make room for these.
The manger scene.
Saturday, December 2, 2023
Lunch at Frost's with Noel. Afterwards we hit the Alexander Ramsey House gift shop, or lack thereof as the case may be. Usually the visitor center is tricked out with holiday merchandise for sale. This year? Nothing except some mugs and a few ornaments. The guy checking people in for tours told us the James J. Hill House up the road is where the Minnesota Historical Society is doing it up big for holiday merchandise this year. We told him that was our next stop. Upon arrival we found ourselves sadly disappointed. All they had were a couple of trees with ornaments on them, a rack of Christmas cards, a small table of unremarkable full priced items, and a small picked over table of half priced items. We each ended up getting a few small half priced candles.
Every year the selection at stores gets a little smaller and seemingly less remarkable. Not that either of us needs anymore Christmas tchotchkes but a little more volume and some better quality stuff would at least make the shopping experience more enjoyable. After years of collecting we're both at a point where anything we buy has to be pretty remarkable and stores are playing it safe the more they're having to compete with online retail. This has been going on for quite a while but the pandemic really accelerated the change. Oh well, change happens.
Cigar in the garage after getting home from my get together with Noel.
My view from the garage.
Also had an Old Fashioned.
After my cigar I joined Dale inside for more cocktails and Christmas music.
For dinner Dale made hamburgers on the grill. They were quite satisfying. We also had potato salad, and a broccoli-cauliflower mix. For dessert we had a red velvet roulade with cream cheese frosting. Also we watched, or, more accurately, Dale, watched Christmas in Connecticut. I kept falling asleep.
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Noel picked me up at noon for our regular Saturday jaunt. Heather's for lunch. We ate outside in the heated tent. Next stop was A Rare Bird. I picked up a little angels box and and Santa Claus Christmas cracker. Kelly told me the cracker was filled with Italian candies. Bonus.
I also found the above pictured Santa ornament. I thought it was a little expensive for what it was but I liked it and thought it would fit rather well with other items in my American Santa collection. When I went to make the purchase Kelly told me the ornament actually came with the little living tree I had pulled it off. All the better.
At The Loft I picked up a cranberry scented candle for Thanksgiving. I like the brand they sell which don't smell overly sweet and also have a kind of smoky/spicy scent.
I found a Nicole Sayre angel for only 25 bucks. Noel says they're going for at least $75 on eBay. Deal!
Also at the Loft I found a Waechtersbach Christmas tree coffee mug which I picked up for nostalgia's sake. I remember seeing them at the old Dayton's Department Store when they first appeared in the 1970s. I did a little internet search when I got home and discovered the pattern was produced from 1976 until 2012.
Monday, January 17, 2022
Laid back afternoon once home from the rally.
Had an apple as a nod to Old Twelfth Night.
Listened to Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.
Simple dinner of burritos.
And we watched episodes of the old Lucy Show on Amazon Prime. What a blast from the past since I haven't seen it since I was a kid.
