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. 

Christmastide 2021/2022 - 2nd Day of Christmas: Quiet Morning

Sunday, December 26, 2021

I've really enjoyed the quiet mornings I've experienced this Christmas break. Today was no exception. 

Along with my morning coffee I had some of the chocolate chip cookies Mom brought over last night and some krumkake I got at Kowalski's. 

Holiday Season 2021 - Mike & Charisse

Thursday, December 23, 2021

We had Mike and Charisse over for dinner tonight. It was nice to see them and we had a wonderful time. Dale made chili and they brought over some Christmas cookies over that they made for us which we had for dessert. They're the first company we've had since we got Sylvester so I wasn't sure how he'd react. He was very outgoing and as we talked and ate cookies after dinner he jumped up on the couch and sat between them. He rolled over on his back and let them scratch his tummy. I think they really enjoyed his company and were impressed by how relaxed he was with them. 

Dale wrote the following on his blog earlier today:

"Tonight we’re having a high school buddy of Joe’s and his wife over for dinner.  I’ve made my signature chili and we’ve cleaned the house.  Joe is decorating the tree and we’re listening to Donna Summer’s Christmas album.  Sylvester the Cat is cuddled up next to me as I write this, so the scene is quite cozy and domestic.  Joe and I are both missing Athena mightily, but it has been almost two months since we lost her so the sadness has mellowed a bit.  We were so lucky to have had so many years with that wonderful dog."

Christmas Eve Day 2020 - White Christmas and Cookies

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Apreciative to have gotten snow to make it a white Christmas.

Jean, our next door neighbor, made some cookies and was kind enough to bring some over to us. They sure tasted good!

The Eleventh Day of Christmas - Miracle on 34th Street

Saturday, January 24, 2020

Dale and I watched Miracle on 34th Street tonight. Neither one of us has seen it in a number of years. We used to watch it on Thanksgiving morning while the turkey was baking. 

My high school friend, Sharon, and I went to see this at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts way back when we were in high school. I remember how charmed and enchanted we were with it. Sadly, Sharon died about 10 years ago. I still think of her fondly and often. 

We had salmon for dinner and for dessert we decided to finish up some of the cookies Mom made for us. I can't remember what they're called. It's been a number of years since she's made them however they were a yearly thing when we were kids. It's a pillow like cookie similar in concept to ravioli and they're stuffed with dates. They're delicious and when I first bit into one after all these years it brought me right back to Christmas at the house on Stevens with the sounds of the Kingston Trio and the Harry Simeone Chorale in my ears. 

Holiday Season 2018 - Krumkake

Sunday, December 9, 2018

After church Dale and I headed over to Mom's to make krumkake. She hasn't made it in years and asked me last week if I'd like to come over and help. Of course I said yes!

Pictured above is a krumkake iron exactly like the one Mom used to have. She's made them for as long as I can remember - every year for a long time and then more sporadically. I think she quit making them after Dad died. The iron shown above could be used on a gas or electric stove burner. I don't know how well they'd work on more recent ovens with  glass tops. Anyway, a friend loaned Mom an electric one which is pictured below.

I helped Mom put the batter together. 

I was in charge of getting the batter on the iron and closing it. Holding it shut for about 45 seconds did the trick. 

Mom took care of getting the cookie off the iron and rolling it. The whole process was pretty quick with two people. Having a double rather than single iron didn't hurt either. 

The recipe Mom used was a "new" one. I have that in quotes because the recipe came out of a Star Tribune Sunday Magazine newspaper insert from back in 1988. Mom saved it all these years with the intention of someday trying it. Well, someday came today.

The recipe comes from a woman named Hilda Kringstad and is not too different from the one Mom has used for years. The difference is that Hilda's recipe calls for using whipping cream that's actually been whipped before adding it to the batter. Regardless, these krumkake were much better than the ones I've gotten at the grocery store and at the very least equally as good as the ones from the recipe Mom used for years!

Dale loved the krumkake too. 

I'd say Mom's and my endeavor was a success and it was great to relive a wonderful old holiday memory.

Holiday Season 2017 - Kelly's Cookies

My wonderful colleague, Kelly, again made me an assortment of holiday treats which included white chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter bars, and some sort of cake pop without the sticks (for which I'm gonna have to ask the recipe). 

Holiday Season 2016 - Christmas Cookies

My colleague Kelly was kind enough to make and put together an assortment of Christmas cookies for me. 

On the box she wrote "Happy Holidays Joe! Love working with you! Kelly." So nice 'cause I love working with her too. 

I never make Christmas cookies for myself and Dale mostly to keep from eating them all. It's nice to get a variety. 

Christmas Season 2015/2016 - Gingerbread Cookies

Saturday, January 2, 2016

I picked a half price package of gingerbread men at Kowalski's a few days ago and since I had a gingerbread jones today I decided to indulge. They're cute and quite tasty. 

Athena looks on as I eat them.

Christmas Eve 2015 - Christmas Cookies

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Mom served Christmas cookies for dessert. She used Grandma Jean's sugar cookie recipe which turns out some pretty awesome results. Mom thinks they're the best sugar cookies she's ever tasted and I have to agree with her. The recipe had been lost for a while but she told me that this year she found it again! She also served a nut pastry called _________. It's made by Tobie's (yes, the one between Minneapolis and Duluth) although she found it at a grocery store near her. Earlier this morning Dale and I stopped at Kowalski's for some last minute shopping for tomorrow's dinner and I picked up the cookie you see below. It's a shortbread cookie but it had a gingerbread taste to it. The bottom part was dipped in some kind of frosting. The whole thing was marvelous.

Holiday Cookies 2014 - Christmas Spritz Cookies

Dale and I hosted coffee hour at church today. We brought some spritz cookies made by Mrs. Kowalski.

Holiday Season 2014 - Christmas Cookies

We also brought some peanut butter blossoms. These are peanut butter cookies with a big chocolate star place in the middle. Both the spritz and the blossoms were big hits.

Twelfth Night 2014 - Gingerbread Cookies

Didn't make a fancy dinner tonight but did bake some gingerbread cookies. They made the house smell wonderful. These came pre-cut and ready to put in the oven. 

Christmas Season 2013 - Russian Tea Cakes

My friend Noel makes Russian Tea Cakes every Christmas just as her mother did and, I believe, as her grandmother did as well. Her grandma, who was of Czech descent, refused to call them Russian Tea Cakes because of what the Russians did to the Czech people. I believe the family still calls them pecan crisps or something like that. Pictured above are some of the actual cookies made by Noel. She sent some home with us after her most recent holiday fete.

Holiday Season 2013 - Warren's Christmas Treats

When Warren came over the other night he brought these cookes as a hostess gift. I should've asked him for the recipe. I don't remember what they're called but they have peanuts, caramel, and chocolate. They have a distinct citrus taste.

Holiday Season 2013 - Brenda's Cookies

Brenda recently posted (along with the above photo) that she and Irv baked some delicious Christmas cookies. They're the kind with the peanut butter cookie and a big Hershey's Kiss on top. Love these. A guy a church recently made ones like this for coffee hour but used a sugar cookie rather than peanut butter.

Christmas Season 2011 - My Attempt at Christmas Cookies

Back in early December I bought a kit to make gingerbread cookies. The cookies in the kit were pre-baked and the frosting and sprinkles were included. Well, it's Martin Luther King, Jr. day and I finally got around to making them. They tasted better than they look.