Christmastide 2026 - Candlemas

 Monday, February 2, 2026

Got the tree down today. Well, one of 'em anyway. 

One of these days I'll make porridge again but for today it was just oatmeal. Still delicious. 

I did have some gingersnaps today with raspberry jelly. I meant to make a gingerbread cake this January but the grocery store didn't have the mix. 

Christmastide - Renee Nicole Good

 Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Mild weather todsay. Perfect for a cigar in the garage. 

These ginger shortbread cookies were 50% at Lunds. Dale and I loved them. They were dipped in some kind of wonderful which made them extra delicious. I get a kick how most of the world moves on from Christmas on December 26. I know, I'm willing to admit that I'M the weird one when it comes to this. However, our agrarian ancestors used January as a time of rest and reset rather than new beginnings. Technology has pulled us away from our natural rhythms and I'm aware of that bullshit more and more the older I get. 

Rene Nicole Good was murdered in cold blood today just blocks from our house. I'm holding the shock, horror, anger, and disgust within me and I recognize it is making me numb. Covid, George Floyd, the Melissa Hortman murder, the Annunciation shooting, and now this are all making a home in my nervous system. It's all too much but I will not be shaken. I and those I hold dear to me will outlast the chaos of this horrible regime. I will continue to make room for small joys like cookies and cigars and huge joys like the many people I love amidst tragedy and I will continue to do everything I can to make sure people like Rene Nicole Good, George Floyd, Melissa Hortman, the children of Annunciation parish and many others will NOT have died in vain. 

Christmastide:MLK Weekend Tuesday - Gingertopia

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Yep, pretty darn cold this morning. Good thing they called off school. 

Dale's workplace was closed for the day so he worked. from home. Sylvester was very active this morning and started to terrorize Dale while he was trying to work on the computer. The little guy finally settled in behind Dale's computer and calmed down. 

Dale's building opened up in the afternoon so he decided to go in and get a little more work done. I decided to have a cigar upstairs.

And a little port.  

Afterward I got some reading done. I'm now halfway through this book on Swedish American foodways and holiday foods. 

Dale stopped by the store on his way home from work. He picked up some gingery things like ginger snaps and some raspberry jam to go with them. 

They go really well together. 

Listened to some music. 

I had a gingerbread cake mix which I got ready just before dinner. 

After dinner Dale mixed up some whipped cream and we had the gingerbread cake for dessert. 

Gingertopia

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Gingersnaps...

and raspberry jam...

make a very delicious combination. I got the idea years ago and I believe it was from Martha Stewart Living. 

Odd & Ends: Gingerman Cookies and Chocolate

Recently Dale and I had some Pepperidge Farms Gingerman cookies along with some Tillamook Chocolate Mudslide ice cream. They went together extremely well. 

Earlier this season we had chocolate ice cream with Stouffer's ginger cookies. Equally delicious. 

Holiday Season 2020 - A Ghost Story, A Gingerbread Man, and A Blizzard

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Drizzle and rain around 10 am. Felt stuck inside. It turned to a very blustery snow shortly after noon. Finished a ghost story I'd started a few days ago titled The Open Door by Mrs. Oliphant. The story involves a retired British officer who leases an isolated mansion in Scotland. On the estate are ruins of an older house where strange events begin to occur. The book is part of the Ghost Stories for Christmas series designed and illustrated by Seth. I rather enjoyed it. 

As I was eating the gingerbread shortbread cookie I picked up at Kowalski's a couple days ago I got a notice on my phone about a blizzard warning that extends through tomorrow morning to 6:00 a.m. It looks like we could get 7-12 inches of snow and travel is being discouraged. Looks like we're snowbound. How cozy. That cookie was awesome by the way. 

The above photo captures the whiteness of the storm but not the heavy winds and blowing snow. While sitting in the chair pictured at left I listened to the the whistling, and at times moaning, wind. Sarah Vaughn's version of Snowbound is running through my head. 

Candlemas 2020

Saturday, February 2, 2020

Today is Candlemas which is when many Christians, at least historically, brought candles to be used for the year to church to be blessed. It is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ which commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the temple. While many Christian traditions take down Christmas decorations on Epiphany, other wait until Candlemas. For many people, Candlemas marks the end of Christmas. Oh, and there's also that groundhog thing today too.

The sun's been up most of the day today. In the above picture, which I took this morning on the way to the gym, you can see it reflecting off a downtown building. I can't get enough of it as we've been deprived for quite a while now. 

It's not only sunny but unseasonably warm right now. 

Due to the sunny weather I listened to the above song a few times today.

I never really got my gingerbread jones satisfied this holiday season so I picked up some mini ginger cookies while Dale and I were at Kowalski's today. They were quite tasty and really hit the spot. 

We had a simple dinner of burritos tonight along with Dove ice cream bars for dessert. It was a low key day and it's time to say goodbye to the Christmas season. However, there are still weeks of winter to enjoy. Until next time...