Pre-Holiday Season 2024: Cigars, Music, Movies

Saturday, December 7, 2024

Lunch with Noel at W.A. Frost today. They had their Christmas tree up. 

                     

When I got home from lunch I hightailed it to the garage for a cigar. 

                     

It was quite pleasant outside. According to Dale the temperature actually made it to 48 degrees. 

Listened to Sia while outside.  

Once back inside I made a vodka martini garnished with olives and pearl onions.  

Listened to Frank Sinatra.

Dale and I watched the last part of It Happened on 5th Avenue on TCM.  At some point it'd be fun to see the whole thing. It's been a few years. 

After It Happened On 5th Avenue was over Holiday Affair came on. We watched it last week with Warren but we watched it again. I like it better each time I see it. 

MLK Weekend 2024 - Saturday

Saturday, January 13, 2024

MLK weekend is here. Enjoying not having anyplace to be but home. It's cold and there's a light coating of snow on the ground. Dale and I are lounging on the couch and Sylvester is on Dale's lap. It's very cozy in here. We're contemplating shoveling the snow but we're not moving too fast to make that happen.

It's cold. Dale and I just got in from shoveling the little bit of snow that's on the ground. Glad we're not just south of us in Iowa which is also frigid but getting HAMMERED with snow. 

For us it's notable because we've been way warmer than usual this season and we haven't had enough snow at any given time to shovel any more that what we got overnight. We've been spoiled but we're bracing ourselves. Who knows when but the monster snowstorm WILL come.

I've come to regard MLK weekend as something of an extension of winter break. As a teacher I've always gotten a 2 week break around the holidays. Every other teacher I talk to says the two week mark is just when they feel they're starting to really relax. That's the case for me with summer break too. Anyway, the two weeks I've been back in school have been productive albeit tiring. There's some good stuff going on at work but I'll just leave that there for now as I need to give myself a mental break from thinking and talking about my job. 

I'm sitting down now with a Fresca and listening to Christmas with Ed Ames, one of my favorite Christmas albums from childhood. Hearing these songs brings me right back to the living room in the house on Stevens at Christmastime. 

We had Fran, Charlie, and Christine from Gethsemane over for dinner tonight and it was really delightful seeing all of them. Dale and I made a lasagna that went over very well. Fran brought over lychee martinis which she's been telling me about for a while. I loved 'em. They're one part lime rum, 1 part lemon run, 1 part vanilla rum, and 1 part lychee liqueur. 

                 

Christmas Season 2023/2024 - 6th Day of Christmas: Dinner with Mike and Charisse

Saturday, December 30, 2023

The 6th Day of Christmas

Mike and Charisse invited us over for dinner tonight. 

For the drive over we were getting a little rain that was trying to turn to snow.  Very slippery conditions. 

We brought over a bottle of white wine to share and a nice red velvet roulade from Lunds for dessert. 

We started with cocktails. Mike had martini makings set out for me.

They had quite a lovely smorgasbord set out for dinner with lots of tasty options. We had a good three hours to talk about all our surgeries, troubles at work, looking ahead and preparing for retirement, and of course our funny cats. I think we came to the conclusion that despite the trials that occur at this stage of life we're at least gaining a level of wisdom we didn't have before to help counter it all. 

While getting ready to leave we discovered the rain had indeed turned to snow and that there was a light dusting covering the ground. We said our goodbyes and were careful walking to the car and driving home because the rain had left a thin layer of ice under the snow. I can't remember the last time I had to brush snow off the car. Too bad this all didn't happen a week ago allowing us a bit of a white Christmas. Oh well, no matter. This holiday season has been quite wonderful even without the typical winter optics. 

Thanksgiving Weekend 2022 - Another Lovely Day

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Lunch with Noel. W.A. Frost has their Christmas tree up.

We stopped by the J.J. Hill House to check out their gift shop. 

Temperature-wise it was pleasant enough for late November. 

Back home for cocktail hour with Dale. 

We made a turkey pot pie for dinner from leftovers. Of course we used our own gravy. 

We incorporated some other leftovers into the meal.

We watched a movie and, as is the case most evenings, each of us had some time with Sylvester on our lap.

Odds & Ends: Sunday Dinner

Sunday, January 31, 2021

I'll be returning to work on site tomorrow after having worked remotely since this past March. I'm feeling a little anxiety about it. Also finishing up a slightly modified dry January I went four weeks without a drink. Decided to finish up the Irish cream that's been sitting in the fridge since Christmas. Not much left. Just enough for half a glass. 

Listened to The Nutcracker a couple of times today. The recording I have was conducted by Andre Previn.

For cocktail hour I had a martini. It went down okay but it negatively affected my sleep. Maybe I'll do a dry February too. 

For dinner Dale and I made Tater Tot Hotdish. It turned out wonderfully. There's a rib-sticking quality to this that's especially appealing during winter time. 

For dessert we had a gingerbread cake. Unlike the one I made from scratch for Old Twelfth Night, this one was from a boxed mix. Regardless, it was delicious and especially so with whipped cream. 

Christmastide 2020: The 8th Day of Christmas - New Year's Day: Cocktail Hour, Christmas Music, and Dinner

Friday, January 1, 2021

Martini for cocktail hour. Dale stuck with red wine.

We listened to Christmas music while having cocktails. Dale said to me, "You know, I haven't heard that one song this year." I responded, "Which song." He said, "I don't know the name of it but it's the one that starts out 'Merry, merry, Christmas'." I knew which one he meant to I looked it up on my phone, found and played it. It's: 

Yes, Ring Those Christmas Bells, by Fred Warring and His Pennsylvanians. We listened and sang along and it was fun. 

However, while searching for it on my phone a version of the same song by Peggy Lee came up. This one was new to me so we listened and sang along. Again, more fun!

Simple dinner of a Kowalski's frozen pizza. 

Christmastide 2020: The 7th Day of Christmas - New Year's Eve

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Perfectly perfect day for being lazy. 

For cocktail hour I had a gin martini (Hendrick's).

Dale had red wine. 

And we listened to one of my many holiday playlists. 

Martinmas 2020 - Dinner

 Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Mid-week cocktail hour included martinis for me. Wine for Dale.

We had a simple dinner of salmon. Dove bars for dessert. Oh, and I had some Bailey's for 2nd dessert. 

And have I ever mentioned that life is just better with a dog in it? 

The Seventh Day of Christmas Part 2 - New Year's Eve

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Laid back day. Dale and I got some cleaning done, a trip to Kowalski's,  and some nice walks in. Again, it is so good to see the sun. 

For cocktail hour we listened to some Christmas music from Bing Crosby, Donna Summer, and the Ultra Lounge.

I had a martini and Dale had wine. 

For dinner we had steak, Brussels sprouts, and a pasta salad.

And for dessert we had pumpkin pie. 

During dinner and dessert we watched The Bishop's Wife - one of our favorites.

I find New Year's Eve to be a kilt-worthy holiday. Note: Dry January starts tomorrow. 

Tonight turned out to be a wonderfully quiet night in. We were in bed by 9:30 p.m. Looking forward to 2020.