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 money 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. 

Christmastide:MLK Weekend Monday - MLK Day

Monday, January 20, 2025

MLK Day. 

Woke up this morning. Freezing outside. 

Had morning coffee with this guy on my lap. Then went to the gym with Dale. Lunch at The Howe. 

Found this out today and I'm excited. 

Set out the holiday houses. Checked my voice mail and found out school for tomorrow is cancelled due to the cold. 

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. 

Christmas Eve 2024: Cigar Time

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Shifted into Christmas Eve mode around 3:00.

Provided minimal help to John by chopping onions as he was starting to get tonight's beef stroganoff ready.

Dale coached John by sharing what he does for his own beef stroganoff recipe. 

Cigar time arrived around 3:30. It was perfect out. 

We'd reached the high for the day. 

So I lit up. 

I moved on from gin to bourbon. John took a break from cooking and came out for a swim. He said my cigar smelled great. He was right. It tasted great too.

Countdown to Christmas: 2 Days

 Monday, December 23, 2024

Woke up this morning around 5:00. Last night was Dale’s first night away from staying with his parents this trip. So nice to have him here this morning. Hot tub with John about 7:00 am. Talked family, (my) work, and politics. 

Nice walk with Dale up to the sundial on a nearby trail. 

You stand on the month. . .

...and your shadow points to the hour. This photo was taken at 10:53 am. Pretty accurate. 

The trail ends with the sundial at the top of a hill. 

The views from up top are pretty nice. 

Dale and I took the same hike last time I was here in February. 

After our hike we went to lunch at IHOP.  Dale got breakfast and I got the shrimp platter.  The regular shrimp platter not the 55+ version. 

Dale needed some clothes so we did some shopping at Kohl’s. He got a pair of pants and some shirts. I ended up getting a couple of shirts as well.  Next off to the cigar store where I picked up a couple of cigars. Our final stop for errands was Safeway where I got some cereal   and some premade Old Fashioneds. Those should last me through Christmas. One would hope. 

At Safeway I also picked up an Archie Christmas Comics Digest. It’s a throwback to when Pete was born in late November back in the day. Mom was in the hospital for a few days which was how they did it back then. No get-‘em-in-and-get-‘em-out like they do now. They also didn’t let kids in to visit so Dad bought Sam and I comic books we could read in the waiting room. Archies were my favorite at the time and by that part of the year Christmas issues were out so he bought me a few. 

When we got home we were at the high for the day...

Was feeling a little sniffly so I decided to take a soak in the sun but not the water. 

I read a ghost story for Christmas from the Seth series titled Captain Dalgety Returns. I may  have to reread it as I found it tough to follow. 

Gathering at the home of Candace and Doug, John and Dianne's next door neighbors. They had a nice gathering of folks who live on the blockc and it was nice to meet so many of them. I met a woman named Nancy who is a retired primary teacher who left the profession around the time of Covid. We talked about the many joys of teaching but also about the joys of not doing it anymore. 

John and Dianne's other next door neighbor, Kirk, came to the party as well and is pictured here with us on the left.  The theme of the party was Mele Kelikimaka which is the reason for the leis. 

Dale and I back at John and Dianne's place after the party.