Monday, January 15, 2024
Another leisurely paced morning. Coffee with Dale,
cat on our laps,
and sub-zero temp (-7) outside but cozy and warm inside.
Did a little shopping at Target.
Good to see the sun and blue skies.
Listened to more childhood Christmas music
and drank a little Irish Cream.
Took some more walks and...
...enjoyed being around Sylvester.
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.
Thursday, December 28, 2023
The Fourth Day of Christmas
Not too much colder than yesterday but it felt a bit more raw.
The weather didn't keep me from stepping outside for a cigar.
Still no snow on the ground.
I've slowly been working away at the box of krumkake we've had around since Christmas. These were from Lunds and were as good as Mom's which is really saying something.
Sunday, December 24, 2023
I never thought I'd be saying on Christmas Eve, "What a great day to sit outside with a cigar."
53 degrees. On Christmas Eve. Weird.
But enjoyable nonetheless even though it feels like Halloween instead of Christmas.
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Countdown to Christmas - 1 Day
A few more things to set out.
Dale and I went to Lunds this morning to pick up some last minute stuff. It's eerily warm outside. No snow at all but we're supposed to be getting some rain soon.
Dale and I took Mom to Jax for their Sunday buffet brunch.
We nabbed a parking spot in Lobster Lane. I think that's the closet we've ever parked.
The buffet was delicious. I think Mom really liked it.
Santa was out on the patio so I snapped a photo.
Saturday, December 9, 2023
Gloomy day today. We got a dusting of snow.
Earlier Noel and I went to lunch at Heather's. Since my stomach's been feeling better I've really been craving a burger and fries which is what I got and it really hit the spot. We stopped by Bachman's to see their Christmas stuff. There were a good number of people about and it all had an air of holiday bustle which has been missing from my Christmas shopping experiences of late. The Christmas tree area had a strong and wonderful scent of pine.
Dale and I had cocktails and listened to Christmas music before dinner. I was still really full from my heavy lunch so I just had some tomato soup. Dale had some sushi we picked up at the store.
Flurries into the evening and the wind was whistling outside; very cozy. Watched Only Murders in the Building and called it a night.
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Woke up in the middle of the night nauseous as heck. The rest of the night was miserable and needless to say I didn't get much sleep. Didn't go to school this morning. I finally got up around 6:30 a.m. and threw up one last time. Throughout the rest of the morning the nausea abated but I was on the couch most of the day. Dale was so sweet and ran to the store to pick up applesauce, Pedialyte, chicken broth, and saltines. The applesauce was the only thing that was tolerable at first but I eventually moved on the the other things without too much trouble.
Quite warm for December today. Dale worked from home today which worked out really well for me. He took good care of me. He got a few nice walks in. I on the other hand just wasn't up to going outside although I enjoyed all the sunshine coming in the windows.
Laid around all day trying to recover from the dehydration and exhaustion that come with unrelenting wretching.
I listened to LOTS of Christmas music which was quite enjoyable. I've been needing rest for a long time. It's too bad it takes something like this to get me to do it.
Sylvester came to cuddle with me which was very cozy.
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
