Sunday, January 5, 2020

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. 

The Eleventh Day of Christmas - Dry January, Sun, and Putting Stuff Away

Saturday, January 4, 2020




Today was a very quiet day for me so it was a good time to reflect. Found a bottle of Hendricks gin laying in the snow at the edge of someone's yard while walking Athena this morning. It felt like I was being taunted about doing a dry January!



Saw the sun today for the first time since December 31. Winters seem to be a bit warmer and much cloudier with climate change. 

Began the process of putting away some of the Christmas tchotchkes. Dale said he read somewhere that if you don't get your stuff down by the 12th day of Christmas that you have to leaving it up until Candlemas on February 2, otherwise bad luck. Being that this is a presidential election year I don't think I wanna take a chance.

The Tenth Day of Christmas - Mike and Charisse

Friday, January 3, 2020


Had Mike and Charisse over tonight on this the tenth day of Christmas. Dale hasn't seen them as recently as I have so it was nice to catch up. Dale made an amazing chili with Italian sausage that went over very well. We had cherry pie for dessert and I found out that Mike grew up preferring birthday pies as opposed to cakes just like I did. We're all doing dry January and it's going well for everyone. We're all finding that we're missing the rituals of drinking more so than the drinking itself. 

2,5,6,7,9,10

Thursday, January 2, 2020

The Ninth Day of Christmas - Reindeer & More

Thursday, January 2, 2019


I haven't posted pictures of the stuff displayed on the porch. So here we go. 

The reindeer are looking great.


So are the bears. 


Shiny Christmas balls.


And Santa.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

The Eighth Day of Christmas -

Wednesday, January 1, 2019


I was talking to a neighbor today who is so ready to be done with Christmas. While walking Athena back on December 26 I noticed his tree was already by the garbage can. It was funny to see this meme posted by Cindi on Facebook today. Just when it feels like the rest of the world has packed Christmas up...

The Eighth Day of Christmas

Wednesday, January 1, 2019




Dale and I brought Mom to the latest Star Wars movie this afternoon. There were some scenes with Carrie Fisher that were a bit emotional and made even more so due to her passing. Mom mentioned that she felt like she was right back in the theater in 1977 when the scrolling words popped up on the screen during the opening. Dale and I agreed. Time just seems to melt away. 









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.