Category: Seasonal

It’s Slippery Out There

It is slippery out there: fell backwards, blanked out, got a concussion, felt really punk. I’m now back home, grateful for the lovely people at Methodist Hospital. This time next year we plan to be far away, in a Southern Hemisphere summer.

Time to Put Away Ornaments

12th Night: time to put away the ornaments, possibly for the next two years. Covid *may* be sufficiently diminished near the end of this year, making it feasible for us to travel to a Southern Hemisphere summer.

He Seemed Lucid

Walked with a friend as temperatures rose above freezing. This guy seemed quite lucid as he assured us he had been working out.

First Walk of 2021

Walked, as we always do on the first morning of the year. The bridge and the decapitated pole are remnants of this former railroad right of way. We’ll wait until next year for the bar lunch we usually include in this first walk.

New Year in Madrid

Decided 5:00 p.m. was late enough to see in the new year, so “went to Spain” (7 hours ahead of Central time) by streaming Madrid TV. Grape Lady squeezed booze out of one of the plastic grapes; love that cork. Once it was 2021 in Spain, made paella for dinner.

Happiness

Cycled over to SiP Coffeebar to pick up a coffee, then sit on a wall overlooking a yard where a sculptor creates. I always chuckle at the Happiness art piece. Ostensibly, this is the “happiest time of the year.” This year we can simply be grateful for what we have.

Unsolicited Gifts

Reviewed our unsolicited holiday gift collection: a “gifting set” from The LEGO Company (wrapping paper, card, stickers, etc.), a face mask from our state representative, and plastic champagne flutes from the Minnesota Orchestra (to be used during their New Year’s Eve broadcast).

Marilyn Merlot

The 2001 Marilyn Merlot we’d been holding onto most of this millennium for a special occasion was corked. We substituted a cheeky young Pinot Noir to complement our slow-cooked turkey thighs. We’ll reduce Ms Merlot to a syrup to pour over ice cream