Microblog

Our Christmas cactus is living up to its name, with many buds still waiting to open. We won’t assemble the tree for another week, but Dwight is busy creating two or three gingerbread houses using his architectural LEGO.

Sunrise from the number 22H, heading for Lake Street.

Assembled map layers to help figure out a trip to Japan next March. Layers include a 19th Century journey by explorer Isabella Bird, a 17th Century journey by poet Matsuo Basho, an ancient 88-temple pilgrimage, rural train lines liable to be closed, and OLLE hiking trails on Kyushu. More layers to follow.

I ventured behind the blackout curtain on the left to find utter darkness. As I waited for my eyes to adjust, it dawned on me that this was not part of the exhibition. I quickly retreated back into the light, just as a docent approached. A mea culpa was in order.

On my gray, misty Mississippi walk, a vibrant mural splashed across a concrete wall stabilizing the riverbank. “What Will Sustain Us?”—art that discourages taggers and transforms the mundane.

We took our usual Sunday walk along one side of the Mississippi River, then headed back on the other side. The weather was comfortably in the mid-30s, and there was no wind. Even the river was calm.

It’s Sausage Saturday which means there’ll be a (Nathan Lane) movie with an intermission with ice cream. Tonight: Gooey Butter Cake ice cream. “Cream cheese ice cream layered with crumbles of vanilla cake and a swirl of caramel-butterscotch sauce.” Dubious nutritional value. Perfect.

My thoughtful sister-in-law has gifted us an early Christmas present: an advent calendar filled with 24 miniature wine bottles, all different. Each day we’ll open a new door to reveal another liquid delight.

An adjective order exercise was in the lesson plan today. There are many nuances in the English language that we are never taught explicitly, we just learn them through trial and error: correct adjective order is one of them. For non-native speakers, it needs to be taught explicitly.

Having refined the LEGO gantry crane’s mechanics sufficiently, I’ve turned my focus to machine vision. This introduces software challenges that I’m tackling in small doses.

Walked around a chilly Downtown, mainly indoors, with friends. At the reimagined former Dayton’s flagship department store, visited a Winter Makers Market. Tomorrow my friends celebrate 55 years of marriage, how time flies.

Completed an online ELL (English Language Learning) training course this afternoon as part of the annual training requirements set by the Minnesota Department of Education.

The bacon sausages are from a farm near Minneapolis. I improvised gravy with a base of chicken broth from the freezer and some heavy cream. The veg was slow-braised cabbage to which I added several umami boosters including fish sauce and tomato paste. Somewhat monochromatic, but good on a cold, windy night.

A light dusting of snow was forming as we walked to Theatre in the Round for an adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel. Predictably, the playbill cautioned us to expect gunfire and murder.

With Thanksgiving behind us, Christmas selling is kicking into high gear. As I headed to get a haircut, I noticed a manger scene on sale outside an antique store. The ensemble is priced at $295, but can be purchased piecemeal. A baby Jesus that lights up is a mere $40, the manger is extra.

It’s finally time for dessert: Dwight’s apple crisp and whipped cream. Life is good. Grateful. Table centerpiece by LEGO from a kit, rolling plant racks by Dwight with lighting by Tom.