Sat 31 Dec

New Years Eve! Going to Hartmans for a week-postponed brunch due to Kathy's really bad cold. Planning on scallops, cheese and crackers, broccoli, and maybe popovers for dinner in with the good bottle of wine Michael and Taylor gave me for Christmas.

Fri 30 Dec

The year wanes. Choosing not to go to the gym today because Nicole is on vacation and Lisa is doing Body Pump. I get irritated with her lack of rhythmic sense, so I decided to skip and just concentrate on laundry today. Food: 8:00 am Cherry pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 29 Dec

Kathy has rescheduled Christmas Eve brunch to New Years' Eve, so we won't go to Madison after all. Trying a pastry from Mama Elda's, a sweet potato turnover! So far, so good! Food: 7:50 am Sweet potato turnover, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 28 Dec

The beginning of the unseasonable warm streak. It's 23° this morning, with warmer temps for the next several days. We can deal with this, though it just means we have to reacclimate when it gets cold again. Taking the car in to get the brakes fixed this morning, and getting my hair cut and colored this afternoon. Food: 7:55 am Buttermilk streusel cake, 104 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 27 Dec

Furnace didn't kick in on its own this morning to bring the house up to daytime temps, so my bedroom clock said the bedroom was still 55° when I got up. Brrr! Bob was able to nudge it up after he got out of his shower and noticed that the house was still cold. Supposed to get to 20° outside today. Food: 7:55 am Buttermilk streusel cake, 104 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 26 Dec

It's supposed to get up into double digits (above zero!) today. It's already 5° above. Didn't feel the need for my heaviest sweaters today. Not sure if we're opening One Big Tent today; most everything else is closed in celebration of the Christmas holiday. I emailed Eric yesterday to get his opinion; I have yet to check my email to see if he replied. Food: 8:05 am Buttermilk streusel coffee cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Merry Christmas 2022!

Another Christmas here, though it feels strange since we already celebrated with Michael and Taylor last Wednesday and our celebration with Laura will again happen some unknown time in the future. Mass today, Christmas dinner, our presents and taking some to Leone and Mick will still make today a day of celebration though. Food: 7:20 am Buttermilk streusel cake, 100 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 24 Dec

Christmas Eve! No brunch today because Kathy has a terrible cold, but she plans to reschedule before New Year's. David said he is dropping off a "surprise" for us today; I am giving him the Diamond cab sauv from Trader Joe's. I hope to bake some cookies today. Don't think I'll do butterhorns. Knowing it's mostly just us who will be eating them since Laura's far away and not that into sweets and Michael and Taylor are vegan, it's harder to get excited about baking treats. Food: 7:55 am Buttermilk streusel cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 23 Dec

Temps this morning are at -13° with a wind chill of -28°. Sorry, but I decided not to go to Body Pump this morning. Instead dressed in my heaviest merino leggings, quarter-zip and merino sweater and will hunker down and get the laundry done. Maybe Pilates. Food: 8:05 am Streusel coffee cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 22 Dec

Laura canceled appropriately yesterday because the forecasts called for nasty storming to be underway before she would return home, and being on the highway in high winds and bitter cold with active snow in her Mini was not advisable. As it turned out, the weatherman was again off and this morning doesn't look much worse than yesterday, though some light snow is falling now. Still was best that she erred on the side of caution. We had a lovely evening with Michael and Taylor. Their homemade lasagna with Michael's homemade vegan cheese was delicious, and Taylor's homemade breadsticks were addictive. They seemed to really like their gifts so it was a success. Food: 7:55 am Blueberry muffin, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 21 Dec

Solstice comes but twice a year. -4° on the thermometer this morning. If all goes well, Christmas with our family tonight! Food: 7:55 am Blueberry muffin, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 20 Dec

More snow last night, probably a couple of inches. And this morning they are here to do the gas line. I looked out the window and a large "digger" was headed straight toward the house to start digging preparation. I just hope they don't have to turn off the gas for a long time when the temps dropping today. I will miss both the furnace and the fireplace when it gets cold. Food: 8:00 am Blueberry crumb cake, 104 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 19 Dec

Cold temps - 9° - and predicted to stay there awhile. Gas line workers are here reassessing, but said they probably won't do the replacement today. I hope when they do it, it won't take all day as they have to turn off the furnace and fireplace and I suspect the house will get chilly pretty quickly in this weather. Got all the presents wrapped last night and all the stockings are well-stuffed. Just waiting on Laura's ball-winder to be delivered. Food: 7:50 am Blueberry crumb cake, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 18 Dec

Cantoring went well yestereve, and we had a nice chat with Guy and Sandy afterward. We had a very nice dinner at El Mezcal which felt somewhat festive. Got all our stocking stuffer things bought at Aldi so we just need to wrap presents today. I think the only thing which I'm still waiting for delivery is Laura's knitting ball winder which should come on Tuesday. Feeling the season! Food: 7:55 am Blueberry crumb cake, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 16 Dec

One more full week to Christmas. Yikes! But hopefully we'll be able to get our whole family together next Wednesday to celebrate together if the weather doesn't interfere. And hopefully all the gifts I've ordered will be delivered in time. Got a little more snow last night so things look toward staying white for Christmas. Driving wasn't bad in town at all yesterday since the snowfall stopped early and the road crews took good care of everything. Also helps that there wasn't really any wind. Planning to go to Body Pump this morning. Food: 7:45 am Cherry nut coffee cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 15 Dec

The snowfall happened in the night, and appears to be a good 6-8 inches on the porch railing. The trees are absolutely beautiful with a thick layer of snow on the branches, mostly undisturbed by wind. Don't think I'll be going out much today. I'll have to check if Bootstrap has been canceled, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do. They won't want either the volunteers or the recipients out driving around in this today. Food: 7:50 am Cherry nut coffee cake, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 14 Dec

Freezing rain and ice all day today, with the possibility of up to 8 inches of snow to follow. I'm choosing not to go to the gym this morning as I don't care to navigate the roads and parking lots. It remains to be seen whether the city will come today to change our gas line. Schools are closed today because of the ice/freezing rain and leaving open the option of closing tomorrow if the snow is as predicted. Winter is here. Food: 7:55 am Cherry almond coffee cake, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 13 Dec

Didn't even hear the second (or third) alarm this morning, so woke up at 7:15. No obligations til my 1 pm massage today, so no great problem getting up late. Food: 8:15 am Brioche muffin, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 12 Dec

Had a very nice trip to Minneapolis this weekend. Arrived in time for Holy Day mass at Lumen Christi with the parochial school students. Walked extensively at Mall of America without buying much. Didn't find the cookie sheets for Taylor at Macy's, so drove toward Galleria but stopped at Home Goods on France Ave en route and found everything on our list for Michael and Taylor in good quality and reasonable prices. Decided to leave Galleria for Friday and just went on to Broder's for dinner. Were able to get a table right away, not too much on top of the neighboring diners, and had a wonderful meal as always. Hit Trader Joe's on the way back to the hotel. Friday morning we did IKEA, arriving just as they opened, then did the Galleria and lunch at the Good Earth. We got to Kurt and Barb's around 3:00 so we'd have a little time before Kurt left to play in his bonspiel. Barb rode with us and graciously narrated as we watched his team win. Kurt stayed to fraternize with his teammates, so we went home with Barb and had some of Kurt's homemade turkey barley soup with toast, and tried a piece of the almond cake we had brought them. Saturday Kurt had a couple of games so he went on his own. We breakfasted on Barb's oatmeal and fruit salad, then drove out to the NordicWare factory outlet store and went crazy buying kitchen stuff for ourselves and for gifts. Barb wanted to walk through a Costco as they are considering a membership, so we went to the one in St Louis Park. We bought a 4 foot prelighted Christmas tree and made the impulsive decision not to put up a big tree this year. We stopped for lunch at a Lebanese deli and had delicious light lunch. On return to Barb's, we went for a nice long neighborhood walk, then drove over to check out the newly-opened Lunds/Byerlys near their house. Kurt's second game was going to be streamed so we watched the last few ends on TV in the living room (while Bob caught a nap). We walked to Lumen Christi for Mass, then Kurt had returned so we went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant near their curling club. Barb dozed off on the couch while we visited a short while after returning, then all hit the hay fairly early. Kurt again had a morning match in his bonspiel on Sunday so we said goodbye to him before he left. Barb felt she was coming down with a cold. (She tested negative for Co-vid to be careful). We had cereal and toast with good fresh bread from the French patisserie, then visited awhile longer before taking our leave. We stopped at a big Target on the way out, then lunched at the Finnish Bistro before hitting the Woodbury Costco for gas (and a few other things) on our way home. Food: 8:00 am Pulla cinnamon roll, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 8 Dec

Heading out to the annual Twin Cities pre-Christmas trip today. We'll stay in a La Quinta near the Mall tonight, and with Kurt & Barb the next two nights. Today allows us to spend time shopping, Friday night we'll watch the Kluss' curling, Saturday they usually come up with something fun to do together, church in the evening and dinner, and Sunday a leisurely finishing-up day. We have the addition of Holy Day mass at noon at Lumen Christi today. Food: 7:20 am Cherry breakfast bread, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 7 Dec

This has been a discombobulating week; I never know what day it is. Having traveled to Door Co last weekend, and leaving tomorrow for a long weekend in Minneapolis, I'm not really getting my feet on the ground regarding the schedule. Going to throw in laundry today after Body Pump, and try to get over to Leone's to celebrate her birthday almost a month after the fact. Trevor's bringing soup, and I want to be packed so we can leave bright and early tomorrow. We need to get to St Paul in time for noon church at Lumen Christi for the holy day. Food: 7:55 am Cherry nut coffee cake, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 6 Dec

Attended the public hearing for changing the zoning law, but gave up around 8:45 when I just couldn't sit and listen any longer. Felt bad for sneaking out, but I'd had my limit. Knew I couldn't get up to speak because I was getting too frustrated. Food: 8:00 am Cherry breakfast bread, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 5 Dec

Had a really nice weekend in Door Co. Got a supply of string cheese, had a lovely time at the Christmas market. Got my fix of Piggly Wiggly and the Main St Market. Had a really good perch fry and yummy cocktails at the Island Fever and pizza at Wild Tomato. Good oatmeal breakfasts at White Gull Inn both days. Ate too much but had lots of fun. Food: 8:00 am Apricot cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 2 Dec

Heading to Door County for the Christkindlmarkt today. Will get string cheese from Renards and make a big Penzeys run in Appleton for a few things for me and an extensive list for Michael and Taylor. Need calcium, berries, and next week's breakfast items at Costco. Food: 8:05 am Blueberry turnover, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 1 Dec

The last month of 2022 already. Wow! One of those incredibly busy days today with Bootstrap, followed by OBT board mtg, followed by Holy Spirit Social Justice committee meeting this evening. Laundry this morning and Duo. Food: 7:55 am Blueberry turnover, 103 g blackberries, coffee