Category Archives: holidays

2025, animals, Family, Fantasy, holidays, Movies

Our Holiday Movie

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All autumn I was dreading “the Christmas movie”. On Christmas morning, YA and I have almost always opened stockings and then gone to the movies. We did skip a couple of years due to COVID and one year we just couldn’t find anything at theatres that we liked so we streamed a movie and watched it from the comfort of the sofa.

I knew from YA comments that she wanted to see Wicked. And you all know from my rant last summer that I was not that interested. The thought of seeing a 2½ hour movie (that is just Part I) of a musical that I’m not crazy about just didn’t seem like a fun way to spend a morning, much less a holiday morning. So when I saw a poster at Southdale for Red One, I thought we might find a compromise.

Two weeks before Christmas we went to see Wicked at the Riverview. I always like the Riverview, even if I’m not that wild about what’s showing and that’s exactly how it turned out. We had a nice enough time, I didn’t have to close my eyes over anything gory. Since I’ve gone on and on about Wicked already, I won’t get into it here – suffice it to say it was a good decision not to see this as our Christmas Day movie.

Red One turned out to be at the end of it’s run before Christmas Day (how does this make sense that a Christmas movie stops showing a couple of days before Christmas?) so we decided to see our holiday movie on Solstice this year.

The movie lived up to my expectations. Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are the main stars. Johnson can’t act his way out of a paper bag but his charm is that he knows this and doesn’t try. A bit refreshing actually. I only know Chris Evans as Captain America, but he gave a creditable performance as the guy who gets transformed by Christmas spirit.

It’s almost impossible to do spoilers for a movie like this… if you don’t know where it’s going, then you’ve never seen a Christmas movie. Here are a few things I thought were particularly fun:

  • • The reindeer are all female.
    • Johnson is the commander of E.L.F., the groups that “guards” Santa. He explains this to Evans at one point saying that as far as Evans is concerned, it stands for Extremely Large and Formidable.
    • Toy stores are the portals to the North Pole transit system, which reaches all over the world.
    • Santa is a smallish, muscular guy who works out a lot and loves cookies, except for macaroons.
  • And, of course, there is a massive polar bear named Garcia on the E.L.F. team.

By the time we got home from the theatre, YA had discovered that Red One is already out on Prime Video. I’ve watched it twice more since then!

Do you have a favorite holiday movie?

2024, Family, Gatherings, holidays, Mysteries, Uncategorized

Ends/Beginnings

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We typically spends New Year’s Eve staying home, drinking in moderation, and going to bed before 9:00. Tonight will be no different. The New Year has never meant much of a change for us, but this January forward will be much different than in the past.

I retire from full-time work January 31. I will be out of the office for the month of February, and then start part time in March. I hope to put in no more than 20 hours a week, doing two evaluations a week and writing the reports. I am a little concerned my agency wants me to do more than I have imagined, as I have been asked to supervise two counseling interns and to continue behavioral consulting at Head Start. They also want me to continue as a consultant to the Youth and Family team and to train staff in diagnosis and treatment planning.

All the while this will be going on, Husband and I will be downsizing and preparing ourselves to move to Minnesota. I think the move will be no later than the spring of 2026. It is very strange to have so much uncertainty in our future after 36 years of much the same activity, people, and tasks.

What does the New Year hold for you? What have been your most uncertain times? How do you celebrate New Year’s Eve?

2024, Food, Gatherings, History, holidays, pets, Uncategorized

Family Time

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My parents and I always opened our presents on Christmas Eve after church. That was a German tradition from my mother, and also cleared the way for Christmas with family on Christmas Day.

We usually headed for Magnolia, MN late morning on Christmas Day to either my paternal grandparent’s farm or the farm of my dad’s younger brother a couple of miles east. My dad’s sister and family would come from Sioux Falls, and we would have a huge meal (usually turkey and all the fixings), and then we children would have to wait until after the dishes were done to open presents. That was a long wait! Late in the afternoon we would head to Pipestone, 25 miles north, to whichever of my mother’s family would host Christmas. There usually were no presents, just a big meal and lots of desserts.

Yesterday we spent time in Brookings opening presents, taking turns cooking, napping, reading, doing art projects with our grandson, and listening to grandson read aloud the various books he received (Cat Kid, Wild Robots, or Dog Man). He also received some pretty wonderful art kits which he started to use right away. It was very foggy outside, and we didn’t go anywhere. We watched The Muppets Christmas Carol after eating the French Canadian tortiere that grandson and I assembled and baked. He was a good dough pincher. It was a restful day. The Westie and cat napped on various soft blankets. No one had to wait for the dishes to get done before opening presents. We cleaned as we cooked. We listened to Christmas music on MPR all day. It was a great time.

What were your family gatherings like when you were a child? What were some of your favorite presents? Who did the dishes?

2024, Family, holidays, Travel, Uncategorized

Whoops!

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YA is waiting for a package.  I’m not sure what’s in the shipment, but it left Columbus on November 20.  Then it hit St. Paul, Minneapolis, San Antonio, Puerto Rico, Jacksonville, Chicago.  Four days ago it got back to Minneapolis but apparently has moved from one Minneapolis station to another.  Supposedly it’s out for delivery today (Tuesday).

I had a trip once that went really awry.  It was supposed to be Minneapolis to Chicago to Barcelona.  The ship was departing Barcelona at 5 p.m.   Chicago got delayed so I jumped onto a flight to New Jersey.  Was going to taxi to LaGuardia but the flight I wanted was also delayed.  So I ended up on a flight to Frankfurt.  I literally missed the flight from Frankfurt to Barcelona by minutes.  The door had closed but they plane was still sitting there.  I even tried bribery.  It was now noon.  They put me on a quick jump to Munich where I thankfully got on the plane on time to Barcelona.  Luckily no delay.  I got to Barcelona at 4 p.m.  Managed to talk my way off the plane first and my supplier rushed me to the port.  Unbelievably they held the ship departure 10 minutes for me.  I was shaking a little when I checked in on the ship.  The rest of the trip went very smoothly but I had to talk through all my itinerary changes a couple of times with accounting when I submitted my expense report. 

I’ll do a quick update if the package actually gets delivered today.  YA seems supremely unconcerned about it so I’m guessing it’s not for Christmas.

When has something gone spectacularly sideways for you?

2024, Family, holidays, Kids, Travel, Uncategorized

Grateful!

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I am feeling incredibly grateful today. I am comfortably ensconced on my son’s sofa. I am listening to my 6 year old grandson read aloud. It is amazing how his reading has taken off since September. Our 8 hour trip yesterday had some of the worst driving conditions I have dealt with for a very long time. I am so grateful we didn’t crash, we didn’t end up in the ditch, and we don’t have to go anywhere until we choose to. We made it here about 6:00 pm last evening.

Son bought a standing rib roast that we will cook and eat today. We will go to church tonight for the late service, and we will open presents after church. Life is good.

How are you spending Christmas Eve? What are you grateful for?

2024, holidays, Seasons, Travel, Uncategorized, Weather

Halfway Weather

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I hope that as this post is read, I am on the road to Brookings, SD. We have had days of “halfway weather” lately, a phrase I coined to mean weather that is nasty, but not nasty enough to make you stay home.

Last week there was an ice storm that closed the interstate 20 miles west of here after 27 semis couldn’t make it up the hills. There was freezing drizzle predicted northwest and north central here yesterday, and by Sunday afternoon there was no travel advised on the the roads to the north of us. The two counties just east of us that we need to drive through today were also expecting a “wintery mix” last night. We may slip and slide to Bismarck, but after that we should be ok all the way to Brookings. Driving on icy roads are my worst nightmare. Being the anxious person that I am, I also have been obsessively looking at the long range forecasts for next Sunday, when we are slated to drive home. Like my mother, I worry about the weather and many other things that are totally out of my control. I don’t imagine I am going to stop any time soon, though. Old habits die hard.

What bad habits would you like to stop? What bad habit did you stop, and how did you do it ? Ever slid into the ditch?

2024, Family, Farming Update, holidays, Uncategorized, Weather

Don’t Do It

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Today’s farming update comes from Ben.

Well, we finally got measurable snow. Maybe 5” for us on Thursday. One benefit to it being so cold before it snowed is that the ground is frozen hard and I’m not ripping up quite as much sod as I generally do. Oh, I can still rip some up if I do it right, but certainly not as much as I would if it the ground wasn’t frozen before it snowed.

Bailey, my tractor buddy and I, spent an hour re-learning how to blade snow off the road and clear the yard.


I realized I forgot to put markers at the corners of the shop concrete, and I haven’t gotten the snowblower in the shed yet, but really, I don’t know where I’d put it anyway. I still gotta get the four wheeler in the shed, and the trailer for the lift I’m borrowing (and that I also don’t know quite where to put). Once the shop project is fully finished, I’ll have a bit more room; right now I’ve still got 14’ sheets of pole barn steel laying in the way. And once I get the tools and extra crap sorted out, then I can rearrange better for next winter. Heck, maybe by next winter I’ll have the lean too done on the back side and some of this stuff can go in there.

As I write this on Friday, my car is getting an oil change and tire rotation and I’m watching the snow melt and drip off. What a yucky job for the techs. Everybody has to start somewhere and presumably that’s doing the sloppy messy jobs.

We’ll be having the longest night, and shortest day this weekend. The days get longer from here on out and there’s light at the end of the tunnel!

The other morning as daughter and I were headed into town during the snow, we saw a box truck struggling and I commented that those kinda vehicles have terrible traction and don’t do well in this kind of weather. I was about to launch into a chronicle of rear wheel drive vs front wheel drive, and wheel base length, and how those things impact winter driving, but I stopped myself, and I asked, “Do you want me to keep talking about this or should I stop?” She gave it some serious thought and finally said “Naw”.

I’ve always appreciated her brutal honesty.

Do you all have that magic ten minutes in the morning? As we’re trying to get going in the mornings, I think we’re just about to leave and suddenly it’s ten minutes later and she doesn’t have her shoes on yet. I don’t get it. Where does that ten minutes go? This has been a thing since the kids were small. We’re almost ready to go and then it’s ten minutes later and now we’re late. It’s a magic ‘time hole’.

I hope you all have magical Christmas’ or Solstice events. Remember to spend a little time being grateful for what you have one way or another. Take some time to ponder.

DO YOU KNOW ENOUGH TO STOP TALKING?

WHERE DO YOU LOSE TIME?

2024, Family, Food, Gatherings, holidays, Uncategorized

Kransekake

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While my parents have predominantly British and German ancestry, you wouldn’t know it from my upbringing.  No culturally relevant foods,  no traditions, no nothing.  It wasn’t a void that I ever looked to fill, but it does mean I’m a bit of a tabula rasa where culture and tradition are concerned. 

There are just a few things that I’ve carried from my childhood to my adulthood; most of the traditions that YA and I observe are things we made the decision to do, not things that I did growing up.  I was going to list a bunch, but the list is too long!

I’ve lived in the heart of Scandinavian culture here in the Twin Cities for 44 years.  I’ve taught myself how to make aebleskivers and Swedish pancakes, visited the Swedish American institute.  One year we did a Saint Lucia observation at our church (UU); I made YA  a white dress and we fashioned the candle wreath for her head, although none of the kids actually had their candles lit (phew!).  We have a nisse watching out over our garden and I have a few heavy Scandinavian sweaters. 

But for some reason, I have never gotten around to making a kransekake, the stunning tower of cake/cookie rings that you see on the covers of many Scandinavian cookbooks.  It’s called a crown cake and sometimes a wreath cake as well.   Well, this turned out to be the year.  I knew our Anna had the rings/pans that you need to make the individual rings/wreaths and she graciously offered to let me borrow them.  I found several recipes and decided on one that I could pipe out of a bag rather than roll out the dough in log forms.  It turned out to be ridiculously easy… truly the hardest part was figuring out which of the two largest pans was actually the biggest one.  My recipe made way more dough than I needed… next time I attempt this, I’ll have a plan for this.  Maybe save it until after the first batch is baked and make a smaller tower.  I know purists would not have added sprinkles but I just had to. 

It made a lovely party centerpiece and if I do say so myself, tasted really good.  The only problem is that people were afraid to mess with it.  I’ve had this problem before with pretty cakes or rice krispy trees; I usually end up cutting them up so they don’t look too daunting.  I did this with the kransekake as well.  About ½ of it got eaten at the party and I’ve been nibbling away at it since then.  This turned out to be a fun attempt for me; it may get added to my stable of traditions.

When was the last time you pushed yourself to try something new?  How did it turn out?

2024, animals, Family, Gatherings, holidays, Uncategorized

White Elephant

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Today is our agency Holiday party. I wrote last year about the festivities and “planned” fun. This year the powers that be had the sense to scrap the door decorating contest, opting for a noon potluck, trivia game, and white elephant gift exchange. I am bringing cookies, and cranberry-orange glazed chicken thighs.

I am too burned out to come up with a white elephant gift. We found out yesterday that a beloved extended family member is probably going to be placed in Hospice care, which makes holiday festivities seem somewhat more frivolous than usual. I see, though, that the weather may be good when we travel Monday to Brookings, SD. It will be healing to be with family members.

My mother always had a hard time at Christmas, having lost a 7 month pregnancy in 1949 when her appendix ruptured. She did her best to keep Christmas cheerful, but it was hard. Tragedies are bad enough, but seem worse during the holidays.

What would you try to get rid of at a white elephant gift exchange? What holiday tragedies, frivolous or serious, have you had to contend with?

2024, Gatherings, holidays, Music, Uncategorized

Whew!

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Yesterday was tiring but satisfying. We played in the bell choir at both morning church services, came home and packed up seven boxes of Dresden Stollen and cookies (one box had a Bremer Klaben instead of a stollen) and got them to the UPS store. We then played bells and sang at the annual Lessons and Carols service at our church in the afternoon. I got to read the Bidding Prayer again. By 5:00 PM we were done and free. We are heartily sick of being town musicians at Christmas.

By town musicians, I mean some of the few people who are active in the musical community in our small town. The majority of town musicians are affiliated in some way with our Lutheran church. Our local college had a vibrant and active music department with a band and a choir. They had music festivals for high school students and hosted lots of concerts. The recent college president decided that the music and theatre departments didn’t have enough student majors, so he closed them down last year. The Education department has enough music education majors and they need to have some sort of music going on, so they have a band of one person and a choir of six singers. Our bell choir played with them two weeks ago at a Christmas concert in the college student center. Had our bell choir not been there, it wouldn’t have been much of a concert. I should add that the decision by the college president was so unpopular he quit. I don’t think they will reinstate the music department, though.

The Lessons and Carols service was lovely, and our church music director had a local classical guitarist, someone I had never heard of, play the following piece.

The guitarist appears to be Spanish. I have no idea how he got to North Dakota, but it was delightful to hear him. We have only one more vocal choir performance next Sunday, and no rehearsals this week, so we are free to relax and chill. Christmas hysteria is over, at least in our house. I may need to order more classical guitar recordings, though.

What musical instrument would you like to hear more of? How is the Christmas hysteria at your abode?