Category Archives: Holidays

the last one of 2023

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I’ve been off since the 22nd and while I really appreciate a nice, long break, I’m glad that the New Year is here and things can get back to normal(ish). I didn’t have any goals for the break except to spend time with my family and my best friend, to sleep and eat and run and read, and meditate, and knit, and I did all of those things except not as much knitting as I’d have liked. We celebrated Brandon’s birthday on Christmas, with pastries from the new bakery in town, Cannelle, and back-to-back viewings of ‘A Christmas Carol’ (the 1980’s version with George C. Scott, which is my favorite) and ‘Scrooge’ (the 1970’s musical with Albert Finney, which is Brandon’s favorite). We love them each for very different reasons. I finished my last couple of books for 2023 (‘The Running Grave’ by Robert Galbraith and the last two of Naomi Novik’s ‘Scholomance’ trilogy), I watched ‘Serpent Queen’ on Starz and that spiraled me into a Tudor binge watch that hasn’t quite run it’s course yet. I ran several days, but not as many as I’d have liked.

I had a great meet-up with my lifelong bestie yesterday, which was deeply needed. I am a true introvert so getting out of the house first thing in the morning made me horribly grumpy, especially with Sarge (my big cat) curled up more or less on top of me, nestled in the duvet and begging me to stay put. But my friend Kat and her husband are a tonic, with tales of their big old house and big families and shared bird-watching and crafting excitements.

Brandon went to North Carolina for a couple of days to visit his parents, and I had some fantastic time with my daughter. She’s been meeting friends at the gym / rec center every day to work out and I’ve been driving her and we sing Taylor Swift and then eat together and she disappears into her room to FaceTime and read and do her teenage things and I turn on some anglophile viewing and settle down with a cat and some Chianti.

Today is the last of 2023. I slept in to strange dreams of my coworkers, their kids and grief and switching watches with them, one of them dressed as a beautiful toy soldier with her hair curling over her shoulders, to the accompaniment of a man in a grocery store singing ‘Sundown’ by Gordon Lightfoot on a grand piano. I have to pick Brandon up at the airport this evening and I have a bounty of Italian goodies from Cantoro’s Italian Market for our dinner. The kid will make an appearance to eat her tiramisu and help Brandon pop the cork on our favorite low-budget champagne (‘not champagne sparkling wine since it doesn’t come from the Champagne region of FRANCE’) – Cook’s, $13 Spumante. And we’ll probably fall asleep well before 12 and wake up tomorrow to the biggest Sunday scaries of the year on a Monday, strip the house of the lights and bows and baubles and boughs, and we’ll start 2024.

Happy New Year to any of you who still read this weird little space. See you in 2024.

this is pretty much the most snow we’ve had in december this year and it quickly vanished

21 Days of Horror – Days 4-6

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The House of Dark Shadows, 1970

“Vampire Barnabas Collins is accidentally released from his centuries-long confinement at his family’s estate.” A theatrical retelling of the classic TV show.

Despite some positive IMBD reviews, this is a truly dreadful film. The lack of cohesive narrative and quick jumps between time and place make it difficult to follow unless you’ve seen the show. Even then there is absolutely no logic to the behavior of any character – particularly the supposed scientist with crazy bedhead who most resembles a cross between Mrs Roper and Will Ferrell as Harry Caray – when faced with a vampire who in turn looks startlingly like Mr. Bean.
The best thing about it is the setting – filmed on location in places like the Lyndhurst Estate and Sleepy Hollow cemetery in Tarrytown, NY and which lends a truly beautiful gothic aesthetic that almost makes up for the rest of the schlock.

Happy Birthday to Me, 1981

At the snobby Crawford Academy, Virginia’s group of friends start to go missing years after horrible events that happened to her as a child around her birthday.”

Melissa Sue Anderson should have stayed on the prairie (where she played Mary). Also starring Glenn Ford, a staple of many old movies including Superman, and Tracey E. Bregman (Lauren on Young & the Restless). All of the hot young assholes who make up the “Top 10” at Crawford are being murdered in new and innovative ways – one literally gagged 1980s-prep style (though not with a spoon – a kebab). Because apparently in 1980s Crawford Academy, the midnight snack of choice for the cool kids are – kebabs. Of course. You can’t kill someone as easily with a pizza roll!

There is a highly nonsensical twist at the end when the killer is revealed to be not who we thought, but one of the other “cool kids” apparently wearing a latex mask so convincing that even the killer’s father was fooled. (The original deepfake?)
A classic 1980s slasher and the familiar faces make it all the more entertaining.

Night of the Lepus, 1972

“Husband-and-wife scientists unwittingly unleash a horde of giant man-eating rabbits.”

There are a lot of things that defy explanation about this film. First, that relatively respected actors such as Janet Leigh, DeForest Kelley, & Rory Calhoun got mixed up in it. Second, that we are supposed to be afraid of a gang of super cute and decidedly non-scary fluffy bunnies splashed with red paint and allowed to rampage amongst small scale models of farms and villages; third, that they tried to pass off a DUDE IN A BUNNY SUIT as a real murderous rampaging bunter for the close-up killings. Fourth, that a sheriff at a crowded drive-in movie could use a bull horn to announce ““A herd of killer rabbits is headed this way, we have to evacuate this theatre!” And not one person yelled back “Rabbits are herbivores!” (or tried to blame Joe Biden).

labor day 2023

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Labor Day weekend has been very hot and sunny in SE Michigan. As always, I look forward to the cooler days of fall, and am ready to put the summer behind me. I love Michigan summers and they have to be valued and spent wisely, but Labor Day feels like the real New Year. I’m prepared for shorter, darker days with a more rigid routine of school for the kid and work for me, with more office days per week.

The kiddo and I hit the outlets for some shopping on Friday, and having some new clothes made me conscious of the stagnant energy in my closets. So after a day of pounding the outlet pavements, I came home and filled six bags of donation clothes, shoes, bedding and linens. Goodbye dusty ankle boots that in pre-pandemic days, I wore to work with trousers that are now too small. Goodbye too-tight sweaters and summer tops that don’t spark joy. It made me super happy to hang up some nice new things in my closet and see the empty shelf space.

Brandon & I met up with his cousin for drinks at the brewery downtown. We went to the nursery where we bought a gorgeous new azure blue pottery planter for the patio, half off, and fall plants for the containers on the porch. We ordered a couple of full size skeletons to sit on the porch for Halloween and I pulled my basil plants and dried the leaves & flowers. I spent time on the porch reading until it just got too hot and we watched the Vuelta de Espana (one of the professional cycling grand tours). We talked about fall bucket lists that include trips to the orchard and the Renaissance Festival.

It’s going to be record breaking hot today. The porch and patio are scorching hot and the hummingbird feeder is attracting all of the angry bees who, unlike me, aren’t looking forward to the change of seasons. I don’t want to go to the crowded pool for the last day festivities and instead, am planning a day on the couch in pajamas, napping and reading, and getting ready for the week (and the fall) ahead.

2023!

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Happy 2023! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. I’m back to work tomorrow after being off since the 16th…after 20 years at Widget Central, I’m finally one of those people who can take two weeks off at the end of the year! It occurred to me halfway through my holiday that if I were retired, this is basically what my days would look like. I can say that once I am retired, my nails will be painted regularly, I’ll run or get outside or go to the gym almost every day, I’ll take way more naps, read and knit more, and, on the downside, drink much more wine. But retirement is far off so who knows where I will be then.

I finished a pair of mittens over the holiday, and cast on three new projects. Coincidentally, I sat down to watch ‘Little Women’ (the PBS version with Maya Hawke as Jo) and found myself winding up a mini-skein named ‘Louisa May Alcott’. I’m working on a bandit cowl from Clinton Hill Cashmere (their bespoke cashmere DK is like a dream), a workman’s dishcloth (I’m converted) and a gradient triangle scarf. The scarf will use minis that I got myself for Christmas as part of an 8-skein mini Advent – fingering weight themed Literary Women 0 from Six and Seven Fiber. MTC on these projects.

I actually sort of like the comparative austerity of January, after the splurge of the holidays. I like to budget again, and meal plan, track spending and be more frugal and use up stuff in the freezer and do Dry January. I don’t have any real resolutions, vision boards, or ‘words’ for 2023. 2022 was a busy yet ultimately calm and positive year and I just hope to repeat that…I hope to be essentially a good family member, partner, mom, and person. I see myself driving my kid around a lot, still, to her various activities, trying to be engaged and invested in her life and her experiences and her hobbies. My romance / partnership with Brandon is an absolute joy, no matter what we are doing, and I also want to see my bestie more often. I hope to connect with my parent / mom tribe and do solid work for Widget Central while still keeping a defined work / family life balance. Maybe I’ll paint my nails more and – I hope to check in here more often. I don’t know, the blogsphere is something I still feel excited about, but it also feels a lot like throwing words into an abyss that I never revisit. Last year I journaled in my Hobonichi much more often, and I have a five-year journal as well that I write in very regularly (it’s so cool to see my entries for the past years stacked up, so I can see exactly what I wrote.) And at least Facebook has a ‘Memories’ tab where it pulls up what I was doing two, ten, five years ago. Once I blog, the posts just go away and I’m not even sure who reads or connects with them, so it can feel a bit like a strangely useless exercise. So we’ll see what I can accomplish in that regard.

No matter what, all the best to you & yours and here’s to a good year ahead.

labor day weekend and greasefest 2022

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I took an extra day off on Friday to make it a four-day weekend and it was a much needed break. The weather was evenly split – two days of very hot and humid sunshine, which broke sometime Saturday night, giving way to two days that were cooler and overcast. Friday was a kiddo day – she had the day off from school, so we picked up ice coffees and went shopping. We tried on clothes, and she spilled more tea about her first full week of high school, and we got overcaffeinated and then went home to order pizzas and watch Netflix.

Saturday was a friends day. Brandon’s family on his father’s side is of Hungarian descent, so his cousin and girlfriend and another friend came over that night for Szalonna. For those of you who are unfamiliar – this is Hungarian greasy bread, where you slowly roast chunks of pork jowl bacon over a fire and drip the grease on white bread. You eat the greasy bread with cut-up peppers and onions and sloppy dashes of Hungarian paprika. GreaseFest 2022! Unfortunately, it was super hot to be roasting pork over an open flame, although everyone had fun (“Everyone’s down for GreaseFest 2023 – we won the hearts and minds,” Brandon reported). Except maybe for the kiddo who is a newly minted vegetarian. I made her a huge pot of homemade macaroni and cheese and a big salad to have instead of greasy bread and ended up eating it with her because Szalonna really tested my reserves. And my intestines. The meat plus the heat made for a wakeful and somewhat nauseated Saturday evening…I was happy to wake up on Sunday to a cool breeze and grey skies.

After GreaseFest 2022, the remaining two days were mine. The kiddo went to her dad’s house on Sunday, and I went running both days. I finished It Girl, the newish Ruth Ware, which I really enjoyed. Brandon spent several hours on both days at the skate park with the Old Bros, and I did a thousand loads of laundry, cast on a knitted hat and watched the first two episodes of the new Lord of the Rings on Prime. I’m not sold on this yet, but I think if I dispel the thought that this is going to be like the books or the movies, I can get behind it. I have to view it almost as a complete standalone, a piece of entertainment that I can enjoy the way I enjoyed the Witcher, and leave it at that. It did give me a wistful sense of nostalgia for the story, though, so I found myself curled up on the couch on Sunday afternoon with Sarge and my battered copy of the Fellowship of the Ring, while Brandon made gouda burgers (apparently this weekend was also about consumption of fatty meats.

I’m hoping it’s a fairly light week back in the real world – there’s no home game this week, so no Marching Band tailgate and football game to prep for, and the kiddo is with her dad, so I’m going to try to focus on work and get ahead of the curve a bit (just one office day, though). I hope everyone had a rejuvenating weekend and that all’s well with you and yours. xo

christmas 2021

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Christmas Eve was a girls’ day – Brandon had a family party a couple of hours away and the kiddo and I stayed home. She has recovered so well from surgery but was still a bit unsteady, and it was good for us to just be quietly home together and “vibe” – as she said. We have to be careful with not getting water in her ear so I washed her hair in the kitchen sink, we had a merry fire even though it was stupidly balmy outside, made nachos, watched a Marvel movie and ate some Christmas cookies. When Brandon got home that night we played Clue and finished up last-minute wrapping and stockings. In bed late.

Christmas morning was very mellow – the teenager slept til about 930 – no more the days of her being up at 5 tearing into her bright boxes and bags under the tree. Brandon made breakfast, we had coffee and cinnamon rolls while we watched the gorgeous buck who graced us with his presence in our yard all morning long. When everyone was up we opened presents and laughed at the cats adrift in the sea of wrapping paper and later that morning I took the kiddo over to her dad’s.

Brandon and I did our traditional Christmas Day run – it was muddy and we had lead legs but it still felt fine to be out. And I need to say that he was absolutely wonderful for the entire holiday. He knew that the Christmas spirit never really landed with me this year so he quite happily organized his own cake and special Christmas birthday dinner (crabmeat Mac and cheese). There is never anything from him except simple good cheer and pleasure in whatever the day brings, which is a true gift in a partner. After the morning presents and run, he was perfectly content to have a quiet day at home with me and watch Christmas movies (A Castle for Christmas starring Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes was terrible and perfect for my mood and he also got to watch his traditional favorite, Scrooge with Albert Finney). Later that night we took a walk in the gothic, damp-foggy darkness to look at Christmas lights and wash the fug of warmth, rich foods and scented candles from our lungs.

I wasn’t depressed, exactly, just sort of subdued. It’s been a rough year. But the holiday was still special thanks to my partner and daughter who made everything bright and funny and full of gratitude for me.

This last week of the year is my favorite- between Christmas and New Year’s when you can’t quite figure out what day it is and you have time to putter and get stuck into weird projects that you don’t otherwise have time for. On Boxing Day I mopped all the hardwood floors and put away and organized all of our wrapping paper, bows, tags, bags and ribbons in bins in the basement (we don’t need to buy wrapping paper for a decade, now that I see it all in one location). I’m technically off work but still have a contract to review at some point and I try to check emails every day or every other day to keep my inevitable return to work somewhat manageable. But otherwise, I’ll be knitting and reading, trying to fit in a few runs or workouts, and we’d like to head over to Ann Arbor and Detroit a couple of museum and shopping trips.

I hope you all had a merry holiday and have time this week to take stock. And that you get to do exactly what you want with your holiday decorations- spirit them away immediately and start 2022 clean, or keep them up as long as possible. Be well and stay healthy. xo

merry christmas

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The kiddo had a minor ear surgery this week and although everything went well, she has still been my focus. Hence my lack of posting.

I took a long walk on the solstice and admired the low, hazy sun. I thought about the year that has passed and the year to come. I missed my dad and saw wild turkeys and several Eastern Bluebirds.

We finished a Harry Potter movie marathon (Brandon had never seen them) and I’m also very, very into the Witcher and Travel Man with Richard Ayoade. Before the kiddo’s surgery, we saw Kings Man in the theater (it was pretty empty because everyone was next door watching Spider Man) and tried a new-to-us local seafood restaurant. There have also been LOTS of Vlogmasses and although I am really enjoying them I’m heartily sick of the YouTube Christmas songs they all use.

I’ve been running just about every other day, and I finished two books (I started the Josie Quinn series at Steph’s recommendation via her blog) and hope to finish two more before the New Year to pad out my Goodreads total.

Also been knitting. Mostly small fiddly ornaments and although that always starts out fun, I’m about ready to call that quits for another year.

Although I’m feeling a bit disconnected and not very Christmassy, today is Christmas Eve and I’ll spend it with my little family in our cozy home. We’ll make something yummy and fun for dinner and play a board game and then eat cake. And I’ll wake up tomorrow to a bounty of gifts and food and Brandon’s birthday. I am so truly and thoroughly blessed. My love and best wishes for a peaceful and contented holiday go out to each of you and your families. xo

friday faves

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The blog has been a bit dark of late so let’s take a day to look at the brighter things.

I am not entirely in the Christmas spirit yet – life has been pretty busy and I’m in ‘double down and push through’ mode. But the house is decorated and we are opening Advents every night. This year, Brandon got me a mini-wine Advent and I have a yarn Advent from A Homespun House. I also just ordered some fingering weight so I can knit the Cozy Comfort blanket with all my new minis. The kid has a crystals calendar from Etsy, the Stickii Advent (we also subscribe to one of their monthly sticker packs) and the obligatory chocolate Lindt from her Neena. And Brandon has his usual mini liquor calendar in the tree stand I ordered from Etsy last year.

I finally finished my first cross-stitch, which was Halloween themed. I’m not super speedy with stitching- I need ideal light and a good eye day – and I’m sure I’ll be finishing up the next project, which is winter themed, in July. But although I’m not really good at it, I do find it very relaxing and meditative especially when paired with a good podcast.

This weekend the kiddo’s Scout troop will be packing grab and go lunch bags for Food Gatherers of Detroit to distribute, and she also has a Christmas band concert. Brandon is leaving for a few days to visit his family, and got boosted on Monday to prepare. I will be ferrying the kid and trying to finish up a few knitting ornaments and stay on top of the tide of Vlogmas that threatens to overwhelm me in an avalanche of tinsel, Christmas carols and frothy coffee displays every time I turn to YouTube. There will also – I’m sure – be some Scandinavian detective novels (I’m in that mood again).

Happy Friday. After today I have five more workdays in 2021…not that I am counting. Be well, enjoy your weekend, shop local and small business and wear some nice warm socks while you’re at it. xo

pre-thanksgiving

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So we’re hosting my brother and his family for Thanksgiving- which is a win-win for us. My SIL usually hosts but Brandon and I are slated to run the downtown Detroit Turkey Trot that morning. It’s a festive, cold 10k that runs along the Detroit parade route and as we missed it last year due to the pandemic, we are excited to get back this holiday. It makes it a bit rushed to travel afterwards, though, so we were thinking it may just be a quiet day at home for us. Brandon was just a little sad about that because he loves holidays, he loves hosting big family gatherings, putting on a nice shirt and making it a special day. He has a family stuffing and sweet potato casserole recipe, he pours liberal drinks for everyone, and just basks in the togetherness. When my brother and his family unexpectedly said they’d take us up on our offer to host, we got the best of all worlds.

This weekend has been a shopping whirlwind, for food, new drinking glasses and silverware (so all of our guests get an adult-sized fork and don’t have to drink out of mismatched Mason or old jam jars), and I’ve decided on a farmhouse table theme (hint: buffalo plaid). And of course the turkey.

got a little knitting in – Christmas socks 2021!

I’m working two days this week in the home office and taking Wednesday off for some last minute housework and a shakeout run before the Trot.

It’s good for me that we are hosting. I think I need the family togetherness. I’ve noticed a bit of pre-holiday melancholy lately, which seems to catch me off-guard in the middle of my busyness. It’s moments when I’m alone and a small sadness comes into my thoughts, or lingers on the edge. It reminds me of being a child in the backseat of my parent’s car, driving somewhere at night, maybe to a holiday dinner at my grandparents’. The car is warm and safe, we are drowsy small children in the back, a cocoon of warmth and the rise and fall of my parents’ voices from the front. Yet outside the car is cold darkness, frozen fields under hard icy stars. And away on the horizon are lights, strange houses, unfamiliar neighborhoods, the blinking red eye of a watchful radio tower. And we are so small, just specks, really, bound together by what and for how long? Everything is strange all of a sudden, utterly indifferent to me and the people I love, safe in a car for that short moment in time that nonetheless stays with me for a lifetime, and can never be replicated, stretching away in ceaseless anonymity, under that endless black sky.