Bethlehem After Dark

It’s relatively warm here today, 29 degrees Fahrenheit, but it’s cold, that damp kind of cold that soaks right into your bones. We’re supposed to get slapped with another cold front later today and then the temps will plummet to around 10 degrees by morning. Brrrr.

I decided to cover up the roses today. Roses in Minnesota are fairly hardy and can handle a dip in the temp to 10 degrees Fahrenheit or so. Even though we’re going to get cold tonight, this cold front will be brief, and we’re going to warm up this week, I thought, well, I better get the roses covered as we’re gradually sliding downward into the cold weather hell.

I fill those Styrofoam rose cones up with leaves saved from this fall’s raking and plop them on top of the rose bushes, which I’ve cut back. And that’s it. When I take the cones off in the spring, I’ll see green prongs and the roses will be set to grow and bloom again.

As I was working with the leaves, that damp, musky kind of smell filled my nostrils. It was the smell of late fall. Nice.

Thanksgiving was good. All the food came out just fine. The boys played games on their iPhones most of the time and the adults talked.

After everyone left, I watched some of “The Godfather” on TV before going to bed.

Friday was the crazy day from hell. I went to work out early in the morning. Then I did Christmas Decorating Stage 1.

That means I put up the Christmas wreaths outside, along with a very simple, but nice outside light display. I’ve done the light display for several years, so it’s automatic. I know where to plug everything in, how to hook up the lights, and where everything goes. It took about two hours to complete. It was cold and windy, but as I was moving around, climbing up and down the stairs in our massive garage to bring out the deer and the snowmen and the tamarack tree, so I stayed fairly warm.

I also put away all the Thanksgiving decorations. I put up some light displays in the house. Stage 1 was done!

Susan’s parents (my grandsons’ other grandparents) bought us tickets to see Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas concert. So we drove to the big city of Minneapolis and settled in for a rather disappointing and mediocre concert. There were a few good arrangements, but some of the arrangements were rather blah. Plus, they had this cheesy video thing going while they played. Believe it or not, people can listen to music without having to watch a video. We do have imaginations. I think we do, anyway.

We were going to see the Holidazzle parade, but it was so cold, we decided not to, and walked over to Macy’s (formerly Dayton’s) and had an excellent dinner in the Oak Grill room. I had my camera with me, but I didn’t take photos, and I really should have. The restaurant was decked out in beautiful red/white decorations with a huge Christmas tree in the center.

Macy’s has a Christmas display and a Santa, and we always took the boys to see it and Santa when they were little. There were many families in the restaurant that were doing just that. We saw children dressed in their “Sunday best” getting ready to see Santa Claus and have that iconic photo taken.

Believe or not, my grandsons, these boys of 13 and 11, wanted to see Santa. Where did that come from? We didn’t take them – aren’t they too old?

Saturday was a calmer day. I cleaned house and then took the pumpkins I used for fall decorating to the compost. I brought Ray his Christmas wreath. The ground hasn’t frozen yet, so I was able to get the stand in deep, so the wreath shouldn’t blow over.

Then I went shopping, but it was mostly for me. I’m my best Santa. I know exactly what I want. I bought candles, 2013 calendars, Christmas cards, and a poinsettia. I bought my first Christmas gift, a book for the younger grandson, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Third Wheel.” My grandsons don’t read (sigh), but they love the Wimpy Kid books.

Joe and I had chicken wild rice soup for dinner, along with a little wine. Then we settled in and watched cowboy movies on the AMC channel. Nothing is better than a good cowboy movie on TV on a cold Saturday night.

And today . . . it’s Sunday and quiet, and a good day to top off the weekend before heading back to work. I went to the gym. When I got home, Joe made us a great breakfast. I read the newspaper and sipped hot coffee.

And then did the rose cones.

Now it’s time to hit the online sales and see what gifts I can come up with for everyone. Shopping like that beats Black Friday every time.