Happy Birthday, Aaron!

This is Double A's Big Day! Happy Birthday to our sweet nephew.

Oh No! Not Again!

We started the new year out with another kitchen disaster, accidentally chewing up the plunger in the Vita-Mix again. You're supposed to just stick the dang plunger through the little opening in the lid to tamp down the veggies and frozen fruits. The collar guard prevents it from going in too far. But in a careless moment the entire lid can be mistakenly removed instead, the plunger absentmindedly inserted, and quick work is made of the plastic tip by the powerful whirling blades. The sickening sound of plastic losing out to cold steel results, followed by a groan, assorted expletives, and the dumping of an entire breakfast for two into the wastebasket. Kathleen made this bone-head move about six months ago and it was all documented for you here. Today she gleefully recorded Stan's identical blunder and didn't listen to a single excuse, as he took his turn wearing the dunce cap.
Happy New Year!
Six months ago the Vita-Mix people cheerfully sent us a replacement plunger at no charge. We shall now test their patience.

Authentic Lake Andrew Maple Syrup served

Jennifer poured homemade maple syrup, tapped from the trees around our old homestead on Lake Andrew in Alexandria. Danny, our sweetness specialist, approved the fine product for his Christmas  brunch waffle. The syrup was a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Rollie Fernholz, who have managed the little farm since buying it from the Rolfsruds in 1979 -- and grow a wide range of produce there, including grape varietals for the nearby Carlos Creek Winery. Enough of the prize syrup remains from Christmas Day to sweeten Sosie's breakfast when she arrives here late in January.

The Fernholz partners display one of their many products from
the little farm in rural Alexandria.

Today's NFL winners

These are Katie's picks in today's Canterbury Park Perfect Pick contest -- $1000 purse goes to a perfect prediction of nine winners, plus the over/under on an unknown game.

Noon games

Famed prognosticator
St. Paul Katie

Atlanta over Tampa Bay (wrong)
Buffalo over NY Jets (correct)
Cincinnati over Baltimore (correct)
Chicago beats Detroit (correct)
Tennessee over Jacksonville (correct)
Houston beats Indianapolis (correct)
New Orleans bests Carolina (wrong)
NY Giants over Philly (correct)
Pittsburgh beats Cleveland (correct)

Two wrong, seven correct.

Vikings at 3:25 today so they're not
in the contest. (They will win, Katie says)

A borrower and a lender be

Henry and Stanley exchanging books

Neighborhood librarian Bud Osmundson hurried over yesterday to deliver the third volume of Winston Churchill's five volume "The Second World War." He kindly stepped into the war room and exchanged them for the first two books, without commenting on Stan's snappy World War II era boiled wool house jacket. Bud's books are much more fun to read than an old dog-eared paperback. Bud also brought along a dandy Christmas present to show off: A 4-amp hedge trimmer, still in the box, just the thing for keeping the neighborhood tidy. We've been borrowing the Anderson's hedge trimmer for the past 10 years. Now we've got Bud for backup. :)

Winter project

Now isolated on a wind-swept tundra, Stan plans to kill the winter by re-reading the magnificent five-volume epic "Second World War," completed by Sir Winston S. Churchill. Stan doesn't actually own the prestigious out-of-print cloth-bound set, he owns a mere handful of mis-matched paperbacks from assorted thrift store accidents.
Stan's neighbor, Bud, who haunts the second-hand book market, has recently acquired a rare set and has magnanimously overlooked Stan's envy enough to loan him a tome from time to time.
Stan has just completed a re-read of his second volume, -- 750 pages of Churchill's prose entitled "Their Finest Hour," and was about to exchange it when the Christmas break intervened.
Lo and Behold, beneath the tree was the newly-released hardback titled "The Last Lion -- the final volume of William Manchester's masterful account of Winston Churchill."
An armistice has been declared, a pause in the winter campaign to re-read Churchill's five volumes in order to first read the last installment of a biography of the great man himself, who once said:
"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it."
Manchester died before he finished his final Churchill volume, it was actually completed by another writer. It's an enjoyable, compelling read, filled with the minutia that nourishes good historical narrative.
There's a local twist.
The newly-elected prime minister needed to address the empire over the BBC in the solemn hours as France fell.
"After forty years in the House of Commons, Churchill instinctively swung his head from left to right."
This would never do in front of the fixed desk microphone in the small radio room. So actor Tyrone Guthrie stood behind him and held Churchill's ears firmly as he spoke.
We note that Churchill went on to lead the nation to victory, while his talented ear-holder went on to found the famed Minneapolis Guthrie Theatre in 1963.
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See. It's a good book. A bound, first edition. Thanks, Kathleen. Maybe Bud will want to borrow it.

Not the official photo. . .

This is not our official Christmas family photo, because it
does not include Max or Kathleen. (Kathleen took this picture.
Max is on a computer somewhere else.) The official inclusive Christmas
family photo is still locked in Jen's camera, (she knows how to do a time delay)
which was left behind in all the excitement of packing up Christmas stuff.

So what did ya git?

Emily got this signature chair and ottoman for her bedroom from her Auntie Jennifer.  Emily gave her Aunt, who is setting up in her new house in Northfield, a wished-for crock pot to cook while she's away at work. Emily's mom, Melissa, who loses her car keys from time to time, got a clapper key ring. (Just kidding. That sounds like a great idea. Actually she got a very nice, shiny key ring combination, alas, no clapper to it. Don't think they've invented a clapper key ring yet. But they should.)

He stopped at the neighbors. . .

Sandy Story sends over this photo and writes:
11 years of visits from Stanta. Thank you! (Didn't realize Mrs. Claus was out of the photo.)
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Our good neighbors, the Storys, keep adding names to Santa's list. (see the full page of notes in Santa's right hand) Their newest grandchildren, Cameron and Lucy, still haven't made up their minds about the loud, oafish gent. They made this year's photo (above), but only in the arms of their good parents, Jason and Erin.

Meanwhile, their cousins are old experienced hands, accustomed are they to this annual interruption to Christmas Eve festivities at Grandma and Grandpa's house.