The Day After

The day after Christmas, and Belle had to go to work.  I was left to deal with the aftermath of Christmas, and I decided to do something with that leftover tuducken.  For those unfamiliar, a tuducken is a boneless hen, stuffed into a boneless duck, stuffed into a boneless turkey.  It's a quite amazing feast, and even though it is easy to carve, (basically, you slice it like a loaf of bread)), we did have some left-overs.  So, I dug around in the fridge, found some good smoked sausage, some onion and bell pepper, and decided to make a gumbo.

After the veggies are sautee'd and the roux is made, and the gumbo is assembled, best practice is to let it simmer for a bit while you make a pot of rice.

Turducken and Sausage gumbo.

While the rice was cooking, and the gumbo was simmering, I decided to put away some gifts that were on the table.  One in particular caught my eye, a bottle of Scotch given to me by my second son.  It was one I had never tied, but that I had heard good things about.  A Spey-side single malt.  So, I cracked the seal and poured myself a wee dram.

Pouring it into the glass I was struck by how lightly it is colored.  Glenlivet uses used bourbon casks for aging, and their climate must be very mild.  A 12-year-old bourbon might be as dark as coffee, but this Scotch is very light.  The taste immediately reminded me of fresh apricots and a nice, sweetness.  At 40% ABV, it was delicate, light, and approachable.  Very nice whiskey indeed. I'll have to keep a bottle of this nearby for when the Scotch drinkers come around.

Christmas was very tood to me indeed.  I have a couple of more bottles to open, but we'll talk about those in the correct time.

Solstice

I am reminded that today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.  It's also the first day of winter.  Tomorrow, the day will be a little longer and the sun will climb a little higher in the sky.

Ancient peoples put great faith in the winter solstice, making it a day of celebration and worship.  Today, it is simply an interesting astronomical event.  It mask the changing of the season.

As for myself, I'm going to finish this cup of coffee and get ready for a family event at noon.  Yesterday was exhausting for all sorts of reasons not elated to my birthday, and after that family event I'm going to come home and retreat into my sloth.  Tomorrow begins the Christmas celebration and I'm sure that we will be busy until that is over.

The Tree Is Up

Belle ad I decided to put the tree up in the barn this Christmas, since that's where the festivities will commence.  She had the grandsons get it out of the attic today, and superintended the installation.

That tree took up half the living room.  It looks a whole lot smaller in the shop.  But, after Christmas, it will go into storage in the shop.  It's never going back in the house.

Merry Christmas

PawPaw and Belle, having coffee on a quiet Christmas morning.  It has long been our habit to celebrate with the kids and grandkids on Christmas Eve.  That lets them celebrate with the other side of the family at their leisure.  Therefore, Christmas Day at PawPaw's house is kinda quiet.

Yesterday was busy, joyful, lots of food, lots of friends, lots of fun.  Except that PawPaw hisself was putting chlorine in the pool and got a snoot-full of chlorine gas.  I very nearly went to the emergency room, but with two Registered Nurses in attendance I was treated appropriately and pulled through.  It took several hours, though, and as I told them, I'm still not 100%, but I hav en't been 100% for a decade or longer. 

That's the second time that I've poisoned myself with chlorine in the past decade, and both times it was scary as hell.  I can't imagine how scary it must have been for the soldiers of WW1 battlefields when chlorine gas was used.  Suddenly you just cannot breathe.

But, in a couple of hours of hacking and coughing, I was back to my normal level of decrepitude and was able to enjoy the festivities without scaring the grandkids.  Today, Belle and I will drive to Jena, LA to spend some hours with her family. 

I hope that everyone is enjoying Christmas in their own fashion, and that each of us takes time ro reflect on the meaning of the season.  Merry Christmas, everyone.

Small Town Christmas

Belle and I took a couple of the grandids to the Buckeye Christmas parade this afternoon.  A small-town parade, we had the high school marching band, we had horses and old cars and floats and a fire truck.

I have a grandson, Zach, in that band somewhere.  He plays the trombone.  I never did get a clear shot at him.

But, the floats were nice, the Shiners had their little go-cart trucks, and the candy thrown to the kids was excessive.  Our youngest, Lucas, managed to score the bigger portion of a Wal-Mart bag full of candy and gee-dunk.  After the parade, we took him to his momma, who was amazed at the amount of tooth-rot he was bringing in the house.  He'll be on a sugar high for a week.

Small town Christmas parades.  I love 'em..

Saturday Notes

I'm boiling turkey carcasses for gumbo.  I smoked one and my brother-in-law smoked one.  I'll let them boil for an hour or so in salted water, then take them out to cool.  When they're cool enough, I"ll peel the meaty bits off of them, discard the bones and keep the meat and the stock for a gumbo that we'll eat tomorrow for lunch.I have some sausage in the 'fridge, but we'll pic up another pound at the grocer's later today.

Panning for Louisiana State continues apace.  I have to make a budget and intend to get that finished this weekend.  I have been poring over last year's notes trying to get realistic numbers, and Belle and I have a date tomorrow afternoon to sit down at the kitchen table and put numbers to paper.  I need to get this done so that we can move forward.

The Cross Branded Peacemakers are meeting later today for our final shoot for this year..  I intend that we're just going to practice for a while, then talk about planning for the State shoot this spring.

The concrete crew has one additional task to complete before the foundation and forms are ready to pour.  We're scheduled to pout the concrete on Monday morning.  I am ready to see concrete in that hole.

Christmas is upon us, and Christmas music is officially endorsed.  This is one of my favorites.



Here we go!

Cowboy Jewelry

Belle and I got some cowboy jewelry for Christmas, suitable for blinging out the attire that we wear at Fast Draw events.

Belle acquired a very nice bracelet, with matching earrings.

It features .45 ACP rims and the spent primers are jeweled very nicely.

PawPaw got a belt buckle.

It features mixed-lot .40 SW rims, very well executed.  I know that .40 SW isn't a "cowboy cartridge", but if they're paying that much attention to my buckle then it serves them right to learn that it isn't period correct.

Thanks, Squirrel!  Ya done good.

Christmas Music

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Christmas Music

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Christmas Prep

We do our Christmas on Christmas Eve, so that the children can do Christmas with other family.  It works well for us, because we're done, basically, when the last car pulls out of the driveway on Christmas Eve.

I've got a turkey in the smoker, and Belle just finished stuffing kids stockings.  I walked next door because I heard the neighbor rattling around, and we did a shot of pecan pie moonshine.

Belle and I will be half-stepping, getting things ready for the rest of the day and tomorrow.  Should I forget to say it, I hope that all of you have a very Merry Christmas.

Blue Christmas

Here, we turn away from the mundane, the political, to enjoy a little music.  It's the Christmas Season, after all, and we should remember to be thankful for the season.

Here's a fun little video I stumbled on.  And, it's gotta be true, it's on the internet.



Heh!  Merry Christmas.

Yuletide Cheer

Peter has a post up about George Washington's personal recipe for eggnog.  It looks pretty good.  It looks like it makes, I dunno, about a gallon.

One quart cream, one quart milk, one dozen tablespoons sugar, one pint brandy, 1/2 pint rye whiskey, 1/2 pint Jamaica rum, 1/4 pint sherry—mix liquor first, then separate [a dozen] yolks and whites of eggs, add sugar to beaten yolks, mix well. Add milk and cream, slowly beating. Beat whites of eggs until stiff and fold slowly into mixture. Let set in cool place for several days. Taste frequently.

That should certainly get the party started, although my eggnog recipe is a bit simpler.  I recently discovered pecan-pie flavored moonshine.  I doubt it's real moonshine, and it proofs out at about  80  proof, so the old moonshiners I used to know would scoff at it.  But, a jigger of pecan-pie 'shine in a highball glass filled with eggnog sure makes the spirit bright.

Not that I don't trust Peter, but I found the same recipe in the Old Farmers Almanac.  So, there might be some historical legitimacy to this concoction.  For myself, I'll stick w with the store-bought variety.

Merry Christmas

Sitting here in my slippers this rainy Christmas morning, I am grateful that I've seen my family this week, I've enjoyed the plentiful food and I've shared cheer with friends.  It's quiet at PawPaw's house, so I turn to the internets to read the newspaper, and I see this joyous headline on the Daily Mail.

'The worst delivery service ever': FedEx admits it has missed THOUSANDS of Christmas deliveries to the outrage of parents across America 

And the Twitter feed on the page below is blowing up, giving FedEx hell for missing those important, last-minute deliveries.To which I say, Get Over It.

We've become addicted to a just-in-time delivery system, the finest in the world.  If FedEx decides to take the day off to enjoy Christmas with their families, that's their prerogative.  I know, they make their living by delivering packages, but if it's really important, maybe ordering it by December 1st makes better sense.  I have very little sympathy for those who fail to plan ahead, during the busiest shopping month of the year.

Next year, plan better.  Make sure that your Christmas essentials are inside your house by December 15th and there won't be a problem.  If millions of people decide at the last minute to order packages, there are only so many trucks in the fleet and only so many drivers to deliver those packages.

I hope that FedEx employees have a rich, blessed Christmas.  I'm expecting a package, but I'm not expecting it today.  FedEx tracking says that it will be delivered tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath, and if it gets here early next week, that will be fine.

PawPaw has picked up the extra tables and put away the folding chairs from the festivities last night.  I intend to revel in my sloth for the rest of the day and enjoy the company of my lady.  Tomorrow is soon enough to worry about the world, and everything I need is right here.

Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a fungal plant that grows in trees.  You can research it yourself, but I was listening to Christmas music and found this line in Mel Torme's The Christmas Song.

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright,

And that remided me of a time when I was a kid, hunting ducks with my Dad on a little pothole called Catfish Prarie in the Catahoula swamp.  Dad and I were walking out of the swamp after a morning of duck hunting.  I was an adolescent, probably 12 or 13 years old  and was trying to figure out a way to get a little Christmas money in my pocket.  I mentioned that to Dad, and he told me to sell mistletoe.

"Mistletoe?" I asked.

"Yeah, mistletoe." Dad said.  "This thicket is lousy with it." He thumbed a shell into his shotgun and blasted a green clump in the top of a nearby tree.  Mistletoe rained down around us.  "Pick that up." he said.

He told me about mistletoe, a magical little parasitic plant that grows in trees and has the power to let young men steal a kiss from the girls.  Today, that would probably be a sexist philosophy, but in the late '60s it seemed like just the key to get a little money in my pocket.

I blasted a few clumps and before long, had a hunting bag full of mistletoe sprigs.  When I got home, I raided Mom's stash of ribbon, converting blasted mistletoe clumps into a salable item.  I sold them around the neighborhood for 50 cents apiece, and took some to school the week before Christmas break.  I don't remember how much money I made, but I had a lot of fun with it.  Especially in the school-house, before the administration shut me down.

Good times, good times.



Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get busy.  The family will be here for Christmas Eve and I've got a list of things to accomplish.

Merry Christmas, Y'all.

Discombobulated

It's Friday, according to the calendar, the 26th of December, and I'm telling you that so that I can fix it in my own mind, because my internal calendar is all screwed up.  Discombobulated, as it were.  I've been off this week, and somehow in my mind, Christmas Eve became Saturday, and Christmas became Sunday, and when I woke this morning, it should be Monday, but it's not; it's Friday.  That makes tomorrow Saturday.   I've got to keep reminding myself what day it is.

I'm off next week, too, with just one business meeting on Monday.  The rest of the week is clear so far, and I'm going to do my damndest to keep it that way.

Christmas Eve

PawPaw is busy today, happily puttering around the house, getting ready for our annual Christmas gathering.  We'll eat about 6:00 and the grandkids will get to unwrap their presents, Afterwards, Milady and I will collapse into bed and sleep the clock around.  Christmas Day is quiet at PawPaw's house.  It's a tradition we've maintained for several years now, and I like it.

Ave Maria is a Christmas Eve staple, so I like to keep it queued up.   This one, by Bochelli, is a favorite.



Merry Christmas, everyone.

Another Shooting

This  time in Berkeley, MO, just about two miles from the place where Michael Brown lost his life. Hot Air reports.

The officer was conducting what was described as a “routine business check” at the gas station and Martin was either in a car in the parking lot or coming out of the store. (Reports are conflicting) When the officer approached, Martin reportedly drew a handgun and pointed it at the officer. The officer discharged his weapon multiple times and Martin was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect’s gun was recovered.

St. Louis County has released a video and you can see it on YouTube, but the screen grab of the guy holding the gun is here.  

Just to the right of the "9" you can see the guy holding his arm out in a shooting position.

It's too early to tell, but it looks to me like that area in Missouri has some healing to do.  Pray for that as we enjoy this Christmas season.

The Christmas Song

Written by Mel Torme, and sung by Nat King Cole.

Sunday Song

In keeping with the Christmas theme, the incomparable Kathy Mattea.



Wonderful performance of an inspiring song.

Sunday Song

Continuing the old hymns with a new twist, we come now to a group called Home Free.



That guy needs to take his hat off in church, but other than that, lovely.