Life After Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone and the earth continues its seemingly perpetual spin on its slightly tilted axis. This Christmas was different for us in one significant way. We did a lot of our shopping online and thus avoiding the mall crawl. Personally I only went into one store to purchase gifts and that was on Christmas Eve and while you may think me mad, I assure you I came out of the experience unscathed and no worse the wear. The traffic was only moderate and the shoppers were sparse so I had no trouble going in, shopping, and getting the hell out again. The rest of our shopping had been completed days before and was already either under the tree or at their respective destinations. This took the majority of the stress out of the holiday season. Very cool.

I had to work on Christmas day so we celebrated on Christmas Eve. I slow cooked a beef brisket, made cornbread stuffing and baked asparagus wrapped in prosciutto for dinner. We then opened gifts and had a very relaxed evening. Again, very cool.

Doing some overtime shifts before New Years but I will actually have a 3-day weekend which includes New Years day. That can mean only one thing, college football. I will start my football feast on Dec 30 when the DAWGS of the University of Washington take on the Nebraska Corn Huskers (what a silly mascot) in the Holiday Bowl. Go DAWGS! WOOF! This feast will continue Friday and will conclude, for me at least, on Saturday, Jan 1, 2011 at which time I will spend approximately 12 hours on the couch in front of the TV.

I love this time of year!

Popcorn Memories. Popcorn Crisis! Crisis Averted!

I vividly remember my mom making popcorn for us in a heavy cast iron skillet. The smell of fresh popped corn was magnificent and mouth watering. We always ate it with plenty of butter and salt. We did not know (did we?) about hardening of the arteries, heart issues, etc. It was something we looked forward too because the reality is, we did not have popcorn very often. It was quite the ordeal to make. When we did, it was usually because there was something special coming on the TV. The annual showing of The Wizard of Oz, or the latest John Wayne movie fresh off the big screen and now on the "Movie of the Week", the World Series or the Olympics. You have wrap to your mind around the fact that this was before microwaves, before cable or satellite TV, before VCRs or DBRs, and before video stores. There was literally only ABC, CBS and NBC. That was it thank you very much.

Today, when I feel like popcorn I can just reach into the cupboard and take out a cellophane wrapped prepackaged bag of microwave popcorn. Toss it into the microwave and 2-3 minutes later I can happily be munching on hot popcorn. I confess I still put salt and butter on mine but in my own defense I put a lot less than I would really like. Sometimes when I am feeling really decadent I will put some grated cheddar cheese on it, toss it back in the microwave for a minute and then enjoy the oozy goodness.

Last night was just such a night. I was in the mood for popcorn. I reached in the cupboard and what to my horror do I see? There is only one bag of popcorn left in the box. My heart is beating wildly and I feel close to hyperventilating. My knees are weak and threatening to buckle beneath me. How can this be happening? Who is in charge of making sure the popcorn supply is filled? Heads will roll I tell you! I really want some popcorn but if I eat this then there will be none left when CJ gets home at 2330 and I would not want to be within 50 kilometers of the cabin if that happened. Even then, the blast of her nuclear meltdown would probably still take me out. I can see her now, blue eyes ablaze with fury, teeth gnashing and fingers curled like talons ready to strike. Slowly she looks around for the culprit, the guilty party, the sacrificial lamb. Well, it won't be me! No, I won't do this. But damn it, I really want some popcorn.

Then a voice behind me casually says, "you know dad there are two boxes of popcorn in the back of the cupboard". He must have seen me standing there, staring blankly into the box of popcorn with one bag left in it............ Oh, well, that's a horse of a different color altogether. Crisis averted. Let the popcorn pop. The only question that remains, butter or cheese? Life goes happily on.

Christmas 2010 is a-comin!

I was on my home yesterday afternoon when I got a call from CJ who was at work. She said the bridge over Payton Creek "almost got her" today. I had a mental image of a large troll like creature, covered with moss, reaching up from under the bridge and taking a swipe at the Durango as it careened overhead. I was unceremoniously brought back to reality when CJ said that the bridge was very icy and that she was concerned about crossing it later that night. The hot apple cider/vodka/honey drink would have to wait. I had to make stops to get gas and the makings for dinner first so it was dark as I turned off of HY2 and onto that gravel forest service road known as Mt Index Rd. I had no trouble at all in my truck and soon turned onto our side road. Again, no problems and as I approached the bridge I saw that it was in much better shape than when I had crossed it some 14 hours earlier. I crossed without incident and was wondering about CJ's mental state when I saw the tracks. The road had been plowed. I was elated. The elation however was short lived. As I approached our driveway I saw that it was blocked by a 2 foot high berm of snow and ice. The snow plow does not clear the berms from the driveways. It was raining, dark and about 34 degrees. A fine soft evening in the mountains perfect for shoveling snow. Yea, right. I cleared the berm first and then made several passes onto the driveway trying to make sure CJ would be able to get the Durango up to the cabin. I then saw that I was going to have to do more shoveling. On my second shovel full of wet snow and ice I felt a pop in my back. Two seconds later, as I knew it would, the pain hit and hit hard. I made it into the cabin, out of my boots and onto the couch just before the pain hit in full force. Having been through this before, I knew I was going to be out of commission for at least two days. Not good. Lets hope the Christmas season gets better from here on. I'm not impressed so far.