Christmas 2021 - Omicron version

Check.

 

So I guess I drew the short straw - one co-worker was buying a plant for our new manager and I was assigned to get the card. First off, not a lot of "boss" Christmas cards, and I felt lucky to find one - there was only one "from all of us" card. Literally, not 10 of the same card - but one single card. Throw in that nobody knows her that well, what her interests are etc as she's been commuting back and forth from another state weekly for the past month. Anyway got that done. I feel OK about the Secret Santa gift I bought. A Home Depot gift card, plus a pumice stone for calluses, some candy filled candy canes and a Powerball entry to fill out the gift bag. (It could end up being the most valuable Secret Santa gift ever given). I am more excited about the White Elephant gift I got for a party later in the week.

 

Pie >>> cake anytime all the time

 

I never heard of chess pie. Asked wife. She hadn't heard of it either. Looked it up. Sounds pretty good. But in no way could it be better than Key Lime pie. Growing up, boysenberry was my favorite, seeds and all. As for fruit pies, now I'll take peach or apricot.

 

Chess pie is about as regional a delicacy as there gets...roughly 175-mile radius of Nashville.
Otherwise, most folks haven't had it.

 

My wife and I and another couple were invited for Thanksgiving dinner by a couple down the street. When the host was done "carving" the turkey, it looked like something Clark Griswold went at with a chainsaw. I'm shocked there was no blood.

We're going to the other couple's house for Christmas. My wife says we're taking dessert and green bean casserole. "There's mushroom soup in the pantry," she said.
"You want me to open a can of soup and put my name on it?" I replied. "No way."

So for the last two days I've been fine-tuning Alton Brown's version. I didn't know homemade mushroom soup was so easy; Campbell's has nothing on me. Thank goodness they're all wine drinkers.

Happy holidays to one and all.

 

After cross-posting this screed to Facebook, I have been made aware that my Aunt Marsha up in Tennessee has secured a jug of Mayfield egg nog just for me for this weekend. A Festivus miracle!

 

I have been fortunate enough to procure the greatest of all egg nogs, Braums egg nog.

 

There’s a national shortage of cream cheese. And by now I thought I’d seen it all.

 

Ham error in my favor! Our wealth management firm, being based in the South, usually sends me a honey-baked ham for Christmas. It didn't come when it usually does in mid-December. My wife got impatient and ordered one, which came quickly and we've been eating it pretty steadily. This afternoon, the wealth management's ham arrived. If it wasn't for the pandemic, I'd just buy some more booze and have a neighborhood open house, but now, I'm kind of at a loss. My children and my daughter-in-law leave the day after Christmas. Alice and I will be having a lot of ham. Could I give it to a food pantry? I've only ever donated canned goods and staples like rice and pasta.

 

Check with the local pantries. If you can't donate it, go HAM on the ham.

 

Or if not a pantry, then maybe a local soup kitchen. They can probably put it to more immediate use.