What A Year...Good-bye 2014

Indeed a year not to be forgotten.  So many changes and yet so much the same.  The news has been a roller coaster and at the same time so has my life.  I look forward to the new year being one of joy and freedom.  At the same time I am scared and yet excited.  I am so thankful for friends and family.  Damon is a true joy in my life.  Who knew?!?!  Here is to new beginnings and all the excitement that awaits.

As We Close Out The Year - A Thought To Consider

Monday Moment Of Humor

We all have that song.  Not going to even mention one or it will start all over again.  But it did make me laugh!  Happy Monday.

And The Seahawks Frenzy Begins

The defense did not allow a point in the fourth quarter of the last six games, and yielded only 13 in the second halves during the six-game winning streak. And that included the Cardinals, who outscored their other opponents 102-64 in the fourth quarter this season.

The Seahawks have placed 15 players on injured reserve this season. Eleven starters missed a combined 58 games. The Seahawks used four starters at center and three at tight end, strong safety and middle linebacker. In Sunday’s game, Hill (sprained knee) and special teams standout Jeron Johnson (dislocated elbow) went out.

No Post Saturday XIX

A couple of weeks late due to the holiday rush!

Damon's First Prime Rib

Seriously, this was a stunning moment.  Is there anything more truly beautiful than a perfect prime rib? A deep brown crust crackling with salt and fat, sliced open to reveal a juicy pink center that extends from edge to edge, the faint but distinct funk of dry-aging permeating the room as it gets sliced. When you see such a roast in front of you, everything else disappears as you become lost in a mental vortex of juicy meat, crisp fat, and drippings.  What a marvelous Christmas dinner...in fact, there was enough for 2 additional meals.

METHOD
1  Remove the beef roast from the refrigerator 3 hours before you start to cook it. Sprinkle it with salt all over and let it sit, loosely wrapped in the butcher paper. Roasts should be brought close to room temperature before they go into the oven, to ensure more even cooking.

2 If your butcher hasn't already done so, cut the bones away from the roast and tie them back on to the roast with kitchen string. This will make it much easier to carve the roast, while still allowing you to stand the roast on the rib bones while cooking.

3 Preheat your oven to 500°F (or the highest temp your oven reaches less than 500°F). Pat the roast dry with paper towels (pre-salting should have made the roast release some moisture), and sprinkle the roast all over with salt and pepper.

4 Place the roast fat side up and rib bones down in a roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, making sure that the thermometer isn't touching a bone.

5 After browning the roast at a 500°F temperature in the oven for 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. To figure out the total cooking time, allow about 13-15 minutes per pound for rare and 15-17 minutes per pound for medium rare. The actual cooking time will depend on the shape of the roast, how chilled your roast still is when it goes into the oven, and your particular oven. A flatter roast will cook more quickly than a thicker one. There are so many variables involved that affect cooking time, this is why you should use a meat thermometer. A prime rib roast is too expensive to "wing it". Error on the rare side, you can always put the roast back in the oven to cook it more if it is too rare for your taste.

Roast in oven until thermometer registers 115°-120°F for rare or 125°-130°F for medium. (The internal temperature of the roast will continue to rise after you take the roast out of the oven.)
Check the temperature of the roast using a meat thermometer 30 to 45 minutes before you expect the roast to be done. For example, with a 10 pound roast, you would expect 2 1/2 hours of total cooking time (15 minutes at 500° and 2 1/4 hours at 325°). In this case, check after 1 hour 45 minutes of total cooking time, or 1 hour 30 minutes after you lowered the oven temp to 325°. (A benefit of using a remote thermometer is that you don't have to keep checking the roast, you'll be able to see exactly what the temperature is by looking at the thermometer outside of the oven.).

Once the roast has reached the temperature you want, remove it from the oven and place it on a carving board. Cover it with foil and let it rest for 30 minutes before carving. The internal temperature of the roast will continue to rise while the roast is resting.

6 Cut away the strings that were used to hold the roast to the rack of rib bones. Remove the bones (you can save them to make stock for soup if you want.) Then, using a sharp carving knife, slice meat across the grain for serving, making the slices about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa Claus

Age: 1,651

Marital Status: Married, no children.

Hometown: North Pole

North Pole's tubby toy titan remains fiction's richest character, despite ongoing strife with Elvish labor force. Elves bemoan low-wages, lack of health care coverage and union-busting tactics of "Claws." Factory operations also dogged by several documented instances of child-labor. Santa retorts that "immortal" Elves don't need health insurance, and says child-workers were being punished for being "naughty." Analysts expect impact on toy and candy production to be minimal. Claus' ultimate motivations for annual gift-giving orgy remain unclear. Speculated to be tormented by infinite wealth; embarks on annual around-the-world trip in a futile attempt to give it away. Others detect darker side, noting percentage of children receiving lumps of coal and ill-treatment of rare Finnish-bred flying reindeer. Claus himself plays it close to the vest, cryptically muttering "Ho! Ho! Ho!" Member since time immemorial. -- Michael Noer

A Visit from St. Nicholas

A Visit from St. Nicholas
BY CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,

With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Source: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
(Random House Inc., 1983)

Festivus

(CNN) — It’s December 23, so “let’s rumble!”

As last-minute shoppers fueled on eggnog scramble for those final gifts for relatives thrice-removed, there’s another celebration afoot Tuesday: Festivus.

Festivus was introduced in the ninth and final season of “Seinfeld” as a holiday that George Costanza, played by Jason Alexander, begrudgingly grew up with as an antidote to the season’s growing focus on consumerism.

While the episode originally aired on December 18, 1997, the holiday and its eccentric customs — like the “feats of strength” and “airing of grievances” — live on with much fanfare.

What A Weekend

As you saw on Saturday's post, the tree was decked out for the season and Janet arrived a little after noon for a visit.  We had not seen each other in a while and so it was a delight to be able to catch up.  She was able to enjoy a tuna sandwich as Damon and I both had eaten a little before her arrival.  We got caught up on things plus she surprised Damon with a pig ornament that you may have noticed in the photos.  Quite fun.  We gave her two pop-up books.  One on travel around the world and the other on New York City.  I then took time for a nap before Jodie and Rob arrived.

They got here about 4pm and we were able to enjoy a game of Catan, Janet's first.  We also had nibbles and beverages to tie us over.  Afterwards, it was Chinese food ordered in and another game call Dix-it.  A good amount of laughter was found.  

Sunday had Janet up early and at mass.  From there she swung by and got Damon and off they went to meet up with Jodie and Rob.  They had a morning of manicures and pedicures.  A good time for all.  Then, Damon and Janet returned to have brunch here.  We ate and then Janet headed off to her hotel room for the afternoon, to return in time for dinner with Markie.  Damon was quite the chef this day.  He made bacon, eggs and biscuits for brunch.  Dinner was a bacon wrapped bbq pork chop.  Additionally he made a broccoli and cauliflower dish with a cheese sauce.  Janet brought homemade apple sauce plus Markie brought some Panettone to cap off a lovely meal.  Above, Janet and Markie are enjoying dinner, a little on the serious side. 

At 3:03pm Pacific Time

Damon Did An Amazing Job On The Tree

 

Christmas Humor

Oh Hank!

Read this on facebook today..."I had a great time with the Long Beach kindergarteners building gingerbread houses. Thank you Michele Kersey Marshman. While I was there, Hank's prednisone kicked in and needed food NOW! So he broke into the refrigerator. I'm down one Dungeness crab, one huge wedge of extra sharp cheddar (aged four years), and the rest of the pictured can of dog food. At least he left the broccoli alone. My house looked like a murder scene when I walked in. So after mopping him up twice and the bleeding continued, off we went to the vet. He has multiple cuts on his lips, tongue and roof of his mouth. Thankfully the flow has stopped --- and the blockade on the fridge is in place. Argh!!!"

So this is Hank and as much as you want to not like him...you love him.  I met him years ago in Astoria when Michael came to pick me up.  Well, Hank got out of the truck and was running all over the neighborhood in Astoria and it got to be comical.  He later chewed the interior of the truck up while Michael and I went to the school auction.  I am sending love to you guy.

Tis The Season To Share A Holiday Recipe

Tis the season to share a holiday recipe...I couldn't help myself.

Hope you're having a great day!

Hanukkah Greetings!

75 Years Ago...

One million people came to Atlanta for the film's premiere at the Loew's Grand Theatre on December 15, 1939. It was the climax of three days of festivities hosted by Mayor William B. Hartsfield, which included a parade of limousines featuring stars from the film, receptions, thousands of Confederate flags and a costume ball. Eurith D. Rivers, the governor of Georgia, declared December 15 a state holiday.

An estimated three hundred thousand residents and visitors to Atlanta lined the streets for up to seven miles to watch a procession of limousines bring the stars from the airport. Only Leslie Howard and Victor Fleming chose not to attend: Howard had returned to England due to the outbreak of World War II, and Fleming had fallen out with Selznick and declined to attend any of the premieres. Hattie McDaniel was also absent, as she and the other black actors from the film were prevented from attending the premiere due to Georgia's Jim Crow laws, which would have kept them from sitting with the white members of the cast. Upon learning that McDaniel had been barred from the premiere,

Clark Gable threatened to boycott the event, but McDaniel convinced him to attend. President Jimmy Carter would later recall it as "the biggest event to happen in the South in my lifetime." Premieres in New York and Los Angeles followed, the latter attended by some of the actresses that had been considered for the part of Scarlett, among them Paulette Goddard, Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford.

Decking The Halls

The above stocking was the very first stocking I ever had.  Mom had one made for each of us.  We used them for years when we lived at 697 Indiana.  Then we moved over to the new house at 1146 Beswick Way and they were beginning to look a bit worn.  Mom mentioned this and Dad said yeah to the end of stockings.  Alas, that was not to be as Mom had new ones made for each of us that we use to this day.  In fact, Damon mentioned how he wants to exchange stockings.  This should be fun!

The bookcase has gotten quite festive for the holiday.  We took several hours yesterday unpacking, positioning various items and I shared the many stories of where things came from.  The chair is loaded with stuffed animals that will be going under the tree.  Yes, for the first time in 4 years I am going to have a tree again.  It is going up later today.

Damon moved furniture around and then we did the table up in silver, white and purple.  It looks lovely.  The tree is going to go to the left of the chair in this picture.  Right in front of the big window.

This is the credenza in the dining area.  It is groaning with the snow globe collection.  It really turned out nice.  Damon was a huge help in decorating and has a good eye.  If the weather holds, Janet will be coming north next weekend and it would be a delight to see her.

Feeling Older

OK, so do you remember the RCA dog?  I do and even remember that the now GE building at Rockefeller Center was once the RCA building.  So what does this have to do with all the tea in China?  Well, today Damon and I began to deck the halls for the holidays.  It has been a lot of fun.

We go to a box and he opened it and pulled out my collection of Christmas CD's and declared - you still listen to CD's?  Yes, I do.  He, of course, wants to now take and transfer to the computer and make it all fancy fast and at the same time, I like paying the CD's.  All this computer conversion seems to be making a lot of the music loose the crispness to the music and muddles the sound a bit.

Call me old fashion, but sometimes progress is not always best.

Rumors Are Untrue Thankfully

Hold Your Horses: Budweiser Clydesdales Are Here to Stay

ST. LOUIS (Nov. 25, 2014) – Don’t believe everything that trends. The Budweiser Clydesdales are not going anywhere.
“We are excited to see exactly how much the Clydesdales can still touch the hearts and minds of our passionate fan base,” said Brian Perkins, vice president, Budweiser. “There have never been any plans to remove our beloved Budweiser Clydesdales from our brand identity. In fact, we can confirm they will return to the Super Bowl in 2015. And they are stars of our new online holiday campaign that has been in production for months.”
The Budweiser Clydesdales can be found giving folks a safe ride home in a new video promoting responsible drinking during the holidays. The content can be found here.
“Let me be clear,” added Perkins. “Straight from the horse’s mouth: The Budweiser Clydesdales are here to stay and will continue to play a central role in our campaigns, including holidays and Super Bowl. They represent the quality and heritage of the No.1 full-flavored lager in America.”

Fire Rainbows

'Fire rainbows' are a rare phenomenon that only occur when the Sun is higher than 58° above the horizon and its light passes through cirrus clouds made of ice crystals.

Birthday Fun

 Damon made me a pirate!

 Janet sent beautiful flowers!

So many others made the day special!

Celebrating 55 Years

Breakfast in bed, Flowers delivered, Numerous cards to open, Being a pirate, Birthday Cannolis, Wonderful messages, Custom birthday cake and so much love shard.  A very lucky man I am.

Amazing Huichol Bead Work On Wheels

The extraordinary skill of the Huichol  or Wixáritari of West Mexico turning beads and skulls into works of art has been known about for years. Now eight of these artisans from the communities of Nayarit and Jalisco are showcasing their amazing bead work on an entire car!

The car in question is a a 1990 Volkswagen Beetle so this "moving" piece of art is thus called the Vochol - a combination of the car's name with that of the Huichol.  The team of  Huichol bead artisans took 9,000 hours to completely adorn the car both inside and out. They covered virtually all the surfaces including the mirrors, seats, steering wheel and dashboard!

They used more than 2 million seed beads along with nearly 35 pounds of fabric, paint, yarn and resin. Resin was probably applied and the beads were then embedded  in the resin.  The design elements used by the artisans have deep spiritual meaning to the Huichol.   The two-headed eagles represent the four cardinal directions. Other symbols include the deer which is revered in their culture as well as the fire, drum, squash and corn.

The Vochol was exhibited at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC in 2010. After that it toured internationally before being sold to raise money for the Association of Friends of the Museum of Popular Art in Mexico City which supports the work of Mexican artisans.

Pearl Harbor Day

More than a dozen Pearl Harbor survivors, each more than 90 years old, gathered in Hawaii this week to share stories as they marked the 73rd anniversary of the Japanese attack that killed 2,400 sailors, Marines and soldiers.

The gathering has been called the last meeting for the USS Arizona Reunion Association – comprised of the remaining nine survivors of the USS Arizona, a battleship that sank in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack.

But Louis Conter isn't ready to talk about the end.

"I don't think this is going to be our last. ... We've still got time to go," said Conter, 93, of Grass Valley, Calif. "We'll be back out here no matter whether the rest of the crowd can make it or not."

“I feel very proud of them and I think they’re like a national treasure and when they say that they were the Greatest Generation, I have to fully endorse that,” Col. Robert Brooks, whose father, Eddie Brooks, was a Pearl Harbor survivor,

Donald Stratton, 92, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was one of the few survivors of a gun director in the forward part of the ship. More than 65 percent of his body was burned. Stratton was hospitalized for more than year and then was medically discharged from the Navy.

He re-enlisted a year later. "The good Lord saved just a few of us," he said.

During a private event Sunday, the men will toast their shipmates, drinking from replicas of champagne glasses from the Arizona. They will share a bottle of sparkling wine that was a gift to the survivors association from President Gerald Ford's visit to Spain in 1975.

The men arrived at the Pearl Harbor visitor center on Tuesday to military salutes, music from the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet Band and photos from tourists. At the news conference, they reminisced about memories of the attack.

"I learned something about faith," said John Anderson, 97, of Roswell, N.M., recalling that he had just gone to church services and was heading to breakfast when someone said they saw the planes coming. He became teary-eyed as he discussed his twin brother dying in the attack.

"It's always like yesterday when we're out here," Conter added.

The survivors on Tuesday also watched a live-feed of a dive along the Arizona's sunken hull, which still holds the bodies of more than 900 of about 1,177 men who died on the battleship.

Ashes of 38 survivors are interred there.

National Park Service Historian Daniel Martinez, moderating Tuesday's discussion, seemed overcome with emotion when he announced that Arizona survivor Lauren Bruner, 94, of La Mirada, Calif., last year signed paperwork for his intentions to be interred there. Conter plans to do the same, he said.

"It seems like after a while nobody pays attention to them anymore, after about five years," Bruner said of his decision not to be buried in a cemetery. "I hope a lot of people will still be ... coming over to the Arizona and we'll be glad to see them."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Love Me Some Ruldolph

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the debut of one of the most beloved of all Christmas television specials.  "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," is a stop-action animated feature which, though premiered on NBC back in December of 1964, but now has long since found its home on CBS.

The program is based on a children's story, and the song Gene Autry made famous at Christmas time back in 1949.  This year the US Postal Service issued stamps honoring the Christmas special.

The late Burl Ives narrates the story in the role of Sam the Snowman, telling the tale of poor Rudolph . . . unable, because of his bright red nose, to join in any reindeer games.  Spoiler Alert!: After various plot twists and turns, Rudolph with his nose so bright finally DOES manage to guide Santa's sleigh.  "Rudolph" is the longest-running Christmas TV special of all . . . and he's not done yet.  He's back for his encore this coming Tuesday night when it makes its' annual airing.

Ah, Setting Boundaries

On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, ending our nation’s failed experiment with alcohol prohibition. Yet, 81 years later, modern-day prohibitionists continue to deny the laws of supply and demand, attempting to control what individuals can choose to put into their own bodies.

The War on Drugs is a glaring example of contemporary prohibitionism, but nanny-staters have even attempted to ban substances as innocuous as “too-large” sodas or gourmet cheeses.

May The Gifts Be With You

Santa.... I am your father...

Yes, let the Christmas spirit flow through you.