UPDATE ON WAKE

I'm putting up the Christmas Tree with all of Chris's ornaments and everyone who shows up gets to take one ornament to remember Chris.
There will be some other things to share as well such as photos that you can take as well (boxes of photos and other things that meant a great deal to Chris). Please only take what you will use or will help you to remember Chris.

Please tell anyone you know who is coming this so they know. Trying to make FABULOUS for everyone who comes.

This is also being posted on Chris's blog.

(Posted by Damon)

Also don't forget it is a pot luck so you can bring:

Main Dish
Salad
Dessert

UPDATE TO WAKE ON SATURDAY!!!

POT LUCK!

MAIN DISH
SALADS
DESSERTS

BRING SOMETHING TO SHARE WITH THE WAKE

The Final Farewell, I will miss you all!

Christopher Wayne Schilling was born on December 9, 1959 to Earl and Florence Schilling in Ashland, Oregon.  He was employed by Events and Adventures in Seattle Washington.  He enjoyed interacting with people, organizing group activities and holidays were his passion and always close to his heart.  He introduced a number of people who eventually found lifelong partners through his work.  Early in his life he explored life in Dallas, Texas, New York City, and later moved to the Pacific Northwest settling in Portland, Oregon and then finally in Seattle, Washington.

Chris is survived by his partner Damon Blumberg, his mother Florence, sister Janet, and brothers Steve and wife Karen, Mike and wife Joyce, nieces Meredith Clark, husband Justin and 2 great nieces, Courtney Schilling and nephew Kevin Schilling. The celebration of his life will be a wake in Seattle on Saturday, February 7, 2015 from 2pm-8pm. 702 Martin Luther King, Jr. S., Seattle, WA 98144.  A later memorial will be held in Ashland, Oregon.  In lieu of flowers the family requests that you make a donation to your favorite charity.

No Post Saturday XX

And we are back on schedule!  

Trying to get organized with the new year.

Watching The Parade - More Later

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!