Get 'er Done

Christmas 2006

Well, Christmas was a bit different than planned. We were next door at daughter and granddaughter's home Christmas morning to open gifts. Our son that lives close was there with his wife. Later, also as planned, we all were at the son's home for dinner about noon. That's where the plans ended. The granddaughter's other grand parents from northern Illinois wanted to pick her up on Tuesday to spend a few days with them before she has to be back in school the 2nd. They wanted to meet us in central Indiana which is about the halfway point between our two homes, so we took off Christmas afternoon and made a four hour drive (raining the whole way) to Indiana, taking our daughter and granddaughter with us.

The good news is the town where we were to meet them is where our other daughter and son lives, and we were able to have Christmas supper with them and their families. That was not in the plans for this year, but was a delightful reward for making the drive. Angels smile on us pure of heart (okay, they occasionally smile on people like me too, just because it's Christmas).

Christmas night we stood outside in the middle of one of those wet snowfalls where the snow clumps up to make huge flakes gently drifting down. It was beautiful and covered the ground, but gave me some concern for the drive home on Tuesday. I needn't have worried as all the snow was gone when we got up, temperature about 40 as we headed south, and not so much as a rain drop the whole way home.

Sandwiches

The previous post where I mentioned toasted peanut butter sandwiches with a slice of fresh from the garden tomato, got me to thinking of sandwiches I've known and loved.

I can't remember a time toasted peanut butter sandwiches weren't a part of my life. There was a time in my youth when such a sandwich would be made with bread from mother's fresh baked loaves, buttered with fresh churned butter, peanut butter and home canned strawberry preserves, added then toasted in one of those old style, "A" frame shaped toasters that toasted one side at a time. You could toast the whole sandwich in those after it was assembled. I did. Clean up the drips.

Another seasonal favorite of mine was to pick fresh leaf lettuce from the garden, wash it in cold water and put it on a sandwich that included white bread with Miracle Whip on each slice and a thick slice of balogna.

As a teenager we occasionally drove into the west side of Indianapolis, just a few blocks east of the Indianapolis 500 track to the "Pole" drive in restaurant. They had one of those stacked up, three napkin, cheeseburgers you leaned out of the car to eat because it was so juicy it would drip all over you.

Reubens. For years there was Weise's Delicatessen just off the Circle in downtown Indianapolis. They made a reuben that would feed a family of four. Shredded corned beef, some really good sour kraut, lots of swiss cheese and their own version of thousand island dressing. Thankfully my wife makes a Reuben ever bit as good.

For a while there was a small casino in Vegas that had the "Monster Burger". This thing was on a nine inch diameter bun and hung off all the way around. We'd get that and an order of fries that was equally outsized and split it between us. Rarely could we finish it all.

North of here is a more modern Amish store. The ladies dress in the bonnets and ankle length dresses, but they have refrigeration for the products, and an electric meat slicer. They make their own bread fresh each day, oversized loaves which makes oversized sandwiches. Some of the most delicious bread. I generally get the roast beef. They'll pile thin sliced roast beef at least an inch thick, add lots of swiss cheese, some tomato, lettuce and their own special sauce. Three bucks and you need a mouth stretcher to take a bite of it.

Of course I'll always enjoy a hot dog roasted on a stick over a campfire, and even a coney dog if it's made by someone that understands coney sauce and the proper application of chopped onions.

Last and size wise, least, a sack of those darned little White Castle burgers now and then since we're back in an area that has those stores.

I've been tagged

Patrick over at "Born Again Redneck" has tagged me to list six weird things about myself. This is an impossible task since there's nothing at all weird about me - just the rest of the world. Oh, all right I'll take a shot at it.

1) When I was young I started intentionally enunciating the cartoon sound "Ah-Choo" when I would sneeze and still catch myself doing that from time to time.

2) My morning coffee is enough of a habit I actually carry a satchel with coffee maker, mugs and all the fixin's when I stay in a hotel or motel just in case they don't have one.

3) I don't like mellon. Not watermellon, not cantelope, not honeydew, nothing. If it resembles a mellon keep it away from me please.

4) I hate tailgaters, consider the old rule of allowing one car length for every ten miles per hour. So, if I get someone on my tail about two car lengths back, I slow to 20 so he/she won't rear-end me if I make a quick stop. I also carry a loaded gun in the car in case they get too disturbed about this.

5) When vine ripe tomatoes are in season there's nothing I like better than a toasted peanut butter sandwich with a slice of fresh tomato on it.

6) Probably the weirdest by today's standards. Forty-six years ago last June I was married. Since our wedding day I've made love with only one woman, my wife.

New Discovery

Merry Christmas

There's nothing particularly magic about the date of December 25th in itself. Most scholars agree that's probably off by two or three months from the actual birth date of Jesus of Nazareth. The best consensus is, early Christianity moving into Europe found a highly engrained Winter Solstice celebration among the pagans, so adopted that date to change the emphasis of the Solstice celebration to a Christian celebration. On the shortest day and longest night of the year when the landscape is barren and bleak, the pagans brought in signs of green (evergreens, holly, mistletoe) in a ritual of supplication to the nature gods to bring back the green and fertile times of the other three seasons. Hence we still have these traditions. Of course St. Nicholas or Santa Claus came later and has evolved radically as us capitalists glommed onto the idea of selling the gifts others wish to give. He's a great advertising gimmick. He's changed a lot since the earliest mentions of St. Nick. Blame Coca Cola.

Of course the same is true of Easter. At least Christmas is derived from Christ-Mass. Easter is derived from a pagan goddess' name. Easter was the spring equinox fertility rituals, hence the rabbit, eggs, nest symbolism.

The whole point is, you can celebrate Christmas in whatever fashion you choose, with Santa, flying reindeer, elves, trees, gifts, lighted houses and the like, and many stop right there. Or you can celebrate the fact we have set aside this date to memorialize the birth of Jesus the Christ, and the beginning of Christianity in the world. There is nothing wrong or sinful about gift giving, Christmas trees, lighted houses and the like, but set aside a little time during the busy holiday season to think about, and honor in your own way, the reason we hold this celebration.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Merry Christmas

More Ramblin's

We were going to go Carrolling, Lewis Carrolling that is, but I couldn't find sheet music to the Jabberwocky. Twas brillig and the slithey toves, did gire and gimble in the wabe...It always brings a tear to my eye...

It's a silly day of random thoughts, or maybe it's brain hiccups.

About 1970 I had some bright yellow business card sized notes printed with the copy "If I've been of help to you on the road today, don't thank me, just pass this card to the next person you help on the road." Any time I stopped to help someone I'd give them one of these cards. Three or four years later while heading to work on the Interstate on a cold, frozen morning I had a tire go flat. While I was changing it another car stopped and the felow helped me with the change. When he finished he handed me a dog eared copy of my bright yellow card.

I accidentally dropped a flea and tick collar on my clock. It drove all the ticks off so the clock only goes tock - tock - tock now.

Merry Christmas

He's Lightyears ahead of....

Four times in the last month, and I can't count the times in the last several years, I've heard that expression on some movie or TV show. What they mean is someone or something is years ahead of the competition and they say "lightyears" to indicate a huge lead. Wouldn't it be great if someone in the media bothered to look up the definition of a lightyear? A light year is a measure of DISTANCE, not time. It's the distance light travels in one year.

If someone is lightyears ahead of the competition my interpretation would be "they're so far out there they aren't living in our world. Not even close". Maybe that's a good definition of much of our movie and media.

In April of 1892 Jesse James and gang held up the bank in Columbia Kentucky. There are varying accounts of the outcome; some stories say he got nothing, others say he made off with $600. One account says $6,000 but I think that was an error. In the robbery they shot and killed an unarmed teller, and according to some accounts one of the gang members was shot and killed. At any rate they ran from Columbia and held up for a few days in this log cabin which is about 3 miles from my home. Behind the cabin there's a sink hole where they tied their horses so they wouldn't be seen. I've never been able to learn if there was anyone living in the cabin at the time, but it's been variously occupied and empty every since. At some point in time someone has painted it barn red and though it was occupied last year, I haven't seen any signs of life there for a while.

Boulder City Nevada was established as a planned residential area for workers building the Hoover Dam, and sets high above Lake Meade a short distance from the dam. As we started back home from Vegas last year we stopped in Boulder City for a bite to eat, and found this restaurant. Who could resist.

A Family Christmas

Wow. We had a Christmas get-together Saturday at my brother's river house. Our two daughters and granddaughter went along with us. That brother's eldest son (the retired Marine) and his wife was there along with that brother's two daughters and spouses. My youngest brother and his wife were also there with one daughter and one son, and there was a gaggle of various grandchildren. My brother kept a big fire going in the fire pit down by the river so there was a rotating conversation over coffee between there and inside the house. A little after two we had a pitch-in feast then continued to nibble the rest of the day. About five or so there was a gift exchange in a rather clever fashion. The gifts were to be about five dollars. Each woman brought a woman's gift, each man a man's, each boy and girl a boy's or girl's gift respectively. They put numbers on each gift then put a matching number in one of four different cups. Each man drew a number from the men's cup so received the man's present with the corresponding number, and so on. Just a fun thing but it was interesting to see some of the creative gifting.

We'd all taken a bunch of other little, unwrapped gifts and the kids played bingo for these. The bingo rule was the winner could pick the gift, but the first win and first present they chose had to be given to someone they thought would like it, then their succeeding wins they got to keep for themselves. Each of us adults were given such a present by one of the kids, and it was obvious they'd put some thought into picking the right gift for the adult they'd chosen.

The greatest thing about the whole get-together is everyone seemed in really great spirits. No disputes, arguments, disagreements - no unpleasantness in any fashion what-so-ever. Just lots of great eating, great conversations, hugs, and love to share. I don't recall having this many members of our family together for a fun thing since our kids were all at home a quarter century ago. My youngest daughter set her camera on a shelf and activated the time delay so she could get in the picture and snapped a shot of all of us gathered in the dining, kitchen area. I hope it turns out well, it will be a reminder of a great day.

Song of the South

I suppose it's politically incorrect, I don't know. I remembered seeing the Walt Disney movie "Song of the South" when I was a kid but have never seen it for sale or for rent as a video or DVD in any store. I remember enjoying the movie, I think mostly for the cartoon segments with Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear as narrated by Uncle Remus (Jim Baskett), but didn't remember enough about it to tell if it would be considered offensive to anyone. Song of the South is Among MSNBC's "10 Least Politically Correct Movies Ever" but I don't see it myself.

I did a little search on line a week or so ago and found I could purchase a digitally remastered DVD recording of this movie however, so I did. My wife and I watched it this evening. I found it interesting how way back in '46 the Disney studios had produced such a clever blending of real people and animation in it's creation. Jim Baskett as Uncle Remus was superb. In 1948, an honorary Academy Award for his role as Uncle Remus was bestowed upon him

"For his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world, in Walt Disney's Song of the South."

Sadly, in July of that same year, James passed away due to heart problems at age 44.

This is one of those movies I will watch every year or so though, just for the sheer entertainment of it.

Hillary

Makes me want to change the value of asinine to an asiten

Sombody bent the Arrow

I think this part of the country must get a good price on these signs, because they buy them in bulk. We took a drive over to another little town this morning, and there was one of these about every quarter mile. The roads follow the creeks, the ridges, or some long gone cow path I guess. If they have lines on the road at all it's a double yellow line. The lead vehicle is a tractor pulling something at eight miles per hour.

The rough sketch illustrates the shape of what they call "hip barns" around here. I've yet to find anyone that can tell me why they're built this way, but there's a bunch of them in this area. One fellow said the sides of the loft are open and they shove hay over the edge, it goes down the slope into feeding troughs, but that don't wash. They could have a straight sided barn with troughs along the edge the hay would drop into just as easily. I thought maybe this protects the lower boards from the weather so they don't rot out so quickly but I really don't know. If anyone knows why they're built this way I'd love to find out.

A while back someone sent me a thing on words that have dropped from common usage. Such things as fender skirts, continental kits, percolators and supper. Driving around today looking at homes made me realize there's another one I've not heard for a while. "Picture windows". Back in the 50's and 60's every new home had to have a picture window. Our first house was a 1200 square foot, mid fifties home with a seven foot long picture window. The only picture it presented was a similar house across the street, but it had a picture window. I wonder if large screen TV's have replaced our picture window on the world.

The Honeymoon is over

68 degrees at eleven last night, 45 at six this morning, and 32 degrees by nine with winds in the 35-40 mph range with gusts over 60. I took the propellor off the windmill so it wouldn't tear itself apart, then retired to the computer with a fresh cup of coffee.

Strange how fast it can change.

Since our daughter was working we took our grand-daughter into town yesterday evening for pizza. I wore a short sleeved shirt and was completely comfortable. Because of the pizza ovens they had the air conditioner running at the pizza joint. One of those little treasures I was delighted to find locally. It's a private owned restaurant that makes the best pizza I've had in more than 30 years. I prefer thin crust, and they make them a bit differently than most places. They put the sauce on the crust, spread the ingredients on that, then cover the whole thing with cheese. Lots of cheese. We had pepperoni and mushroom and ate until we knew we'd had at least one slice too many. Like most Americans I'm spoiled. I love it.