Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas!

      The very best of Season's Greetings to you and yours from me and mine, which I guess would be one and a half cats (I can't claim more than a half-interest in Miss Rannie, though she and Huck must both be rated as 150% cats, so that still leaves 100% for Tam) and all the characters of the Hidden Frontier, from the starship captains to Pertaineth Apperson (you haven't met her yet) to the various Mary Sues and assorted tuckerized friends.

     Tam and I exchanged gifts last night -- a fine scarf in a variation on the "Strawberry Thief" pattern* and the promise of a WW II tank (darned slow shipping!) in Lego-like form for her, and an excellent Conklin "All-American" pen for me, with bottled ink in Diamine's "Antique Copper" and Mont Blanc's "Red Fox" red to accompany it.

     I made "raccoon hash" this morning, which you will be relieved -- you'd better be -- to hear contains no raccoon at all.  Tinned corned beef and canned diced potatoes are both very salty, so rinsing the potatoes before starting therm in the skillet, then dicing the beef and "washing" a bit at a time in a bowl of water (throw it in, let is soak for a minute or two, then fish it out to drain on paper towel) reduces the saltiness without taking away the flavor.  I set some aside to make a no-potato version for Tam and served it with fried eggs.

     Christmas dinner at Roseholme Cottage will be non-traditional: if the weather clears as predicted (or even if it doesn't), we'll grill a couple of steaks and enjoy them with mashed neeps (turnips and rutabagas) and artichokes
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* This is both a pretty thing to have and a multi-level joke, a William Morris pattern made on automatic machines and with the thrushes replaced by their saurian ancestors.  Arts?  Crafts?  Robots?  We got 'em.

7 comments:

waepnedmann said...

Merry Christmas!
A DeWalt 4 1/2 angle head grinder for me.
Wifmann got a point-and-shoot camera (I have been studying Tam's picher takin' topics for several months).

Jeffrey Smith said...

Merry Christmas to all of Roseholme!
But may I point out that if Bastet of the Random Numbers is 150% cat, a half interest would be 75% each?

Paul said...

Some snacks and two flannel shirts in a pattern I would not buy. Now to hobble over and hang some curtains which is her choice for Christmas. Use it as a teaching moment for the son and one of the daughters.

Have a Merry Christmas.

Merle said...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!

PS: raccoon isn't bad at all, though it does tend to be a bit tough.....

RandyGC said...

Merry Christmas to your crew at home and to all who read this.

Monty James said...

All the Christmas best for you and roommates.

rickn8or said...

Belated Merry Christmas to the denizens of Roseholme Cottage!