Joe delayed Turkey splayed

Holiday plans include activities and food. Joe just texted from Louisville, Kentucky that he's at the gate, his flight still listed as On Time. If it goes, and if the connection in Charlotte works, we should be greeting him at ECP airport at noon. It's a family event, Joe is much loved, was always piled on by mobs of little ones, his visits excitedly anticipated by all, and Kristen is to drive us to the airport.

Ray, Britany, Lilly are expected this morning, I believe to organize the cooking for tomorrow's Winter Feast. Actually, it's two days, Sunday and Monday, 25 & 26 December. Mind, we have ham, turkey, beef; our Winter Feast is not like the Autumn Feast in Harfang, land of civilized giants in "The Silver Chair" of the Narnia chronicles. Harfang, where humans are a rare and choice dish on the Autumn Feast menu, but, to Puddleglum's upset and distress, marsh-wiggles, frog-like pessimistic Narnian creatures, are listed as stringy and tough. Puddleglum, himself a marsh-wiggle, loving, kind and helpful, if not of towering intellect, took great offense when he read the cookbook recipe for marsh-wiggle and angrily said, "I would have thought it would be delicious."

Joe just texted "one hour delay" so we'll see. An hour is undoubtedly a guess that will extend on, and that impacts his connection in Charlotte.

Christmas Eve breakfast: last bit of the rotisserie chicken from Sam's; a bit, first cut, of the ham, small chunk of English blue stilton to go with, and a lump of H's mayo to glue each bit of meat and touch of cheese together on my fork. Second mug of hot & black from my coffee club.

This evening: four o'clock, or IDK maybe it's 4:30, holy commotion at HNEC, then home. Back tomorrow morning for "said service" at eight o'clock and ten-thirty Christmas morning. Don't come if you want to sing carols, it'll be just me and no music!

For tomorrow there's all kinds of wine around here, red and white including a choice chardonnay; and also Italian and Czech beer; but also, in October, driving through Apalachicola on our way to Wakulla Springs we visited the honey shop, and I bought a bottle of honey mead from Denmark, said to be the drink of the ancient Vikings. It's to be served and enjoyed warm, room temp, or cold: I have it chilling in the refrigerator to open Christmas Day. When I sampled a small cup of it in the shop that October day, Linda had to help me back to the car. I'm afraid, lest the bottle freeze and crack, to put it outside on 7H porch table with my scalloped oyster casserole; the temp was 20°F when we got up, still 20° and Sunny, wind from the north at 13 mph, humidity 48% and wind chill factor makes it feel like 7°F, which is not a Northwest Florida Gulf Coast temperature.

Speaking of, the scalloped oyster casserole is my best result so far, though still twice too many crackers even for the doubled ingredient half-gallon of oysters. So, oysters, whole wheat saltines, butter, cream, garlic salt, pepper, oyster liquor, parsley, and this Time I added 2/3 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Its consistency is sufficiently pudding-like that every time I help myself to a serving, I press down what's left to fill in the spot I spooned out, such that it continues to look as if the dish just came out of the oven.

The remaining 1/3 can of mushroom soup, I mixed with the remaining oyster liquor for an exclusively superb oyster mushroom bisque.

This blogpost is a work in progress. The phone rang while I was in the shower a few minutes ago, Joe calling from Louisville, not sure he can get out today, and even so he's already missed his Charlotte connection to PC, so he's looking into flying into either Tallahassee and ride over with TJCC tomorrow morning, or into Fort Walton Beach where Britany, Lilly and Ray would meet and greet him and drive him to PC.

Decades ago there was a song, "life gits tejuss, don't it" - - life isn't tedious by any means, but it certainly gets interesting, challenging, and needing quiet patience.

BRL are here, Ray is splaying the 20-pound turkey, Linda is heading out in the freezing cold to pick up warm fresh bread at Something's Cookin' and I'm closing this blogpost.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good morning.

RSF&PTL