02 January 2011
Xmas 2010, Final Notes
02/01/11 14:23
The holidays are behind us and it's now 2011. This year the holiday season seemed to us to be a bit subdued. I know a lot of people blame the economy but I have a different theory. You see when Xmas and New Years are on a weekday you get a three day weekend. The way it works out you actually get two in a row. If Christmas is on a Friday then New Years Day will be as well. Better yet if Xmas falls on a Thursday or Tuesday you stand a decent chance of getting two four day weekends in a row and the week between will be pretty dead. This year both holidays were on Saturday. I didn't get any days off. I don't know of anyone that got any days off. It was just normal 5 day weeks, normal except for it being darker and colder than most of the others. I really think this took a big bite out of the festive energy. The bad news is that 2011 is just the same with both Christmas and New Years Day on Sunday.
In other news I made a discovery. I was cutting myself some fruitcake, yes, apparently I'm the one human in the world that likes fruitcake. Anyway I was cutting myself a slice and Momiji was all over me. Rubbing against my legs and feet, meowing and purring. I kept trying to tell her that she wouldn't like it. "It's FRUIT-cake not FISH-cake" but she just wouldn't listen. Finally I took a small piece bent down and showed it to her. "See Momiji, this is fruitcake. You won't like it." I said. She sniffed it a couple of times, licked it a couple of times and then ate the piece and begged for more. It is now official. Momiji is really and truly my cat. Both of us like, and in the eyes of many apparently are, fruitcakes.
Some of you are aware that Marsha made caramels this Christmas. We're still working out the technique as the result is a bit hit and miss. The first batch everything went wrong but in the end the caramels were wonderful. The next couple of batches were good but too soft. The last one was good but slightly too hard.
However the third batch was the most interesting. As I mentioned it came out a bit too soft. Marsha did some research and found out that in cases like this you can remelt the caramel and cook it a bit more. She put the batch back in the pan and gently warmed it. The caramel slowly softened and eventually we were able to cook it a bit more and firm it up a bit. (We did overshoot though and ended up with something like a Heath Bar but that's all part of the learning process.) Most interesting though was that during this process the half melted but not blended chunks took on the appearance of a pan of simmering intestines. Caramels are not for the faint of heart nor the squeamish.
Over the holidays our house was the site of the war of the couch pillows. You see Marsha has a number of holiday pillows with snowmen, sleds, trees, and such on them. She lines them up along the back of the couch so they fall on you when you sit down. Mostly I try to ignore them, along with much of the holiday decorations. However mysteriously they started to get moved. One morning we'd find they had all been turned so the Christmas pictures were upside down. Then we'd find them turned around so the picture faced the wall and the blank side of the pillow was out toward the room. Though Marsha kept accusing me I had nothing to do with it. I was as confused as her. Then one day just before Christmas we got up and found the pillows turned toward the wall again. On the seat of the couch was a note:
"Really, Marsha, I like them better this way. Signed Geiger."
Below that was another note with a different pen "Me too, Momiji"
So now we know who was messing with the decorations. For some reason though, Marsha still thinks I had something to do with it. Go figure.
For the holidays Tim Horton's was selling packages of Tim Horton's fudge. However all is not well in Horton's-land. The fudge comes in Butter flavour and Maple flavour. I'm sorry. I like fudge. I know fudge. Marsha makes a fantastic fudge. However you can't call a slab of congealed something "fudge" if it isn't chocolate. The crazy Canucks running Tim Horton's don't understand one of the basic tenants holding up the roof of modern civilization: Fudge = chocolate.
And finally, Barbara told us something that made us smile. It seems her check from Canada Pension comes out on the last day of the month. It's like clockwork every month. Every month that is except for December when she gets her check before Christmas. The folks running Canada Pension decided that the holidays would be a little brighter if everyone got paid around the 25th rather than on the 31st. It doesn't cost the government any more, it's just a nice gesture.
It's one of the many reason's we like Canada.
Doug & Marsha
In other news I made a discovery. I was cutting myself some fruitcake, yes, apparently I'm the one human in the world that likes fruitcake. Anyway I was cutting myself a slice and Momiji was all over me. Rubbing against my legs and feet, meowing and purring. I kept trying to tell her that she wouldn't like it. "It's FRUIT-cake not FISH-cake" but she just wouldn't listen. Finally I took a small piece bent down and showed it to her. "See Momiji, this is fruitcake. You won't like it." I said. She sniffed it a couple of times, licked it a couple of times and then ate the piece and begged for more. It is now official. Momiji is really and truly my cat. Both of us like, and in the eyes of many apparently are, fruitcakes.
Some of you are aware that Marsha made caramels this Christmas. We're still working out the technique as the result is a bit hit and miss. The first batch everything went wrong but in the end the caramels were wonderful. The next couple of batches were good but too soft. The last one was good but slightly too hard.
However the third batch was the most interesting. As I mentioned it came out a bit too soft. Marsha did some research and found out that in cases like this you can remelt the caramel and cook it a bit more. She put the batch back in the pan and gently warmed it. The caramel slowly softened and eventually we were able to cook it a bit more and firm it up a bit. (We did overshoot though and ended up with something like a Heath Bar but that's all part of the learning process.) Most interesting though was that during this process the half melted but not blended chunks took on the appearance of a pan of simmering intestines. Caramels are not for the faint of heart nor the squeamish.
Over the holidays our house was the site of the war of the couch pillows. You see Marsha has a number of holiday pillows with snowmen, sleds, trees, and such on them. She lines them up along the back of the couch so they fall on you when you sit down. Mostly I try to ignore them, along with much of the holiday decorations. However mysteriously they started to get moved. One morning we'd find they had all been turned so the Christmas pictures were upside down. Then we'd find them turned around so the picture faced the wall and the blank side of the pillow was out toward the room. Though Marsha kept accusing me I had nothing to do with it. I was as confused as her. Then one day just before Christmas we got up and found the pillows turned toward the wall again. On the seat of the couch was a note:
"Really, Marsha, I like them better this way. Signed Geiger."
Below that was another note with a different pen "Me too, Momiji"
So now we know who was messing with the decorations. For some reason though, Marsha still thinks I had something to do with it. Go figure.
For the holidays Tim Horton's was selling packages of Tim Horton's fudge. However all is not well in Horton's-land. The fudge comes in Butter flavour and Maple flavour. I'm sorry. I like fudge. I know fudge. Marsha makes a fantastic fudge. However you can't call a slab of congealed something "fudge" if it isn't chocolate. The crazy Canucks running Tim Horton's don't understand one of the basic tenants holding up the roof of modern civilization: Fudge = chocolate.
And finally, Barbara told us something that made us smile. It seems her check from Canada Pension comes out on the last day of the month. It's like clockwork every month. Every month that is except for December when she gets her check before Christmas. The folks running Canada Pension decided that the holidays would be a little brighter if everyone got paid around the 25th rather than on the 31st. It doesn't cost the government any more, it's just a nice gesture.
It's one of the many reason's we like Canada.
Doug & Marsha