Festivus (Uno's annual holidayish type discussions)

[E_T]

How do you do it in the crock-pot (asks someone whom has access to one but really does not know how to use it)?

[Unorthodox]

Make ahead of time and let the crock pot keep it warm on that one.  Not a dump in the crock and have a magical meal in 4 hours thing there. 

2 secrets to sausage gravy:  Quality spicy sausage, and mix in some cream of celery soup instead of just using milk and roux.

(Though that was the potato soup today.  canned diced potatoes, drain and throw in crock with a little bit of onion and garlic.  add enough chicken broth to cover, set crock, leave.  Come back after ~4 hours on high, or 6 or longer on low, dice and fry a little bacon, add bacon to soup, return grease to stove and whisk in some flour, add to the soup and stir till thickened, add some cheese to taste. For extra thickness, you can blend some of the potatoes with a stick blender)

[Unorthodox]

So...Christmas Eve Breakfast...

I'm taking this tradition of mine back to it's roots, and cooking breakfast at work for those of us who have to be in. 

That's how it initially began, we'd all get together and go out to breakfast at work when we had to be there but NOTHING to do.  As I moved into jobs where I was off, I began by inviting my family out to breakfast, and eventually just started making it for them instead as it was easier on me somehow. 

So, I'm taking the show on the road to work.  There's all of 12 of us working.  Biscuits and gravy is easy to crock pot, and I'll whip up some french toast and scrambled eggs on site.  Planning on just going in late, this also allows me to cook for my kids before I go in to work so they still have the tradition at home. 

Wow...guess I was too busy to post the update last year...I ended up feeding a vast majority of people on post that day. 

Corporate asked sites to submit what they were doing for the holiday the day of.  Not to be seen as a party pooper, boss man asked if I could keep cooking, and I ended up serving ~300 service members that day.  Somewhere there's a pic of me in a frilly pink apron (because it was funny) as the face of BAE Christmas outreach. 


Anywho. 

Covid.  We gots nothin planned.

I went to UPS and bought an address to solve the Amazon delivery problems.  Everything just ships to the UPS store box now, and they text me when things drop off.  Doesn't matter who the carrier is now, it jsut goes to the UPS store so I don't need to worry about porch pirates. 

[Geo]

Now you only need to worry about the UPS crooks? 

[Unorthodox]

I'm giving very serious consideration to dropping off a charlie brown thanksgiving meal to my family, and maybe a few others just as a laugh. 

Strongly doubt anyone would 'get it'...which like the zombie awareness day egg drops, is half the point. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Joke that are partly funny precisely because no one will get them?  That a personality flaw of mine, too...

[E_T]

Joke that are partly funny precisely because no one will get them?  That a personality flaw of mine, too...

No, just the people that your targeting them towards don't get them.  Other like minded people (like us here), would get it...

[Geo]

Joke that are partly funny precisely because no one will get them?  That a personality flaw of mine, too...

Other like minded people (like us here), would get it...

What are you guys talking about?


EDIT: I'd expected some snarky comment by now.

[Buster's Uncle]

That's what's so funny...

[Unorthodox]

I ended up doing it.  Dropping off the goodies Wed night. 

NONE of them 'got it', and my eldest looked supremely annoyed at the very concept (I made sure to get it to him.  In person.  In front of his employees...), so bonus points for me there.  My SIL really appreciated that we found a way to include them/their kids at all, so double bonus points there.  Where I found my Halloween gift of the scary stories books has been absorbed with all the enthusiasm I suspected from my niece/nephew. 

I'll need to get some pics of the new C lights on the house.  Got "smart" lights that Talia is controlling with an app.  But they'll go in the back yard after the holidays, either on the gazebo or maybe draped between the trees and roof. 

[Unorthodox]

Long story short, a lot of folks are on forced vacation as the company decided anyone charging overhead shouldn't be able to carry a lot of vacation into next year.  I don't know how that helps them since it just means I need to charge overhead when I'm covering...

So, they're not happy to be on 'vacation', and I'm not happy that I'm got put in charge of the holiday festivities as a result.  The last week has seen me organizing the angel tree and well, we're not supposed to call them holiday gifts, but stupid gift baskets they decided to do since we couldn't have a holiday party.  Whoever did the ordering didn't bother to notice these needed to be refrigerated, either. 

[E_T]

BUncle has put up the Holiday Decorations for Yule...  Happy Yule one and all!!!

[Buster's Uncle]

You might be the only regular in the default theme, so I should point out that the Winter theme is forum default for solstice until I go to bed in about five hours...

[Unorthodox]

Merry solstice everyone!

You may or may not know it marks the anniversary of hEt and I being a couple.  Unfortunately she works tonight, and we will celebrate xmas eve. 

So, further xmas plans...

Kyle has to work xmas eve, and will head to his +1's after work. 

Traditional hEt family dinner of ham and funeral potatoes for dinner (google funeral potatoes, or search the lazy gourmet thread worth it).  This has been a standard in our house since the in-laws passed. 

Xmas morning, we're having BIL and family to breakfast...I'm not overly thrilled with the notion of having people over, but SIL will be in surgery recovery, and thus will have been tested clean.  This is another hEt family tradition. 

Xmas afternoon, we'd normally go to my parents and try not to kill any of them.  But, I realized I need to make a xmas dinner, so have a super simple one pre-made.  (chicken mignon and mashed pot)


For my siblings, I decided since we were not meeting together on xmas, I decided to hit them with a bevy of xmas memories from our childhood, and am doing all the things we used to as kids.  Dipping pretzels and cookies, making them the traditional pickles, the traditional mix, and on xmas eve, I will deliver them a traditional family recipe lemon pie...which is SURE to piss off my mom for reasons that are beyond complicated.  I may even make traditional family hot mustard, but it's a pain to package and I'm already getting mom's panties in a twist with the pie, so only if I have some time. 

This meant I was going to forego the traditional three wise T-rex sugar cookies, but Talia is having NONE of that, so we'll cut and decorate those on xmas eve as well. 

[E_T]

Merry solstice everyone!


This meant I was going to forego the traditional three wise T-rex sugar cookies, but Talia is having NONE of that, so we'll cut and decorate those on xmas eve as well. 

Can't have the season without the Three Wise T-Rex's....