PERIL AND TRAVAIL FOR THE JOLLY BAKER

 I know, I know.

Some people just go way over the top with their Christmas decorations.

And that picture in my header isn't even the most over-decorated house one can find.

But surprisingly to me, SWMBO got the Christmas decorating impulse earlier than ever this year and our minimal decorations are already up.

And we added a few things this year, including colored lights around the outside of the front window.

Like some of our neighbors, I've left them on all night for the past couple of nights but I'm thinking I'll cut down on that.

Let Santa find his own way.

But I could have used his hyper-knowledge recently.

I have found an interesting hobby in my declining and reclining years: baking!

And I recently discovered the wonders of using frozen, ready-to-bake puff pastry sheets.

I used up the supply in our freezer but I was ready for more so I ordered some from our big superstore a mile or so away.

Alas when I picked up the groceries, the puff pastry dough was not included.

They were out of it!

Well.

A couple of days later I went to another branch of that store, an even bigger one, and they didn't have it either!

It occurred to me that I could try some other recipes for Christmas goodies that didn't rely on puff pastry.

Or I could make some myself at home from scratch.

SWMBO nervously suggested that task might be above my pay grade.

She asked me about my search for the store-bought product and then told me I'd been looking in the wrong place.

"Not in the cold counters," she said, "in the frozen food cases!"

"Oh", said I.

This morning I went to yet another store and searched the "right" area.

I found the correct shelf, with a label marked "puff pastry" but there was still nothing to be found.

I was getting a little tense but, like a dog gnawing on a bone, I was not to be deterred.

I continued on to yet a fourth store, this one a bit smaller and closer than all the others to our new abode, but they had recently completed a remodeling and were urging customers to try them out.

So I went there and SHAZAM!

A counter showed me a plethora of boxes of the long-sought product.

Two boxes came home with me.

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

But now I'm too tired to bake anything.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 "Jingle Bells"

There's a marvelous one-man video called Tru about the late Truman Capote home alone at the Christmas season when most of his friends had left him after he insulted them in some tell-all writing.

Whenever his telephone would ring, that's how he would answer it: "Jingle Bells".

Well, maybe you woulda had to be there but I thought it was funny.

Speaking of funny . . .

All right, already.

Don't think about it so hard, it'll come to you.

In the meantime, try your darned-est to have a special holiday weekend.

In between the Christmas card writing, the treacly holiday movies, the cookie-baking, and the gift wrapping, that is.

But always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(. . . oh, I knew it . . .)

HOLIDAYS

 In my self-designated role as the Reminder of Important Events, I feel compelled to let you all know that today is a Very Important Holiday.

In the interests of good governance, I'd be happy to provide my mailing address to anyone who feels compelled to properly celebrate this special day.  (Just kidding)

I just had a meal planning conversation with Her Majesty.

I bought a few avocadoes the other day and they've about ripened to the point of eating them today.

(Para hoy, as the expression goes in Mexico.)

She suggested she might make BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado) sandwiches.

I had earlier said I might make tacos.

She asked me if she should make the BLTA's today and I could make the tacos tomorrow or the other way around.

I said BLTA's today and, since tomorrow is Friday, I'd do our traditional Friday pizza then and tacos on Tuesday.

(y'know, Taco Tuesday.)

She scoffed at that so we'll see how things develop.

Life is so difficult.

AN INFAMOUS DATE

 First of all, let me take care of a little blogging business.

I have been remiss in posting comments on my last two or three blog posts.

That has now been corrected so you can go back to The Friday Funnies, Wet & Foggy, and Road Trip and see that your comments are finally there.

I have comment moderation set up and Blogger is supposed to email me whenever a new comment is posted so I can okay it.

Somehow my email address was removed from "the system" and I didn't discover it until this morning.

Hopefully it won't happen again.

Now on a much more serious note, today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

On December 7th, 1941 . . 81 years ago . . Japan attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in a surprise raid that inflicted monumental damage.

The U.S.S. Arizona suffered a direct hit and sank on the spot, taking with it the lives of over 11 hundred servicemen.

It became their final resting place and a Pearl Harbor visitation center was later built over what remained.

December 7th is "...a date that will live in infamy...", in the words of then President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he called for U.S. entry into World War Two.

It's a day for memories and introspection.

And for peace.

ROAD TRIP

 The BRD sent a couple of photos from a road trip she and a friend are taking to New Mexico.

She said the Margaritas at Flora in Santa Fe are tasty.

And the food was great too!

I can remember her as a teenager many a few years ago.

Like her mother, she just gets more beautiful every day.

WET & FOGGY

 With a weather front that moved in overnight, Sunday dawned unusually wet, gray and foggy in my town.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 It's finally (or too soon?) December.

So y'all can officially start decorating your homes for Christmas, if you do such a thing.

SWMBO (alias the Grinch) doesn't put out decorations until around the middle of the month and gets rid of 'em a week or so after the holiday.

Still, she came home from the store with some miniature colored lights yesterday.

Why is everything in this house a miniature size, I wonder?

Except us.

But never mind that.

Let's see what other folk are doing.

Okay, you've had your fun for the week, now get back to work on your decorating.

And in spite of what angst that may conjure up, try to have yourselves a wonderful weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Oooooooooohhhh)

MORE GOODIES

 After making Lemon Blackberry Tartlets I found I still had some Lemon Curd and some Blackberries left over.

SWMBO said she had a frozen pie crust so let's use it all up.

So she baked some pie crust shells and I adorned them with most of the remaining Lemon Curd and Blackberries and Shazam!

Lemon Blackberry Pielets.

CATALYST, THE (not so) HANDYMAN

 When we moved into our new abode 2-1/2 months ago, we were told we had to have smoke detectors and that there were none in the duplex apartment.

Well, upon looking around we found that not only did it have smoke detectors but that were three of them.

So one early morning . .  it's always early in the morning isn't it . . one of them began chirping.

We've learned that that means the battery is going down.

So we replaced the batteries in all three of them and they still chirped.

So we found a guy who does all kind of work and he came and did a couple of projects and then we asked him to take a look at the smoke detectors.

He couldn't stop them from chirping and said since they had probably been installed when the house was built . . twenty-some years ago . . they had outlived their usefulness.

He said they can just quit working after ten years or so.

And he had a good solution: new smoke detectors of a type that just stick on the wall or ceiling with some kind of adhesive.

Easy-peasy.

So I ordered three of them from a local store and then picked them up.

Today I ripped open one of the packages and found that they did not have some kind of adhesive backing.

What they had was a detailed instruction sheet and two rather long screws.

Well, I have fixed things over the years and I have a plethora of tools, a number of which I gathered to take on this project.

What I didn't have was one of those handy-dandy battery operated power screwdrivers, which would have either made this job a lot easier or have caused enough damage that a wall would have had to be replaced.

So I hammered and screwed (don't get ahead of yourselves) and eventually the new smoke detector was mounted to the wall just a foot or so from the ceiling-mounted old machine.

I still have two more to go but, as SWMBO said, quoting Miss Scarlett O'Hara, "tomorrow is another day".

(For you younger folk: Scarlett O'Hara was a character in a famous movie from back in the Dark Ages called "Gone With the Wind". You should watch it.)

WHAT'S THE USE?

 My loving wife Judy, aka SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed), unexpectedly dusted and vacuumed the house today.

I complimented her, told her it looked so clean it just sparkled.

But then . . .

MONDAY MEXICAN

 For a mid-afternoon comida a visit to a neighborhood favorite, the much heralded Mexican restaurant Casa Perez.

SWMBO, aka Judy, enjoys a bowl of Chili Verde, one of her favorites.

The menu description: Lean chunks of pork simmered in green tomatillo sauce with bell peppers and onions. Served with rice, beans, pico de gallo, and tortillas.

I had Chili Relleno de Camarones: A Mexican poblano pepper stuffed with prawns, mushrooms, pepper and a cream sauce. Served over green sauce and sour cream with rice, pico de gallo and tortillas.

(Sorry, no photo. My appetite superseded one.)

We each prefaced our meals with one of the delicious House Margaritas and accompanied them with Negra Modelo cervezas (beers).

It's a great restaurant but don't tell anyone.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK . . .

 

I noticed Christmas decorations up on light poles around the Civic Center, the Police Station, and the Public Library yesterday.

Those candy canes look a little the worse for wear but the spirit of Christmas is still there.

TEA FOR TWO (or three?)

 Christmas baking season has begun at the vaunted Taylor Bakery & Experimental (and sometimes hazardous) Kitchen Laboratory.

Here's today's result.

Lemon Berry Tartlets

A puff pastry shell with the center pushed down to make a hollow for some lemon curd, topped with a blackberry and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar.

A little fussy but de-lish-us!

Let the holidays begin!

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Y'know, after a feasting day things kind of slow down so I'm a little late with this edition of comedy and fun'n'games.

So how did your big meals go yesterday?

Here's a photo of our Thanksgiving turkey.

Yeah, those are actually slow cooker barbecued ribs and they were delicious.

And just to show you the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, here's a photo of the BRD's pumpkin pie.

Yep, those are Chocolate Scones (before glazing).

So you see, tradition doesn't run very deep in our family.

Whatever you ate yesterday, I hope it was as good as ours.

And now let's prepare you, especially if you're Black Friday shoppers, for the weekend with some Friday Funnies.

We begin with an offering from Wacky Wally.

I love that one that I found in my mailbox just this morning from the Nuclear Humorist.

Now folks, if those didn't put you in a good enough mood to face the culmination of the year and the true onset of the holiday chaos, maybe you're just not tryin'.

So let's gird our loins (what???) and have ourselves a wonderful weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Just one more time, let's return to the true meaning of Thanksgiving, thanks to Comical Carol.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .