Icewind's Ramblings

December 26 is a downer for many people. The decorations are still up, but do you sometimes feel whats the point? Christmas is over. The children have done their thing with the presents which probably are unbroken and mostly appreciated, but their allure as surprises in brightly wrapped packages is gone.  The guilt-free indulgences that happened in the last several weeks leading up to Christmas with chocolates and Chex mix is now giving way to nagging worries about love handles. Call it the post-Christmas letdown, the result of spending a month immersed in the holiday, then having it end abruptly.  Although the holiday season doesn't end until New Year's Day, Christmas is the big holiday, the pinnacle of the season, the focus of planning and preparation.  The hours of decorating, cooking, and preparing for the big holiday gathering are shattered in the few short minutes of opening gifts, eating a great meal and if you are lucky . . . family or friends spending ...

Thanks to AMC cable channel it was nice that they are playing Christmas Vacation over and over again today.  I awoke early and was able to watch it in the quiet of my man cave . . . no laundry going at this early hour. The days this week leading up to this morning were filled with all of the necessary items that make up “that perfect family Christmas” that Clark Griswold so earnestly tried to bring together. My family was probably no different from his as everyone scrambled with busy lives, work, doctors appointments, and the waiting for when those that had been out of town returned home for the holiday’s . . . then add to the mix our family dysfunction and the stage was set. "I don't know what to say, except its Christmas and we're all in misery. (Ellen Griswold)" - Christmas Vacation Dog barking, kids screaming and running around like chickens with their head cut off (if you’ve lived in the South and watched your grandmother do this before the holiday mea...

Sorry this is not another tasty treat from my Alaska Road Kill Recipe book but one you should really like. Here’s a little holiday recipe to serve your houseguests who drop by.  If you are lucky and no one comes by feel free to enjoy these with your favorite beverage . . . it leaves more for you to enjoy while kicking back on the sofa. Crab Nachos 2 packages Hollandaise sauce (made as directed on the package – with milk, not water) 1 pound lump crab meat 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped 4 tablespoons green onion, chopped 4 pieces bacon, well cooked & chopped 4 teaspoons pickled jalapenos, chopped (for that little extra bite) 1 package shredded cheddar 1 package shredded Monterrey Jack Tostitos Scoops Prepare Hollandaise sauce according to package directions; reserve. Preheat broiler. Mix crab meat, cilantro, onion, bacon, cheese, and jalapenos in a bowl.  Add hollandaise sauce.  Generously spoon mixture into Tostitos Scoops and place und...

We’ve made it to Christmas week and with it watching the traditional holiday movies we sit through every year.  My brother loves “It’s a Wonderful Life” while my sister likes “Miracle on 34 th Street ”.  My favorite is “National Lampoon Christmas Vacation”.  I find it hard to believe that it has been out 20 years now and it still brings us laughter year after year. This is the classic tale of a man trying to have a ‘good old’ family Christmas with his "good old" family.  The quiet dream of every man, I think, is to have that perfect holiday.  Too bad like the movie it never quite turns out that way. There's a reason the "Cousin Eddie" character in Christmas Vacation resonates with so many.  We've all got a Cousin Eddie, or two, in our extended families.  Some of us . . . are Cousin Eddie. Probably many of our families weren't designed for a televised Christmas special as our dysfunction would be awkward on TV.  Who knows with the curre...