What Am I Doing Christmas Weekend?

MERRY CHRISTMAS                        HAPPY HANNUKAH

On Saturday night my wife is making a very good dinner, but Friday, Saturday and Christmas Day I'm going to be driving people around as I usually do on the weekend. A few years ago, my wife and I both drove on Christmas in Charleston and it was busy despite everything being closed. I expect to be pretty busy in Charleston this Sunday and I'm going to make sure it's a fun day. 

Driving on the holiday weekend is going to be a little different.  My second published article came out recently and it was about driving during the holidays. In writing the article, I pretended to interview another driver, Ebeneezer, and we discussed what drivers could do on the holidays.  Below is part of my discussion with him:

Ebeneezer: What do you do during the holiday season for riders?

Me: Spreading good cheer and putting riders in a good mood, is something that I do all year long. I don’t decorate my car for the holidays, because I already have a bunch of things displayed to entertain riders. I’ll put up a sign that says, “Happy Holidays,” and I’ll wish riders a good holiday or Christmas. I’ll ask if they have any special plans, and we’ll talk about it. I’ve never even played Christmas music in my car. (I did write a pretty good Christmas song once) But I do give out a little gift to some riders. I always come out with my list of favorite rider comments of the year mid-December. Many riders start laughing when I tell them I’m going to give them a gift.

RIDERS ENJOY GETTING SOMETHING THEY DON’T EXPECT.

Ebeneezer: You’re not going to do anything different?

I’m going to get creative and make a big effort just to show you there are a lot of possibilities.  An easy thing to do is to have Christmas music playing in the background and I’ll ask if they’ve heard too much of it or if they’d like to hear some Christmas music.  I’m going to get a few gift certificates from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts of $3-$5 and give them out Christmas weekend. I’ll hang them in my car so riders can see them, and I’ll tell them what it is. I have not heard a single good holiday story from a rider over the years, maybe the riders with the best holiday stories will get the gift certificates?

I’ll ask some of the riders, “What does the holiday season mean to you?” Since I’m Jewish and celebrate Hannukah and Christmas, I have a different perspective to share. (Hannukah is from the 18^th-25^th.) I’m going to borrow an idea from a driver in Las Vegas who writes a personal note to each rider and I’m going to write in advance some special wishes and give them out, maybe to all of my riders Christmas weekend?

Below are the four Dunkin Donut gift certificates I am giving out and one of the personal notes I'm going to give to my riders. And, my new 2022 favorite rider comment list will be given out for the first time.  "Tis the season to be jolly......."

Does this drawing look like me?

The Sour Cream Question

For many of you reading this, you probably did not know there was a "Sour cream question." Sour cream is a very unusual food and you're going to know more about it after finishing this blog than you ever wanted or needed to know.  First up, the big question is: "Do people eat sour cream by itself?"

Why do I ask this question? Recently my brother and sister and I were discussing our dad on the phone. We lost him a year and a half ago and we have very fond memories of him and also a few unusual ones.  One thing he liked to eat as far back as we can remember is sour cream, by itself. We don't know how it started, buy my brother and I picked up the habit.  My dad used to eat sour cream for lunch and at times he would throw in some blueberries, which I can assure you taste great in sour cream. In the final years of his life he forgot that he liked blueberries in his sour cream.

My sister made a comment that my brother and I may be the only people who eat sour cream by itself and I had no clue that this was very unusual.  I eat cottage cheese by itself, why not sour cream? I think sour cream is best with strawberries in it, but I will also cut up bananas and even rip off some bread and eat it with sour cream. I only add one thing to sour cream, not several things. Below is a picture of rye bread(I made it a Jewish meal) and sour cream for lunch.  There's a bit too much bread in this, but the sour cream is there. If it wasn't it would be a bowl of bread and that would lead you to ask some other questions.

  

Before I get to the answer, there's a whole lot of info about sour cream.  Here's what I learned: Sour cream is good and bad for you. (Like most things including vegetables and peanut butter- yes, I made that up) In moderation, sour cream is fine and it "may" help with your skin, some kinds of sour cream "may" help with your gut,(Not working for me), "may" help build bone strength and "may" reduce the body's bad cholesterol. It is also higher in levels of Vitamin A and some other vitamins that are good for us. It is high in fat, but in moderation it is okay to eat and you don't have to worry about gaining weight.

What are some uses for sour cream? There are a lot and some of them will surprise you. The "normal" uses are: in dips, adding to nachos and to a baked potato and in some foods. But, did you know these uses? You can add it to biscuits and other baked goods, make deviled eggs with it, use it for better pasta and potato salad, in a soup, as a sandwich spread or in scrambled eggs. My stomach isn't responding well to some of those. One bartender uses it for a drink and another person said this:

"Adding full-fat sour cream (My secret ingredient!) to your regular coffee may sound strange to some of you, but you'll be surprised of how delicious (And creamy) your coffee will turn out. Once you try it, you'll not go back to your regular coffee soon." Below is just a picture of a bowl of sour cream so you know what it looks like.

And now the answer to the "Sour cream question," Do people eat sour cream by itself?" They do and my brother and I are not the only ones. Here are some of the comments I found:

"Of course, it's also plenty good all on its own—given the opportunity, I'll gladly sneak a few spoonfuls over the kitchen sink."

"Sour cream is delicious on its own with a spoon."(Me: a fork will not work well)

"I enjoy sour cream like I would enjoy a bowl of ice cream or soup." (Me: as good as ice cream?)

"It's amazing on its own."

"Is it odd that I buy tubs of sour cream and it throughout the week? (Me: tubs?)

"Eating sour cream plain is amazing!"

"Ok, time for everyone to hate me. So, yeah, I like to eat sour cream plain. The flavor of it just makes it taste good. The texture also makes it 10X better. In fact, as I'm writing this, I am currently eating sour cream."

"My daughter is eating sour cream for breakfast. I thought maybe she just mixed up the sour cream and yogurt containers, but after some discussion and taste tests, turns out she knew exactly what she was asking for. So now I'm sitting at the kitchen table with her watching her eat a bowl of sour cream."

So, if you're looking to try something different to eat, take a couple spoonfuls of sour cream and give it a taste. If you have some strawberries or blueberries, try it out. One last thing, there is another "Sour cream question".  Am I the only one eating fruit and bread in sour cream? I may be.

Have You Ever Hit a Mailbox With a Suitcase?

I take a lot of pride on doing things that other people don't do and this is certainly one of them. I've heard of people hitting a mailbox with a car or a lawnmower.  I imagine people have shoveled snow and hit their mailbox because they couldn't see the mailbox. I never expected to hit a mailbox with a suitcase, but here's how it happened:

This is the suitcase below. It's a pretty good size and it was full and on the heavy side. My wife and I had just arrived in New Jersey for Thanksgiving week and it had just gotten dark.  I was emptying the trunk and taking everything out.  I took this suitcase out and put it on the sidewalk.

 

I turned around and grabbed the smaller suitcase and put it next to the bigger one.  As I turned around towards the trunk, I heard a noise from the suitcase and it didn't sound good. Both suitcases were now rolling towards the mailbox pictured below.  As I started running towards the smaller suitcase, I grabbed it and watched the larger suitcase crash into the mailbox.

I quickly grabbed the larger one, because I didn't want my wife to see her suitcase lying on the ground.  The mailbox survived with no damage, but the camera on the house did see what happened.  I must have gently touched the big suitcase with the smaller one and the big one took off.  There is a video of this action, but fortunately you can't see everything since it was partially blocked out of view.  I was going to stage the suitcase lying on the ground playing dead a few days later, but I decided to spare you that awful image.

The moral of the story is that it is a lot better to have suitcases without wheels and you should always put a strong fence around the mailbox for protection. This will keep dogs away and also of course runaway luggage.

The Motion Sensor Trash Can

We were away for Thanksgiving and I was sitting in my daughter's kitchen minding my own business when I heard a sound.  I turned around and saw the garbage can pictured below. I thought nothing of it until a couple minutes later, it talked again. Someone had walked by the garbage can and it opened, again.  I stared at it for a little bit and wondered, "Why would anyone want something like that opening and closing all day?

Much to my surprise, one of the big advantages of owning one is that it keeps your hands away from all the germs in your garbage. I can't believe it, germs? In my garbage? I may be traumatized and think of that every time I empty my own garbage. Why are people putting their hands in the garbage after they threw the garbage in the can? I don't know, but my wife probably does. Should I really ask her that question later today?

Later that day, I walked up to the garbage can to throw something in it.  I stood there in front of it and waved my hand like a magic wand and nothing happened.  I did it a few times and it finally worked. I thought to myself, "Is that easier?" All week I had a new challenge-get the garbage in the can quickly, if I can.  There were times I conducted an orchestra in front of the can, with the garbage in my hand. Sooner or later, (It was later) I learned that you have to stand over the garbage can with a menacing scowl and lean toward the can angrily, and the top will open. Once, I even pretended to walk by the garbage can as if I didn't have garbage, but that didn't work.

After awhile, (About four days) you get used to the can opening and closing accidentally, but the smell? Maybe if people throw some nice smelling flowers in the can it would be perfect?

The Dog and Squirrel Show

I imagine it is pretty common for dogs to chase squirrels, but our dog, Odin, has not seen many squirrels in South Carolina.  However, that changed when he visited New Jersey Thanksgiving week and it happened immediately.  Our dog, Odin, smelled them and saw them.  How many were there? I have no idea, but I think there was a "Chief" squirrel. Below is a picture of the squirrel, running for dear life near the steps.  What you can't see is Odin pulling me. I was not able to do a selfie at the time. 

Odin is smelling the squirrel up the block at the squirrel's" home tree" in the picture below.  The first two days they played hide and seek with the squirrel winning. Do you know what it's like trying to get a picture of a squirrel in a tree, while your dog is pulling you with all it's strength? I can only imagine the people on the block watching out the window  in hysterics.  Below is the second picture of the squirrel's "hometree."I am absolutely convinced that the squirrel is in the tree. If you find it let me know.

After the first few names they each understood what was going on.  The squirrel would take off as if it was on fire when Odin was nearby.  Odin however, seemed to understand he was not fast enough and could not catch the squirrel. He got into the "scouting" mode and would cautiously watch the squirrel from a distance.  He may have been thinking, "If he doesn't see me and he comes this way....."

Me, well I was rooting for the squirrel and I think he won. Odin is now home where he occasionally chases birds. I'm thinking, "Maybe when Odin gets older I'll teach him about the birds and the squirrels.

Do You Ever Mouth The Words to A Song Instead of Singing It?

Heading out of town with my wife and dog in the car I learned something very important. My wife was playing music and a song came on that I liked and I was "mouthing" the words instead of singing it. My wife told me that she doesn't like when I do that and she wanted to know why I did it.

We've been married for 39 years and whenever we're in the car, I almost never sing out loud.  I know I don't sing that well and by "mouthing" the words, she doesn't have to hear my singing.  I'm being considerate for her and it never occurred to me that she didn't like it. She doesn't sing that often, but she does sing out loud instead of "mouthing' it.

When I asked her what she didn't like, she said, "Your mouth or lips are making smacking noises." She thought it sounded like I ate a ham sandwich and I needed some soda to drink. (I know you've been there as I have) So, I asked her, you want me to actually sing the song? She said she really did.

I couldn't wait to test this out when we drove home. I figured I would let the idea sit awhile and then I'd  find out the truth. Sometimes, I prefer to "mouth" the words, because I don't know all the words and it sound better to ME when I can only hear the real singer.

On the way home, I was singing some songs as best I could and I knew that she knew I was doing it FOR her. We did talk about it some and she seemed to be perfectly fine with what I was doing.

I knew our conversation was about to end, but I just wanted to make sure I had the right information.  I asked her, "Is it okay if when I sing the words I kind of whisper them?" She said, "You can do whatever you want." And so, there you have it.  As Johnny Nash once sang in the 70's, "I Can See Clearly Now."

My Thanksgiving Dinner Game Plan

Just when you thought Thanksgiving was over, guess what? I'm getting the last word on it.  We had a terrific time up in New Jersey and of course we enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner with our oldest daughter and husband.  But, when it came time for dinner on Thursday, I decided to do something different.

My usual Thanksgiving dinner plan is simple: eat a lot of the good things I enjoy eating and ignore the things I normally don't eat. This year, I decided to eat some things I have never eaten or may have tasted once.  For the main course, here are the two things I ate for the first time.  There was a sweet potato dish which tasted like potatoes that were very sweet.  It was okay, but it's not as good as regular potatoes, mashed potatoes, or french fries. The bacon and string beans tasted unbelievable, but it tasted like bacon with something in it.  I'm not sure I really tasted the beans, all I could taste was bacon and what could be wrong with that. It was terrific.

When it was time for desserts, this was going to be a significant moment.  Take a look at this picture below and I'm sure some of you will be ready to eat...right now.

The pumpkin chiffon pie was very different for me.  I may have tasted pumpkin pie once, but I like to look at pumpkins and not eat them.  The taste was not for my taste, but it was okay. Chocolate cheese cake? Well, I've always said I like chocolate and I like cheese and I like cake, but all together? I imagined something that was very chocolatey (like Cocoa Krispies are now) and a bunch of cheese all mixed in and that didn't sound very good to me. It was pretty good, but it tasted about 90% chocolate and 10% cheese. which is a good thing.  Whipped cream? (No, it was not sour cream) I have that on a Jim Dandy sundae at Friendly's and my mom's old recipe for Lady Fingers, which was an unbelievable jello/cake dessert. I don't really use whipped cream, but I put a little on the two desserts and it was pretty good.  I imagine it's not healthy food.

So, that's the final word on Thanksgiving. What am I going to do for Thanksgiving next year? No promises, but I may blog about it then.