Brisket, Brandy & a Z-pack.
Hey all,
I've sadly negelcted my LJ duties. Truth is, I'm not on the Internets much anymore. I d the occasional glance at FB but that's about it. Anyways, on to my post.
We had our annual Thanksgiving feast last weekend. I had the weekend off work and managed to get out of work last Friday as well. I got to stay home but was on call from 1500 to 2300. If things got busy, I'd have to go in but was otherwise free to hang out with the family.
I woke up around 0900 to start the smoker. I wanted to smoke a brisket and a turkey to make sure they'd be ready for the feast on Saturday. After I loaded the smoker, I decided to mix up a batch of beans and smoke them as well Now they my cooking duties were under way, I ran all of the last minutes errands and helped out as Becki needed.
We kept getting updates from the people who were coming to town and I got more excited as the kids and in laws got closer. They started to trickle in by late afternoon. By early evening,we had quite a gathering. I had also smoked a meatloaf for us to go along with our traditional pre-feast meal of potato soup. Of course, the alcohol started to flow but I couldn't partake as I was still on call.
As the evening wore on I kept making deals with myself. "If they don't call me in by 2000, I'm gonna have a brandy." Well, 2000 arrived but I was too scared to start drinking. I kept changing the time by an hour until it was 2256. Ya know, I haven't had a drink in so long that maybe I let myself get carried away. After we - mostly me - finished a bottle of Presidente, 1/2 a bottle of Don Julio & 1/2 a bottle of Tequila Corralejo, I was pretty hammered.
Drunk me is not usually a wild, crazy person. Drunk me likes to talk and dispense wisdom to any person in my vicinity who happens to be younger than me. I still need to apologize to my nephew William for all the bullshit he politely listened to...
After a meager 5 hours of sleep I was awakened by grandchildren jumping on the bed. Even though I was still a little drunk, I managed to win the impromptu wrestling match that ensued.
I was hungover for the rest of the day. I missed out on a lot of the food as I had no appetite. I wasn't queasy but had a head ache compounded by too little sleep so I missed out on a lot of the early conversations & laughter. I wandered around in a daze & even took a nap.
By evening, I was fine. We still had a ton of people around, lots of food and more than one lively conversation/card game going on at once. BTW, the game "Telestration" (sp?) is a blast when you have a diverse group playing it. So is the game "What's Yours Like?" I'd not be able to recount all the things we did in these games that made us laugh so much. I'm sure they'd just sound silly in print. You'd have to live it to enjoy it.
Sunday was a lot more laid back. Some of us went to the Chiefs game, some of us continued to play games & clean up, while others had to start the long drive home. All in all, it was a great holiday weekend.
While I was at work Monday night, I began to feel sick. My throat hurt, my right ear hurt, I had a slight head ache and I was starting to cough. By Tuesday morning my throat was on fire, my head was pounding and I was totally congested. Off to the doctor I went to have my self diagnosis confirmed - some kind of uper respiratory infection. Sure enough, I had my usual bronchitis/throat infection I often fall prey to. I was given a prescription for a Z-pack and called in sick. I stayed home sick Tuesday & Wednesday. I was scheduled off on Thursday & Friday which worked out great as I didn't get any sleep until Friday morning. Now I'll be able to start another work week all rested and back to normal.
So, how was your holiday?
I've sadly negelcted my LJ duties. Truth is, I'm not on the Internets much anymore. I d the occasional glance at FB but that's about it. Anyways, on to my post.
We had our annual Thanksgiving feast last weekend. I had the weekend off work and managed to get out of work last Friday as well. I got to stay home but was on call from 1500 to 2300. If things got busy, I'd have to go in but was otherwise free to hang out with the family.
I woke up around 0900 to start the smoker. I wanted to smoke a brisket and a turkey to make sure they'd be ready for the feast on Saturday. After I loaded the smoker, I decided to mix up a batch of beans and smoke them as well Now they my cooking duties were under way, I ran all of the last minutes errands and helped out as Becki needed.
We kept getting updates from the people who were coming to town and I got more excited as the kids and in laws got closer. They started to trickle in by late afternoon. By early evening,we had quite a gathering. I had also smoked a meatloaf for us to go along with our traditional pre-feast meal of potato soup. Of course, the alcohol started to flow but I couldn't partake as I was still on call.
As the evening wore on I kept making deals with myself. "If they don't call me in by 2000, I'm gonna have a brandy." Well, 2000 arrived but I was too scared to start drinking. I kept changing the time by an hour until it was 2256. Ya know, I haven't had a drink in so long that maybe I let myself get carried away. After we - mostly me - finished a bottle of Presidente, 1/2 a bottle of Don Julio & 1/2 a bottle of Tequila Corralejo, I was pretty hammered.
Drunk me is not usually a wild, crazy person. Drunk me likes to talk and dispense wisdom to any person in my vicinity who happens to be younger than me. I still need to apologize to my nephew William for all the bullshit he politely listened to...
After a meager 5 hours of sleep I was awakened by grandchildren jumping on the bed. Even though I was still a little drunk, I managed to win the impromptu wrestling match that ensued.
I was hungover for the rest of the day. I missed out on a lot of the food as I had no appetite. I wasn't queasy but had a head ache compounded by too little sleep so I missed out on a lot of the early conversations & laughter. I wandered around in a daze & even took a nap.
By evening, I was fine. We still had a ton of people around, lots of food and more than one lively conversation/card game going on at once. BTW, the game "Telestration" (sp?) is a blast when you have a diverse group playing it. So is the game "What's Yours Like?" I'd not be able to recount all the things we did in these games that made us laugh so much. I'm sure they'd just sound silly in print. You'd have to live it to enjoy it.
Sunday was a lot more laid back. Some of us went to the Chiefs game, some of us continued to play games & clean up, while others had to start the long drive home. All in all, it was a great holiday weekend.
While I was at work Monday night, I began to feel sick. My throat hurt, my right ear hurt, I had a slight head ache and I was starting to cough. By Tuesday morning my throat was on fire, my head was pounding and I was totally congested. Off to the doctor I went to have my self diagnosis confirmed - some kind of uper respiratory infection. Sure enough, I had my usual bronchitis/throat infection I often fall prey to. I was given a prescription for a Z-pack and called in sick. I stayed home sick Tuesday & Wednesday. I was scheduled off on Thursday & Friday which worked out great as I didn't get any sleep until Friday morning. Now I'll be able to start another work week all rested and back to normal.
So, how was your holiday?