May the spirit of His holiday find you with friends, family and my personal favorite; laughter. I hope that the light of love and kindness visits you and that you have peace on this wonderful day.


Thank you for all you are and all that you bring to my life. I treasure them both.


Until we all see each other again,
All my love to those who visit.


Tess

One of my favorites...

This is a great one for me; not just because of tequila either...but it has a lot to do with it.
Have I forgotten you ? Of course not. But we are all feeling a little behind the ball and pressured.  I have four written and simply can't get here to post them! FOUR! Bah!

Tequila Christmas cookies 
 1cup of water
 1tsp baking soda
 1cup of sugar
 1tsp salt
 1cup of brown sugar
 1tbs lemon juice
 4 large eggs
 1cup of nuts
 2 cups of dried fruit
 1 bottle of tequila
 Sample the tequila in a large glass to check quality. Take
 a large bowl, and check the tequila again, to be sure it is
 of the highest quality. Pour one level cup and drink. Turn
 on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large
 fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar, beat again.

At this point ,it's best to make sure the tequila is
 still ok., so try another cup. Turn off the mixerer thingy.
 Break 2 leggs and chuck in the cup of dried fruit . Pick the
 frigging fruit and damn cup off the floor. Mix on the
 turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, just
 pry it loose with a drewscriver. Next sift two cups of
 salt,or something . Check the Tequila. Now shift the lemon
 juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add one spoon of
 sugar, or somefink or whatever you can find. Grease the
 oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall
 over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Put the bowl
 through the window , finish off the booze and make sure to
 put the dirty stove in the dish washer.
CHERRY MISMAS TO ALL!

I know I know You've seen it before but it still makes me laugh.

This week is not good either...I have the remainder of the parties and then the fat man cometh. :) I'm getting really excited even though the kids have dispelled the myth. My son and I were both bleary eyed when I asked him: "Who is Santa" and his lip quivered only a little more than mine when he said "You and Daddy are ...Santa" So I hugged him as if his innocence had spilled onto the floor and said "So are you Boo." So soon? I was hoping we could do this forever... But not to be melancholy. We have tons of wonderful surprises in store for them and each other. It will be a beautiful holiday to be shared with friends and family in the truest spirit; with love. Maybe just maybe I'll sneak outside and jingle the sleigh bells at midnight one last time...for old time's sake. *sniff*

And for those of you following the Clementine battle? Oh yeah, I struck. I cleared all the crap off my desk, put it in a box, covered it with plain brown paper, placed the object of our current obsession right on top and ?

Shipped it to him at the office....using a fake return address and spelling his name: Dr. Richard Skultetz (we always get our name spelled wrong...) Ohhhh it was FABULOUS. He opened it up and bloop! there she was...

Oh mah darlin
oh mah darlin
oh mah darrrrrrlin CLEMENTINE.....

ahhhh good times. but now? I must wait and watch. It's coming. I can feel it; like that moment in a horror movie where the one girl is doing everything she can to stay alive:  peeking around corners, carrying a weapon, (although the only weapon suitable would be a...juicer maybe???) tip toeing, holding her breath...
My laugh is full, loud and hearty as always but let me admit; a little nervous.

So for the next two weeks I will be cooking my fanny off and I'm excited. NYE is coming as are my Yayas.  It will be good. I need my Yayas and my Gumbas.

I miss my friends here and I know we will get back to normalcy soon; relatively speaking.
Love to you all.
Tess

Orange ya glad?

I love this time of year for many reasons; first and foremost: no bees. Secondly, the parties where I get to fuss over my friends and family and lastly: Clementine oranges.  They are the only oranges I eat and so once a year I bulk up enough to avoid scurvy and serious cold/flu symptoms.

Why share this trivial unimportant fact? Because it has brought a war into my life: all out war! And shut up because I KNOW who's in on it.....

For those of you who are joining us late; here's the skinny:

One day I packed my lunch and brought along my favorite fruit of this season: previously mentioned orange: so cute and small; lovely thin skinned; easy to peel and no seeds....ahhhh perfection. So I asked my husband if he wanted some. He said no but that was not the truth...he DID want my perfect produce.  I sighed dramatically and held it out to him.   I gave a remorseful sniff indicating the personal sacrifice about to be made if he took it.

"Nooooo. It's yours." he closed his eyes to shut out the dramatic display. I AM a vision when I wanna be.

I held it out again. "Go ahead." my voice cracked ever so slightly...Tiny Tim would have cowered before my generosity.

"No."
We are both on the brink of the burning nose snort/laugh but continued to speak.  However, I would take moments and hold the orange out to him, raising my eyebrows; sometimes even giving a small squeak.."Hmmm?"  He would shake his head.  He had to go down to the store so he left me...and my orange.  I placed it on his desk and went back to work. 

He returned and puttered around...placing the orange on my chair behind my desk. "How dare he?!" Does no good deed go unpunished? I found it when I had to make a phone call; almost sitting on it. "Very funny Mister Smarty-pants.." I muttered and plopped it into my briefcase and drove home at the end of my day. 

The next morning was chaotic and unfun.  I was frustrated and jacked up.  ( I had to have blood work done sooooo there ya go...My dreams were filled with vomitous visions of a lab where they would say things like: "Sure, we'll take some blood and it won't hurt.  But first we're gonna need to drain some fluid off your eye. Open wiiiiiide" BLAAAAH!" but I digress....ORANGES) So my morning was awful and Cheech needed me to cart some things around.  I snatched my keys and headed out to the truck but not before grabbing? Oh yeah baby...my orange. I pulled the stuff I needed and left my citrussy sphere in? His tool bag.  He uses the damn thing daily then I waited. I went to work and giggled all morning long. I couldn't WAIT...Most of the morning went by before I got the e-mail....the only words were :
GAME ON

My retort was simple: I know nothing of this thing about which you speak so gruffly, but if I DID? Bring it Big Daddy Cuz YOU SO LOSE!

I laughed all day but I was waiting for my just desserts. He did not disappoint.  Oh I know he's told most of you about it and I also know the ideas are REALLY circulating.  How? Well, because I've done it too and it now seems that the entire universe is playing "Where's Waldo" with my Clementine. I confess, this is becoming hilarious.

Saturday night was a melancholy night.  We ate with wonderful friends but it was a farewell party since one couple in the group must move to Europe.  There was a lot of laughter, story telling and a few tears. So anyway, it was time to cut the cake and make our toasts.  It was a beautiful cake and we all eyed it as if we'd been starved instead of stuffed all night long. I sat to the far end so I was last to be served.  Of course this lead to jokes of no dessert at all, having to lick the knife clean of cake boogies, etc...my host finally gets to my piece and runs out of forks.  NOW I am told I must eat it without ANY utensils; including digits.  He returns with my plate a fork and? Yep that DAMN orange smooshed into my dessert. 

Well you never HEARD such roaring and saw such back slapping...I laughed until I cried. 

So it is my turn. The ball is in my court. I have it planned actually, I have the next three planned.  This is gonna get GOOD.  If you have suggestions, I welcome them.  Please send them via e-mail to

gigglinginthedark@gmail.com

Thanks for playing along. I will keep you posted with pix and updates. Orange you glad you stopped by? I am. I always am.

Have a wonderful night and great start to the week.

Hey! Flames of romance

Cheech and I both love to cook.  Now when we were dating and learning to be married (all that compromising, sensitive stuff) it was our biggest source for arguments: who was to use the stove, who needed the mixer and where the HELL was the cinnamon I just bought...oh here....heehee?

But having been together just shy of twenty, we are smooooooth in the kitchen. We work it baby. Here's an example:

Last weekend we were up north and had a great dinner with some friends. I made a fresh pineapple upside down cake and we stuffed our piggy faces with veal osso bucco. Life was good. We were catching up and they told us they had to leave very early in the morning.  Being good friends, we said:

"Hey! Come for breakfast. Then you don't have to worry."

They said : "Hey! Yeah. We like it. What are we having?"

We said: "Hey! It's a surprise!" which is code for I have no firetrucking clue and I hope I don't have to go out to get it; but ....Hey! no worries.

So morning comes and we roll outta bed to begin our breakfast surprise.  The weather was nippy to say the least so a fire was in order. He loaded up the kindling and got things started in the fireplace.  I was busy mixing. Now as a digression, I had a lil cake mishap the night before when my caramel sauce bubbled over while baking my cake. I gave it a swipe and really just kept moving. I regret this.

Cheech fired up the oven to a hot n sassy 425 as we began to make scones: peach and orange.  I was futzing around with something else; maybe making coffee and I noticed a little bit of smoke choo choo-ing out of the vent. 

"Remind me to wipe the oven again Cheech. There's some sugar left."

"Yep. Got it."

He came over and kissed the back of my neck.  I giggled and flipped some preserves his way.

"Hey." he said quietly. "I love you."

"I love you too. " I smiled.  I love his Sunday morning sexy look; especially when we're cooking.

  He went back to scones.  I sighed and coughed. Man it was smokey. Stupid sugar.  Cheech turned up the music and then I heard the oven door.

"Hey. We have a fire." his voice was so calm that I assumed he meant the one in the fireplace had caught and we were set.  He knows I love to watch it...I looked up and in the reflection of the window saw flames, dancing and laughing at the morning.   "It's a beautiful fire....." and then I realized....

"IT"S IN MY OVEN!!!! CLOSE IT UP! HOLY SHIT!"

And at this moment the detectors began to shriek all over the house.  There was thick, sweet smoke farting out of my wonderful antique oven and hot orange spikes stabbing their way from the seams in the door.  I dove for the windows tearing them open. Cheech jumped over, grabbed the extinguisher; yanked the ring and foofed it at the flames. They died as quickly as they came.  Our fire alarms still howling, we fanned the stinking clouds of dessert gone by and wiped up extinguisher poop.  Thank God I had a liner in the oven.  I simply pulled out my "boo boo" of sugar and butter setting it on the porch to crust outside; alone and cold like the naughty bakery scab it was.  We let things cool and started again.  You know the tough part? Neither the kids nor the dogs reacted.  Nobody moved. Well Winston came down and begged for a treat.  I can only assume it was in celebration of surviving breakfast.  So our neighbors came.  Not being ones to let a good one go...they brought their extinguisher (having heard the alarms and seen the smoke) and some English muffins...JUST IN CASE.  But for the record, the scones were perfect: sweet, light, crunchy...delish. No residue OR smoke.

All's well.

Thanks for coming. I know I've been lagging behind but ...we're all a little busy right now, aren't we?  I'm really glad we got these few moments together. You're such good company.

Sing along

Sorry I have been away so long, simply caught up in the holi-daze. :)
Let's hum a few of these together, shall we?

See you soon. Miss you.




   CHRISTMAS CAROLS FOR THE MENTALLY DISTURBED
 
*1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?
 
*2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are
 
*3. Dementia --- I'll be Home for Christmas, if I can find it.
 
*4. Narcissism --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
 
* 5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and ...
 
*6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
 
*7. Borderline Personality Disorder ---Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
 
*8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
 
*9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent  night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away ?
 
*10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
 w of these  together shall we?