Christmas 2005

Elise and I spent Christmas with my parents in Cat Spring this year. We left Austin mid-afternoon on Friday in time to have gumbo with Mom & Dad. After dinner we went to see Adrian play at The Fainting Goat.

On Saturday we got up and did some last minute Christmas shopping in Brenham. We got back to Mom & Dad’s in time to change clothes and then head out to Bellville for church. We made it to the church at 4:58 to find out that mass started at four. We drove back to Mom & Dad’s and made taco salads and tamales with chili for dinner.

Elise and I left again for mass in Bellville at ten and yours truly got the annual stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, sit workout.

On Christmas morning we all woke up and exchanged presents in the living room. Elise and the baby made out like bandits this year!

For Christmas dinner, Mom steamed brocolli and baked beer bread. Dad cooked rice and I smoked two pork loins, one stuffed with a fig and cayenne chutney and rubbed with crushed anchos and coriander. For the other I used parts of a recipe e-mailed to me from Barin von Foregger, cream cheese, garlic, bacon, kalamata olives and bread crumbs and rubbed with Mexican spices and coffee.

Dad didn’t get out of bed on Monday. Mom looked and felt horrible when we arrived on Friday night and was feeling somewhat normal by Christmas morning. Since Dad was sick, I finished the electric wiring to Mom’s greenhouse.

Later in the afternoon we headed home for Austin. I woke up this morning and felt weird. By the time I got to the office, I felt like shit, my stomach was knotted, my office manager knew it and sent me home. So my extended Christmas vacation has consisted of my curled up in bed, holding my stomach. But I finally got to watch The Graduate in its intirety!