Did you survive the holidays? We did. Barely.
We roasted a goose for Christmas. Oh my gods that was awful. Would dearly love to finger someone else for this failed Christmas dinner but it was my idea.
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| Scroll to the bottom of this post for tips on holiday cactus. |
Thought pulling out all the stops might inspire a little Christmas cheer.
The phrase, Bah Humbug, is defined as curmudgeonly displeasure and that’s sort of where I was at, all throughout December. I lost someone very close to me, a few days before Thanksgiving. Been struggling with that, it’s made me very sad.
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| Tips to get this beauty to re-bloom are at the bottom of this post. |
Came up with the dumb idea of roast goose while watching a favorite holiday movie, A Christmas Carol, (1951 is a great adaptation.)
When the nasty ass Scrooge wakes up on a bright Christmas morning deciding to make amends for a lifetime of torturing his only employee, by gifting the poor man a goose.
Scrooge could have demonstrated he was a changed man by doing his own Christmas shopping, because we all know that’s a drudgery, especially during the holidays. Instead, he tossed a tuppence to a street urchin, forcing him to do the heavy lifting.
Handling that task, himself, would have been a great way to prove he's a changed man. That he's just like the rest of us.
While watching the movie I thought to myself...
Yeah. I’m roasting a goose. Because it’s different and special and even penny pincher Scrooge thinks it’s worth the extra money. Not giving any thought to how supermarkets filled with turkeys weren’t an option back then.
It’s really hard to find a goose. That should have been the first grand indicator this is a bad idea.
But that didn’t stop me. And neither did the price tag. Because I'm on a mission! To make this a Merry Christmas!
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| Kalanchoe tips at the bottom of this post. |
Found the goose at Whole Foods Paycheck, paying $15 per pound for that god-awful goose vs. $2 a pound for delicious, delectable turkey. No one at the dinner table ate it. No one. Not even the not at all picky eater, 5-year-old Hattie. And I've caught that kid eating dog treats!
But now I know! That Scrooge wasn't being the slightest bit kind by gifting his employee a goose.
AND. Why everybody says the holiday feast is all about the side dishes. Maybe they fell for the Merry Olde England goose idea, as well.
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| The view from my window. The view from up here. |
On a happier note, the Amaryllis bulbs were blooming. Here's a tip if you happen to be a lover of this fabulous, indoor, easy-to-grow, bulb.
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| Slice your Amaryllis bulb and it will re-bloom. |
Amaryllis Tip:
Don't discard the bulb after the flowers are done blooming.
Cut it back to just the bulb.
Slice the bulb as you would 4 quarters of a pie.
Set in a sunny window - they will re-grow and re-bloom, a second time.
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| Potato/Banana water encourages Christmas Cactus to re-bloom. |
Christmas Cactus Tip:
Dice up a potato, add a banana peel, 1/2 cup white vinegar, small spoon yeast, 3 cups water. Let this steep for a few days. Water your cactus with this mixture - soon she will be covered with a second set of happy flowers. Bigger and better than the first round of blooms.
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| Beer. :) Yep. Watered down Beer. |
Kalanchoe Tips:
Don't compost these beauties when they're done blooming! They're perennial houseplants. The dark days of winter inspires them to set new buds and re-bloom. And so does beer. Water every 7-10 days. Sporadically with watered-down beer. Once every couple of months. It greens up the plant, kills off the bugs, improves the soil, gifting you with tons of bright indoor flowers.
