Christmas time.....joy to the world and all that shit

I fear I may be turning into Howard Langston.  He's the guy Arnold Schwarzenegger played in that Christmas movie - Jingle all the way....you know the guy who was trying to get his kid the hottest toy and they were all sold out.

Diggle wanted the slushi maker, apparently its available everywhere else in the country, but anywhere near me is sold out.  I read the reviews and people are not overly impressed with it...its a toy, it requires a lot of assembly and manual working etc, so I convinced Diggle that Santa was battling with the demand on this one and since he knows how clever Diggle is he wondered if he would mind having a snow cone maker....its electric, the same price as the toys and you can sort of make slushi drinks with it too  it says.

So Diggle is happy with this idea, I go to get the snow cone maker from the home store...and I guess all the other Moms had the same idea.  They only have the two demo models left, I am welcome to buy them, but no box, no instructions and no accessories.  Well no thank you, I was not overly enthused with that idea.   I came home and searched the stores and even have toyed with the idea of buying Diggle a Margarita maker, its essentially the same thing and the bonus is we can set up a margarita stand on the sidewalk in summer for the Moms! I guarantee it will make more money than a lemonade stand!  But the problem with this is they are expensive....much much more than the damn snow cone machine, oh and is it an inappropriate gift for a 7 year old?  I can just imagine the conversation with the teacher in January, Santa gave you what??

I got him something that is not exactly what either of us had in mind but it was all there was left and it was on sale...on the way  out the store another Mom grabbed me and said "where did you get that??" with that look of desperation in her eyes....I had to tell her there was only one left and she started running through the store.

I hate shopping, the people are all crazy in the shops at the moment, and I despise crowds.  I think I am nearly done, and thankfully the hi-light of my Christmas shopping will be a conversation between a cashier and a blind man I overheard today while I was standing in line at the checkout.
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Cashier: Will you be needing a gift receipt with this electric meat slicer sir?

Blind Man:  No thank you it's for myself.

Cashier:  (the look on her face had me in giggles) oh!....... (a long pause).......um

Blind Man: oh its ok, I cut all my own meat and pour my own drinks

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Blind man  + what is essentially a circular saw for food....yeah I can see this ending well.

Now next week its baking week....

Worlds best egg nog

I have friends who email me every year asking for my egg nog recipe.  I'll admit to it being one of the best ever recipes, but it would be nice if these friends would email me other times of the year too ;)

Anyway this year I have decided to share, and preempt the requests by posting it on here.  At the very least I'll see who of these friends actually read my blog.

Now I would first like to give a warning, do not under any circumstance drink this if you have a Doctors appointment for bloodwork in the next month.  This is not cholesterol friendly at all.

6 large eggs (separated)
250ml White rum (I like something with a slight coconut flavour)
250ml fresh cream
187ml sugar
1Lt Milk
125ml Brandy

Beat the egg yolks and sugar, beat in run and milk.   Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites then add cream and brandy gently and stir.  Top with shredded chocolate or nutmeg (depending on your taste buds).  You can make it stronger, although it already has quite a kick to it, so I would suggest adding more to your own glass at the end.

We leave a glass out for Santa every Christmas eve and he seems to appreciate the kick, I think it helps him finish off this half of the world.  Remember he's been on the go for a long time by the time he gets to Canada!
I think he may even give some to the reindeer.

This egg nog is so good that when I used to make it my old dog would cry and beg to lick any drops she could.  (I know, don't give human stuff to a dog right? before my vegan animal friendly friends feel the need to tell me)  It can't have hurt her too bad though cause she lived to 16.  And no before anyone suggests it, Monster Dog is not allowed anything that may make her do something crazier than she already does!