23 thoughts on “December 25, 2021: From Now On Our Troubles Will Be Far Away”
It was good to NASA/ESA.
3...2...1… The boosters have ignited, and we have liftoff at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana! #NASAWebb is now on its way to its new home a million miles from Earth, where it will #UnfoldTheUniverse in ways we’ve never seen before. 🚀 💫 https://t.co/td5j9eUSnH
Now to wait several weeks for JWST to reach its Lagrange point and deploy correctly.
Runner daughter and I got up to watch the launch. A very nice Christmas present.
Merry merry, everyone
The oldest tested positive this morning. He was exposed on Tuesday, and possibly earlier, and had symptoms on Friday. Only first dose of vaccine but at least it has been 14 days since then.
Ugh. Hoping his experience stays mild.
I’m sorry to hear this. Our plans were derailed by an exposure notification late yesterday afternoon. Naturally, testing on campus ended the day before, every testing site in in the People’s Republic was booked through the 30th, and at-home test kits are sold out everywhere. The consolation is that the Poissonnière has been fully vax’d since the beginning of the month.
Thanks. Our household runs the entire gamut of vaccination status from fully boosted down to an unvaccinated three-year-old. We're most concerned about the oldest however because when he gets sick, he tends to get really sick. He regularly had high (104 °F) fevers for colds when younger. I guess the plus side to omicron's transmission rate is we should all get sick quickly and get over it in time for school to resume in January.
Happy Chinese food and a movie weekend to all who celebrate!
Going to see West Side Story at 6:30. No Chinese food, but we're having brisket so I should get partial credit.
As jew-adjacent, I approve.
The movie was excellent. I'll nominate it for best picture, director, art direction, and cinematography. Friggin' Spielberg, man.
Really looking forward to it. The cinematography looks absolutely stunning in the previews.
Just got home from seeing it. A little hesitant as I am a huge fan of the original. It was amazing. Visually? Wow! Beautiful picture. Did not stray much at all from the original story.
We opted for Chinese today too. I suspect not a lot of cooking will happen over the upcoming week(s).
Fortunately, my post booster illness faded throughout the day yesterday. Got home from work at 6 and made a Korean Beef stir fry of sorts. We opened 2 presents each and watched a movie on the couch. Got up at 8 this morning to start some braised short ribs. Will serve with baked mashed Yukons. No one else woke up until 930. One joy of having older kids. Happy Holidays to you all!
I got my first paycheck from the new job this week so I hit the liquor store yesterday. Amaretto is a Christmas tradition in our house, so I got a bottle of that to give myself. I also picked up a St. Remy VSOP for $15 which is pretty good for the price. I wanted some beer that's seasonal but that I've never had before, and I stumbled upon a six-pack of Leinenkugel Toasted Bock that's really hitting the spot. I also picked up a Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon, Ménage a Trois Zinfandel, a Cycles Gladiator Syrah, and some champagne for next weekend. We got a bottle of Balfour Street gin a couple of weeks ago that's very good, it will probably get a lot lighter on New Years Eve, if it survives the night at all.
One of my servers made a homemade Kahlua that I added to my coffee today. Tasty! With our short ribs we had a glass of Sokol Blosser Evolution red blend. They now sell it in a 1.5 liter box. So good!
Splitting a bottle of Delirium Noel with the girl as I prep the dumpling filling.
Made chili oil earlier. Super tasty, not too spicy.
That chili oil looks great. I may need to add that to my plans when I get home.
It was really good, as were the dumplings. We have a new Christmas tradition. 😀
I left the cinnamon out because the Mrs has an allergy, and used green cardomom instead of black (because I only had green). Nice, understated heat and great flavor from the aromatics. You can really tast the garlic and shallot, in a good way.
NBBW made some cool meringue cookies yesterday:
- the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans - you know - the stuff you usually pour down the draind (it's called Aquafava)
- a cup of sugar (can use powdered sugar or pulverize in the vitamix blender
- 3//4 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 tsp almond extract
Whip the bean juice with cream of tartar until you have stiff peaks. Add sugar 1 tbsp at a time. Add the almond extract right at the end.
Scoop into dough blobs onto parchment on to cookie sheets; Cook at 250F until done.
I've never heard of these ones. I usually make peppermint and cinnamon meringues. These sound really interesting.
Those are separate meringues, not a peppermint/cinnamon combo.
Thank God.
Not a fan of meringue cookies in general, but I will never complain about homemade cookies.
It was good to NASA/ESA.
Now to wait several weeks for JWST to reach its Lagrange point and deploy correctly.
Runner daughter and I got up to watch the launch. A very nice Christmas present.
Merry merry, everyone
The oldest tested positive this morning. He was exposed on Tuesday, and possibly earlier, and had symptoms on Friday. Only first dose of vaccine but at least it has been 14 days since then.
Ugh. Hoping his experience stays mild.
I’m sorry to hear this. Our plans were derailed by an exposure notification late yesterday afternoon. Naturally, testing on campus ended the day before, every testing site in in the People’s Republic was booked through the 30th, and at-home test kits are sold out everywhere. The consolation is that the Poissonnière has been fully vax’d since the beginning of the month.
Thanks. Our household runs the entire gamut of vaccination status from fully boosted down to an unvaccinated three-year-old. We're most concerned about the oldest however because when he gets sick, he tends to get really sick. He regularly had high (104 °F) fevers for colds when younger. I guess the plus side to omicron's transmission rate is we should all get sick quickly and get over it in time for school to resume in January.
Happy Chinese food and a movie weekend to all who celebrate!
Going to see West Side Story at 6:30. No Chinese food, but we're having brisket so I should get partial credit.
As jew-adjacent, I approve.
The movie was excellent. I'll nominate it for best picture, director, art direction, and cinematography. Friggin' Spielberg, man.
Really looking forward to it. The cinematography looks absolutely stunning in the previews.
Just got home from seeing it. A little hesitant as I am a huge fan of the original. It was amazing. Visually? Wow! Beautiful picture. Did not stray much at all from the original story.
We opted for Chinese today too. I suspect not a lot of cooking will happen over the upcoming week(s).
Fortunately, my post booster illness faded throughout the day yesterday. Got home from work at 6 and made a Korean Beef stir fry of sorts. We opened 2 presents each and watched a movie on the couch. Got up at 8 this morning to start some braised short ribs. Will serve with baked mashed Yukons. No one else woke up until 930. One joy of having older kids. Happy Holidays to you all!
I got my first paycheck from the new job this week so I hit the liquor store yesterday. Amaretto is a Christmas tradition in our house, so I got a bottle of that to give myself. I also picked up a St. Remy VSOP for $15 which is pretty good for the price. I wanted some beer that's seasonal but that I've never had before, and I stumbled upon a six-pack of Leinenkugel Toasted Bock that's really hitting the spot. I also picked up a Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon, Ménage a Trois Zinfandel, a Cycles Gladiator Syrah, and some champagne for next weekend. We got a bottle of Balfour Street gin a couple of weeks ago that's very good, it will probably get a lot lighter on New Years Eve, if it survives the night at all.
One of my servers made a homemade Kahlua that I added to my coffee today. Tasty! With our short ribs we had a glass of Sokol Blosser Evolution red blend. They now sell it in a 1.5 liter box. So good!
Splitting a bottle of Delirium Noel with the girl as I prep the dumpling filling.
Made chili oil earlier. Super tasty, not too spicy.
That chili oil looks great. I may need to add that to my plans when I get home.
It was really good, as were the dumplings. We have a new Christmas tradition. 😀
I left the cinnamon out because the Mrs has an allergy, and used green cardomom instead of black (because I only had green). Nice, understated heat and great flavor from the aromatics. You can really tast the garlic and shallot, in a good way.
NBBW made some cool meringue cookies yesterday:
- the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans - you know - the stuff you usually pour down the draind (it's called Aquafava)
- a cup of sugar (can use powdered sugar or pulverize in the vitamix blender
- 3//4 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 tsp almond extract
Whip the bean juice with cream of tartar until you have stiff peaks. Add sugar 1 tbsp at a time. Add the almond extract right at the end.
Scoop into dough blobs onto parchment on to cookie sheets; Cook at 250F until done.
I've never heard of these ones. I usually make peppermint and cinnamon meringues. These sound really interesting.
Those are separate meringues, not a peppermint/cinnamon combo.
Thank God.
Not a fan of meringue cookies in general, but I will never complain about homemade cookies.