kochleffel

Queen Margrethe of Denmark made a surprise announcement on live TV tonight: her abdication. It will be effective on January 14, the date on which she succeeded her father 52 years ago. Since the death of Queen Elizabeth she has been Europe's longest-reigning monarch. Before a cruise on the Voyager of the Seas in 2022, I went on an uncensored tour of Copenhagen, which is to say that the guide told all the scandalous stories he could come up. He was irreverent about everything and everyone except the Queen, whom he clearly respected and who was very popular. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/31/denmark-queen-margrethe-ii-stepping-down/

I hope that this is the explanation, not that it's a good thing, but at first the humanity challenge looked to me like a solution in search of a problem.

I once tried to persuade my doctor that I suffered from champagne deficiency. She said there was no such thing, and since she was a graduate of Harvard Med, I didn't argue. I don't think I would like the casserole and I would have to alter the recipe anyway; I'll opt for Roy's alternative and I request delivery of it at 6:30 p.m. I might like the drink, if made with lactose-free ice cream, or I might not. For a white blend, Lakewood Long Stem White. I haven't been to Fanning Island. I couldn't even understand the "prove you are human" puzzle and it took four or five tries. If this is going to be a regular feature, I'll be gone from CC for good.

No bacon for me, and I don't make New Year resolutions. I'm not sure that enormous changes at the last minute deserve a festival. The menu suggestion sounds like something I might order on a cruise ship, where it would turn out to consist of a few wisps of lettuce, one section of tangelo, and something that might or might not be goat cheese. I would probably like the drink, not that I have the means to make it right at hand. For a Sauvignon Blanc, Glenora 2021 from the east side of Seneca Lake. I haven't been to Port Blair and it sounds like I should be happy about that. I was the lead officiant at the synagogue this morning, with help from someone who has high liturgical skills and is a good guitarist. A third member who had agreed to assist backed out, and unfortunately told me the reason. It puts me off agreeing to do this in the future, because mediating conflicts between volunteers is one of the things that I retired from. The total attendance was nine people, more than half on Zoom. Lay leaders last night, including two professional singers, had 40 or 50.

It's 47° and will stay around that all day, dropping only to 43° overnight. Rain will resume this afternoon. I wouldn't mind the soup but would want something with it. Actual dinner tonight will probably be lentil soup. I might like the drink. It should be no surprise that Nero d'Avola isn't grown in the Finger Lakes, so I will substitute Thirsty Owl Syrah. I haven't been to Dubrovnik. I had a booking on a Celebrity TPAC that never took place. Before it was cancelled, I had some anxiety that my clothes weren't good enough for a cruise line that comes across as rather snooty, and that I wasn't sufficiently high-class. After reading RNB's post, I think that maybe I'm not sufficiently low-class. In any case, it's one of the reasons that I avoid the buffet on any cruise ship. I need to pick up prescriptions, including one for an antibiotic that I'll need to store in a safe place and hope that I can remember on January 30 where that safe place is.

I've read that the queasiness comes from the mismatch between what the eye sees and what the inner ear feels. If that's so, even looking out a window, if it's not possible to go on deck, might help, because the eye will be seeing what the ear feels.

For the Messy Cooks Brigade: at least you ended up with something to show for it, such as cookies or a cake. This afternoon, as I was getting ready to prep Brussels sprouts and carrots for roasting, I knocked over a container of sunflower seeds. All I have to show is about 6 ounces of them now in the vacuum cleaner.

I wouldn't mind a slice of fruitcake, but won't be visiting the zoo or cutting out snowflakes. I'll think about the meal suggestion after I see recipes. The drink might be pleasant but I won't be having one. For a Cabernet Sauvignon, Fox Run 2021. I haven't been to Grenada. Biopsy result is in -- they had it last week but it needed review by a surgeon. Mohs surgery on January 30, unfortunately 50 miles away. I've just cancelled a blood donation appointment for tomorrow; basal cell carcinoma is a temporary deferral, only until the treatment is complete.

Two of my mother's sisters once sat down at her table and declared repeatedly "NOTHING requires any seasoning but salt and pepper." I was doing the serving and would have poisoned them if I had known what they were about to say.

Addison, one of my first cats, once trapped himself in a box. It was in the closet; he got into it, but when he tried to get out, he tipped it over with the open side next to the wall. I wouldn't mind chicken and dumplings if I could get it delivered, but probably wouldn't make it. No, no, no on the cocktail. Grenache is used for red wine in Spain, where it's called Garnacha, and apparently in Australia, but in California it has been grown mostly for rosé. It's not grown in the Finger Lakes, so I'll nominate a rosé of Pinot Noir from Anyela's Vineyards near Skaneateles Lake (this is the first Skaneateles wine that I've mentioned, or even heard of). They detach their vines from the trellises in the fall and bury them for winter protection, a very unusual procedure here. The other Cartagena, in Spain, was on the itinerary for the Spanish Farewell, but it was one of the multiple ports that we missed. I'm getting antsy about the biopsy result. It was two weeks as of yesterday.

I started replacing pans a while ago--including, to my chagrin, some All-Clad from the 1990s, just before they switched to magnetic stainless. At this point, I'm evaluating whether certain pans, such as the 16-quart stock pot that I hadn't used since moving to this house, need to be replaced at all.

I'm cooking on an induction unit for the first time, a countertop "burner" that I bought to practice with before I commit to an induction range. I already love it. The pan heats instantly, even faster than on a gas burner, and power or temperature adjustments are almost instant, too.

A happy Christmas to everyone who celebrates it, and a pleasant day to those who don't. I don't have a favorite dish for Christmas Day, but as it's (Meatless) Monday I'll nominate a five-bean soup that takes half the day to cook, because one of the beans is chickpeas. The recipe uses five beans that all have different cooking times, so that the chickpeas are barely done when the lentils have almost disappeared. I'm not sure about the cocktail, if it is a cocktail and not tea. The principal grapes in the wine aren't grown here, so I'll counter with Lucas Baco Noir. I'll be at Basseterre in just under three weeks.

If you can find air-fryer settings for egg roll, try those.

There was a news report that the reindeer had passed their veterinary exams and received clearance from the USDA to enter US airspace. Santa will be required to disinfect the sleigh runners and his boots, though.

I would like some eggnog, preferably with brandy, but probably won't have any. I'll save Christmas Eve for later in the post. I have an Instant Pot and will look at the recipes, but my favorite way of preparing a whole chicken is the poulet en cocotte bonne femme in Mastering the Art. No on the cocktail. For a Chardonnay, Fox Run Doyle Family 2021. I haven't been to Darwin, but for many years I organized Evolution Weekend celebrations; the weekend is the one nearest Darwin's birthday. Dinner last night was sautéed salmon, baked potato dressed with the olive and fish oils from the pan, and broccoli, with a kosher Gewürztraminer from Alsace. And the important part: mincemeat pie, warmed, with lactose-free ice cream. My mother had rigidly conventional ideas about many things and forced layer cake on everyone, although my father always wanted peach pie instead. @kazu Jacquie, I don't enjoy tequila. Do you think I could make the cake recipe with Irish whiskey? There is a peculiar Jewish custom from eastern Europe for Christmas Eve, which is called Nittelnacht, natal night, in Yiddish. To avoid inadvertently (that's the peculiar part) studying Torah, people would play card games or chess all evening, typically in a dimly lighted room with the curtains closed so as not to attract the attention of roving bands of drunks.

Many thanks for the birthday wishes! I woke at 6:00 a.m. to the sound of the doorbell, but I realized almost immediately that it was in a dream--the real doorbell sounds different and isn't that loud. I also noticed that I was in an extremely grouchy mood. Eating breakfast and going back to bed helped that. I resent that today is Festivus, which I don't celebrate. In my family, the Airing of Grievances is a year-round pastime. One of the papers has an article today about the plots of Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies, and yes, they are all essentially the same. I don't watch them but I recently binge-watched both seasons of Annika. I don't think I'll be having any Pfeffernüsse but you never know. I might like the curry. A rye Old Fashioned would be OK and I'm ready for it now (10:50 a.m.). BTW, prior to prohibition, rye was the most popular spirit in the northeastern U.S. Most of it was made in Pennsylvania. Bourbon only took over because the rye distilleries had failed before repeal. I'm not really a fan of Tempranillo and it doesn't grow here. I'll suggest Luca Vineyards Reserve Red. I've never been to Santa Barbara but I have read all of the Kinsey Millhone novels.

I've always loved mathematics, although not enough to major in it in college. I don't have any cookies to exchange, but I think that unity in Zimbabwe is probably a good thing. Looking forward to the recipes even though I can't quite fathom a piccata treatment of seitan. I have a brisket-style seitan recipe that I might make next week. The drink would be OK. No Montepulciano here so I will counter with Fulkerson Zweigelt, "An early ripening Austrian red grape variety that is soft, fruit driven and medium bodied. A dry wine with medium tannins and pleasing cherry and currant fruit flavors." I've been planning to visit Fulkerson's for my birthday, which is tomorrow. It's likely to be raining then so I might go today. They occasionally hold tastings at a wine shop here in town, but always with the popular varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir), never with anything unusual like Zweigelt or even with Cabernet Franc, which grows especially well here. I spent three days in Ketchikan during a trip on the Alaska Marine Highway System in 2021. I have lots of pictures from a photo tour and even more from a bear tour, as well as some from a Misty Fjords flight with Island Wings. When I've been in the UK during the summer, people have told me, "You should go to Greece where it's hot." Well, I've been to Greece in May and it was already too hot. They don't understand that Americans visit Britain in the summer to escape the heat here.

Course grades are in. Mine is higher than my body temperature.

No. I've gotten hold of two small electric heaters, which are adequate to keep the temperature in those rooms tolerable.

For a person with seasonal affective disorder, the solstice is coming not a moment too soon. I have no personal experience with Blue Christmas celebrations (I'm not sure that celebration is the right word and I'm already morose) but several of my Protestant clergy friends lead them. I once wrote an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" for puppet theater. Wayne Dyer may have been right -- positive-psychology experts say something similar -- but he went off the beam with abundance when he said that thrifty habits cause poverty (by perpetuating a poverty mindset) but extravagant spending leads to abundance. The meal is another that I couldn't make at home, and the drink is just a Bloody Mary made with a specific brand of vodka. There is still no Zinfandel in the Finger Lakes so I'll counter with McGregor Saperavi. I don't think it's the same McGregor as in Peter Rabbit. I haven't been to any port in French Polynesia. The number of things that I'm anxious about is growing. I still haven't received the biopsy result, my new glasses may not be ready in time for the January cruise, and the wireless thermostat is on order with not even a guess about when it will be installed.

I shan't be going caroling, and I think that sangria is out of season. Sacagawea is always in season for remembering and honoring. The meal is one that I couldn't make at home, and the drink is just an Old Fashioned made with rum. I happen to like a brandy Old Fashioned and it caused trouble every evening in the MDR on the Oosterdam. Although the bartenders knew what it was, the table servers thought that I wanted and Old Fashioned and a separate glass of brandy. For a Sauvignon Blanc I'll suggest Glenora 2021. I haven't been to Santa Catalina. I'm just back from an eye exam. The doc says that the change is small but will be perceptible. The bad news is the cost of the glasses (2 pairs); the good news is no sign of glaucoma or cataracts.

Cookie cutters as cultural indicators: Ben Clark may be uniquely qualified to predict the outcome of the next presidential election. He’s not a pollster or political strategist. He makes cookie cutters. The metal baking tools are an uncanny cultural bellwether, said Mr. Clark, who runs Ann Clark, the largest cookie-cutter manufacturer in the United States. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/dining/cookie-cutters.html (I didn't need the article to know that it must be close to Christmas.)

No on the meal suggestion (pork) and on the drink (weird). Not even one of the seven varieties in the wine is grown here, so I'm going to treat it as a wild card: Barnstormer 2022 Departure, which is Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Blaufränkisch (Lemberger). I haven't been to Crete, but in my Greek course, someone always had a friend from Crete. The Barnstormer Winery has a resident barn cat. "We figured Bailey needed a place here as well, our resident barn cat. Scott adopted Bailey from a local shelter in the spring of 2013, shortly after purchasing the barn. Bailey is an expert hunter and helps keep the critter count to a minimum but she is also a loving and affectionate greeter (for the most part) to our winery guests. Her favorite catch is chipmunk and her one lazy eye only adds to her general legend. Bailey has been known to stick her paw into a glass of wine to sample the quality, so keep an eye on her if she is around. Bailey has the largest fan base here, by far. She is 11 years young and going strong." I was up very late last night after teaching, and I'm feeling below par, but I don't have to do much of anything today. So far the only things of any significance that I've done were to take my blood-pressure medicine and take out the trash in time for it to be collected. Today's WaPo has an article about packing lighter for (holiday) travel. Everything in it will be familiar to cruise regulars, except those who board with 26 pieces of luggage. But it linked to an article from last year that I thought was interesting, about shopping on the way to a holiday visit, that is, in the airport, the train station, or the gas station.

Oy oy oy oy oy. The circuit board was fried, but the cause appears to have been a fault in the thermostat wiring, which is inaccessible. A wireless thermostat may be the answer.