What are you doing today?

Do you, perchance, have a recipe for that divine lookig dish?

And, another - your humble scribe - who cannot be trusted around devilled eggs.....

I did actually ask :)

She said, "Oh, hard-boil eggs, cut in half, remove the yolks, mix those with a couple of big dollops of mayo, a squirt of yellow mustard and pickles all in the amounts you'd like, mix it and put it back in the halves of egg white".

Hahaha, so it's a pretty loose recipe, I'd think the mayo and pickles would be around the ratios of tuna fish salad, and you could go with sweet, or dill, or both, or even some kind of spicy pickle relish! We've done it all.

Oh yeah, and then we sprinkle a little ground paprika on the top, gives is a slight, pepper/smokey flavor, and just looks terrific too :)
 
I'm at work until 3pm. Yay lol

FWIW, I've been working all day, er, "working" I guess, I actually got some great code implemented (and some slick feature designs). Sometimes without pressure, with a beer, you can sort of sit back and make some breakthroughs.

I also saved the santa at the neighbors who are OOT, hahaha, it's huge, it blew over, I made some stakes and used some paracord and secured it (the wind was having like 35-40 MPH gusts !

Ham (it's like an 8-pounder, beautiful spiral cut with fresh cloves, a brown sugar glaze, yum) is in the oven, pasta salad, and homemade mac and cheese, it's silly good.

Fun XMas shows on, I'm onto many more beverages (I think maybe a Strawberry Manhattan!), and then shitloads of presents to wrap :D
 
I love deviled eggs.

DT's comment about a "loose recipe" sounds just like my wife. She concocts some delicious meals, and has been for years, which has been a major factor contributing to my expanding waistline.

When I tell her she could've run a successful restaurant with her food, she reminds me she's been doing it for so long that she doesn't even think in terms of recipes, ingredients or amount anymore. She just by rote throws in X of this and Y of that and cooks it at Z temperature. She never writes it down.

My reply is that she's not allowed to pass away first, or I'll go into culinary shock.

Oh yes...and the presents are wrapped and ready to present to the Christmas Eve family party we're not going to. Mrs. Veil and I will set the presents on the porch, step far back, and talk to everyone else from a distance.

Some members are not even coming to do that much, given the horrid weather that's rolling in. Roads getting slick, but I don't have that far to go.
 
Just spent an hour on the phone with a very good friend, who was the best student I ever taught, and whose eldest son is profoundly autistic.

She teaches law, and told me how - these days - some of her students run what they write through anti-plagiarism detecting software,(so that they can disguise their plagiarism and so that it will not be detected) before submitting a term paper, with the result that what they submit is gibberish, for legal language is quite specific. "They're high on sensitivity, but low on cop-on," she remarked.

Alos, while she is teaching remotely, some her her students have contracted Covid and have been very ill, and taken a long time to recover; just because young people rarely die from this condition doesn't mean that they are immune to it.

For Christmas, to save on stress and time, they have decided to order in some Thai food - "so that everyone gets what they like" a decision that her other two kids approve of whole-heartedly.
 
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Started work at 8am with some report writing and then decided by 10am that I’d stop working and play with the kids instead. Been eating pizza and drinking mulled wine along with chocolates and Christmas ale. Now settling down to sleep in readiness for getting up at 5am with 2 very excited little girls [emoji2359].
 
Did various things around the house, took a few photos, just hung out in general today, pretty much ignoring that this is Christmas Eve. Tomorrow, since I did not bother with snail-mail Christmas cards (actually haven't for several years now), I'll do the expected and send out emails and texts, make a few phone calls, to family and friends and that will take care of the Christmas scenario. Otherwise I'll do my usual things and it will pretty much seem like an ordinary day except for my holiday meal.

Already looking forward to the arrival of 2021 in just a few days' time!
 
Yes, a time of emails, Skype calls and phone calls.

Over the past few nights, I have enjoyed several lengthy chats with friends, or exchanged lengthy emails.

Merry Christmas - and Season's Greetings, to one and all, in these strange times.

Hope everyone has a lovely day, spnet (conditions permitting) with friends, or family, or "toute seule"; as a friend wrote "Keep negative for a Positive Future."
 
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Cross trainer this morning. Then went for a cold and frosty walk with Mrs AFB

Now having a bit of salad and pasta for lunch. No other plans for the day. Looking forward to tomorrow as today is one of my three least favourite days of the year.
 
Enjoyed lengthy chats - by phone - as visits are neither desirable nor possible on account of current Covid generated conditions - with both brothers this afternoon, Decent Brother and my Other Brother.
 
Mrs AFB just sticks it in the oven and cooks it until it’s as dry as the desert.
For future reference, the last roasting chicken (5 lbs) we cooked in the oven was for 2 hours basting it with butter every 20 minutes and it stayed quite moist. :):) Today the Cornish game hens we are cooking today maybe just over a pound each.
 
My German sister-in-law has been on the phone for over an hour and a half, and we had an excellent conversation.

Actually, I have had a number of terrific chats today, with both brothers and my sister-in-law.
 
For future reference, the last roasting chicken (5 lbs) we cooked in the oven was for 2 hours basting it with butter every 20 minutes and it stayed quite moist. :):) Today the Cornish game hens we are cooking today maybe just over a pound each.
Half a chicken breast each. Not sure what they weigh each, but we share it between us. Not really roasted either as the oil would cause Mrs AFB issues. So just a skinless chicken breast. A bit of salt and pepper.
 
I cannot be trusted if left unsupervised around either deviled eggs or guacamole. Not even while making them!
Same! But I like both eggs and avocado in any form. Yesterday I wanted eggs, so I made some poached eggs, grits, toast, and a smoked not-meat. Pure comfort food.

Meanwhile, I limit myself to buying Wholy Guacamole in the tiny tubs so I won’t just sit and eat it endlessly.
 
Just spent an hour on the phone with a very good friend, who was the best student I ever taught, and whose eldest son is profoundly autistic.

She teaches law, and told me how - these days - some of her students run what they write through anti-plagiarism detection software,(so that they can disguise their plagiarism and so that it will not be detected) before submitting a term paper, with the result that what they submit is gibberish, for legal language is quite specific. "They're high on sensitivity, but low on cop-on," she remarked.

Alos, while she is teaching remotely, some her her students have contracted Covid and have been very ill, and taken a long time to recover; just because young people rarely die from this condition doesn't mean that they are immune to it.

For Christmas, to save on stress and time, they have decided to order in some Thai food - "so that everyone gets what they like" a decision that her other two kids approve of whole-heartedly.

Another story re the anti-plagiarism detecting software used by the students:

She told me that an especially egregious essay had been submitted by one student, whereby the anti-plagiarism detecting software had rendered the entire paper pure, unadulterated, gibberish.

Instead of failing it outright, as an example of pure plagiarism, my former student politely returned the execrable essay to the student with a request that it be re-written "in plain English".

Anyway, the student replied by email, writing, in an aggrieved tone,"I'm stressed and very busy; can you mark out those parts of my essay that need to be re-written so that I don't have to go through the entire thing myself?"
 
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While I would have loved it, if Decent Brother was here with me, under current circumstances and conditions, that is not to be.

Instead we chatted, - at considerable and enjoyable and relaxed length - and I'm grateful that we can do that, and have the technology at our disposal which facilitates such communication.

And, moreover, - re the later hour and a half chat I had with my sister-in-law - I am very mindful that my German sister-in-law lost her father (to whom she was very close) earlier this year, and was unable to attend the funeral and memorial service as Covid travel related restrictions had kicked in - she hasn't been able to travel back to Germany since then to see her mother - and also, that she had a hysterectomy late in the summer; so, to a very large extent, she has just had a year from hell, and long, pleasant and interesting chats are to be appreicated and savoured and welcomed.
 
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