Fact: The term “Xmas” dates back to the 1500s. Contrary to popular belief, “Xmas” is not a trendy attempt to take Christ out of Christmas. According to From Adam’s Apple to Xmas: An Essential Vocabulary Guide for the Politically Correct, “Christianity” was spelled “Xianity” as far back as 1100. X, or Chi, is the Greek first letter of “Christ” and served as a symbolic stand-in at the time. In 1551, the holiday was commonly called “Xtemmas,” which was later shortened to “Xmas.”
Merry Xmas is OK!
It was 4:55 AM when I heard the rain come down in buckets! I got up, tippy-toed into the kitchen, switched n the patio light (courtesy of Alexa), and watched the sky open up and dump oodles of rain into our garden!
It was raining hard!
I lept to the computer and checked the weather. It was supposed to stop around 10:00 AM, so I decided NOT to make an ark and went back to bed.
I was back up at 7:00 AM and checked the rain; it was still going, albeit a little less violent. Mary started to stir; I let her sleep because she needed to immobilize that arm.
When Mary woke up, I asked her, “What do snowmen wear on their heads? ” I got a strange “please do not tell me look,” but I blurted out, “Ice caps!” anyway.
I planned a nice lunch since Mary is beginning to have cabin fever. A pair of beautiful New York steaks with herbed potatoes and English peas came to mind.
Two New York’s coming up!
So at around 1:00 PM, I began fixing these beauties. I went to the garden, got several Rosemary sprigs, and then prepared garlic for the final touches. With a large heavy-bottomed pan, I started the steaks two minutes per side and then turned down the heat, added four tablespoons of butter, and we were off and running.
This one is mine!
While the steaks were cooking, I fixed small red potatoes with a package of Herbs de Province and some butter. I used our radar range to warm them up! The English shelling peas also got the microwave treatment.
They are burning well; they will add a great flavor!
These days, I keep the peals/shells and anything else that is non-greasy in a bucket just outside the patio door. Once a week, I add the contents to the garden. This is my treat for the worms specifically and the garden in general!
Feeding the worms
We had lunch at 1:45 PM, and it was so good I forgot to take pictures! The afternoon was spent watching movies at the breakfast table or in bed.
We did not eat dinner as we were both full, so we snacked on yogurt and sliced up fresh pears. Tomorrow Mary goes to the ortho to see what the action plan will be.
Scout got his first Christmas card of the season.
Merry Christmas, Scout!
We crashed early, and it was the first night that I did;r cough hardly at all.
