Merry Christmas From the Bunker!
I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday, and Santa (Santy) brings you everything you’re hoping for, whether it be physical loot, a positive life-change, or any combination thereof.
I sincerely appreciate the continued support, and am very proud of the community we’ve built here. You guys are great, and I don’t say it often enough. So, I’m saying it now: Thank you!
Toney’s been hard at work on the Christmas Feast since before I was even off the platform this morning, and we have plenty of Yuengling Lager and Maker’s Mark to, you know, enhance the holiday spirit.
Tonight’s main food event will be barbecued beef, which is a yearly tradition at our house. We cook it for hours and hours, then pull it apart with a fork and make sangliches on good rolls. I’m not sure how it started, but Christmas Eve wouldn’t be the same without barbecue sandwiches, and a ridiculous spread of barbecue sandwich accessories.
So, what are your food and drink plans for the holidays? Do you have any family traditions, or anything like that? I used to get excited about the presents under the tree; the ones with my name on them, anyway. But now it’s all about eating and drinking — eating and drinking, and worrying that we didn’t spoil our kids quite enough this Christmas. That’s what the holidays are all about, at this point in my history.
Have a great one, my friends!
I’ll see you soon.
Wait! I almost forgot one of our other Christmas traditions. Every year I like to link to this heartwarming story song by Red Sovine, who was my paternal grandmother’s first cousin. I don’t know what that makes him to me, but give his song a listen, anyway. It’s called “Faith in Santa,” and man, it’s… memorable.
Filed under: Daily
Merry Christmas everyone!
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Merry Christmas to all! I sincerely appreciate all of the laughs .
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Merry Christmas Surf Reporters…..
we’re kicking it right now at the office party. A metric shit ton of food, the boss broke out 5ths of whiskey and scotch & a case of beer.
We have leftover food from a party last night, so that’ll be dinner this evening.
For Christmas dinner: Black Forest ham, mashed potatoes, asparagus, salad, rolls, etc. etc.
Have a good one everybody, I’m going to go back to getting drunk with my employer.
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We take the easy out on Christmas Eve and Day. We just plan on lots of finger foods (summer sausage, cheese, crackers) and frozen snacks. Just cook up a big mess of all that, lay it out and graze until it’s gone.
Merry Christmas to all!
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Happy Holidays. Hope you get to eat a can of corn, motherfuckers.
My very best wishes to my amigos at the wvsr. Maybe we can make some sense of all this next year, but it seems so unlikely. At least we can try and fail together, which is something.
love & kisses,
johnthebasket
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Makers Mark sounds good to me, maybe a sixer of Stone IPA!
Hears to a load of laughs in the coming year! Cheers!
43 minutes to go and it’s party time!
Merry Christmas everybody!!
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Give or take ten minutes. jeesh
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Merry Christmas Surf Reporters! I don’t comment often enough, but I really love reading all of your comments every day, and you all have built one hella of a great, and freaking hilarious community here. Thank you, Jeff, for opening up your crazy life to us, and can’t wait for your book to become a huge success. Okay, enough of the sentimental crap! Have a great one, and I’ll be throwing back a cuppa two tree Maker’s here in Baltimore too.
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Amigos,
Here’s my favorite Christmas poem. It’s about a businessman who ruins a competitor (who is also his friend) in a business transaction, then seeks redemption at Christmastime. Edwin Arlington Robinson manages to write this in sonnet form. I think it relates some of what I felt every Christmas when I was a corporate guy…jtb
.
Karma
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Christmas was in the air and all was well
With him, but for a few confusing flaws
In divers of God’s images. Because
A friend of his would neither buy nor sell,
Was he to answer for the axe that fell?
He pondered; and the reason for it was,
Partly, a slowly freezing Santa Claus
Upon the corner, with his beard and bell.
Acknowledging an improvident surprise,
He magnified a fancy that he wished
The friend whom he had wrecked were here again.
Not sure of that, he found a compromise;
And from the fulness of his heart he fished
A dime for Jesus who had died for men.
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Merry Christmas from NJ!
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Mom and Dad’s then the In laws house then home to savor the joyous sounds of silence as we drift off to sleep with sugar coated hams, dark beers and several other nasty, “bad-for-you” things running around the circulatory systems!!
God bless us, every one!
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Merry Christmas Surf Reporters!
Thanks for another year full of laughs
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Tonight (Christmas Eve) we’re going to my in-laws as we always do. We have German food and sing Christmas carols in German (sonds terrible).
On Christmas morning we always go have breakfast at Waffle House. I always fuck up and get the same thing every year – hash browns all the way – and then I regret it. Not this year. I want a plate of bacon, a plate of sausage, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a pancake or two. Mark my words, friends, for the first time in years I WILL NOT fuck up my Waffle House Christmas morning breakfast order.
Then we’ll come back and do Santy. My 3.5 year old finally gets it. She asked Santy for a pink car that she can drive. So, of course, that’s exactly what she’s getting.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I enjoy spending time with yall.
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I like the way you think, WB. I’m going to Wegmans right now, and buy some Stone IPA. Best beer ever? Possibly.
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Who’d have thought that I’d ever get to be in the top twenty comments? I have nothing to say…I’m just in shock. Usually I’m at the bottom of the heap.
You guys are great! Merry Christmas to all. these crazy holidays (News Years included) will be over soon…then what will we have to look forward to?
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For Christmas traditions, I use to date a girl that had a cool one! Everyone in her family, parents,siblings everyone would wear red socks on Christmas day – no matter where in the world they lived! Just a thing they did to stay united on Christmas day.
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Christmas at our house is Lasagna with salad and then to church for the Christmas Eve service. I knwo some that read this board have issues with organized religion, but since it is Christmas, I want to share something……”Therefore the Lord shall give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14
This was written by the prophet Isaiah some 700 years before the birth of Christ. One unique thing about this prophecy is that it is fulfilled word for word in Matthew 1:23 which says “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which interpreted is, God with us.” The odds of this happening have been calculated at 10 to the 17th power to 1, or one hundred thousand trillion to 1! Kinda staggering to even think about. This in itself is proof that the birth of Jesus was no normal birth and it brought the Messiah into the world.
I think what we need to remember is that Christmas is only the beginning of the story. It is a wonderful thing, but totally meaningless without the cross. In
John 15:15 , Jesus says, “Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.” Isn’t it amazing that God considers us friends. Not subjects, not slaves, not servants, but friends. Just before Jesus said this he also said in verse 13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” This is exactly what Jesus did for us. I think this is what Christmas is all about!
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We do the German thing too on Christmas Eve, when the whole damn family congregates at one house and wreaks havoc. My mother will break out an ancient LP of German Christmas carols, and my siblings and I will sing along mockingly in falsetto to match the voices in the boys choir. The scratch, scratch, scratching as the record turns has become a time-honored tradition, and we all know just where the music will skip until the person sitting next to the turntable gives it a nudge. Booze will be plenty so that we can forget our cares for a few hours because this year has been our annus horribilis.
This Christmas will be very humble, with parents giving fewer presents than in the past — and only for the little ones. Times are tough for one sibling whose long-time business is failing in the bad economy (not to mention that 2 weeks ago, his 7-year-old son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes); another sibling whose husband just spent $40,000 winning a nasty custody battle with his ex; and another who is in the process of a divorce and will likely lose her house in the bargain. Bankruptcy looms for the first two in the New Year. However, despite all the dysfunctional familial relationships and unfortunate circumstances, we circle the wagons and take care of our own. And surprisingly, we are OK. Because that’s just what we do. Stiff upper lip and all. Have another beer.
Whatever, your circumstances this year, I hope you all enjoy yourselves for at least a little while and stay safe. Give the kids an extra squeeze for me. Merry Christmas!
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Jerry in WV – I think we all agree: your comment about the real meaning of Christmas is appreciated! It’s easy to get caught up in all the hoopla of the holiday; the spending and commercialism, etc. Of course, family and friends are important, but so is giving at least a moments thought to Jesus! Oh, don’t get me started on religious stuff…we’ll be here all day! I will quit now.
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From all the comments, sounds like there’s gonna be some good eatin’ going on! The drinks I can do without, as I’ve never had a drop of alcohol in my life. I’d make a lousy bartender because I don’t know anything about drinks or how to mix them. But the food you all have mentioned sounds absolutely wonderful. Happy Holidays.
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30 miles south,
You need to have some drinks, for shitsake. At least promise us you’ll suck down a few on New Year’s Eve.
Merry Christmas Jeff!
Merry Christmas Surf Reporters!
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Merry Christmas, Everyone!!1 You all make my days lighter and funnier and I appreciate every single one of you.
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Jeff I bought you a plot of land in Scotland for a Christmas present : Your property is registered as: W6KEDT and you can look at it on Laphroaig.com I am hoping you will use the land to build a Yurt and open it up as a surf reporter retirement home!!!!
Thank you all for the laughs, your sense of humour, and your tolerance of mine!
Merrry Christmas.
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Dear Mr Kay,
It’s a great pleasure to officially welcome you as a Friend of Laphroaig®. It’s a fine thing to be associated with a drink with such an illustrious past. I should know. I’ve been connected with Laphroaig® Single Islay Malt Whisky in one way or another all my life. My father worked at Laphroaig back then and it was always being brought to my attention with all the awards it received over the years, so when I was given a chance to work here I jumped at it.
I progressed within the distillery until 2005 when I was offered the post of Distillery Manager. Something that makes me really proud is the fact I am also the first Ileach (native to Islay) to manage the distillery in its 190 plus year history. By joining our Friends of Laphroaig club hopefully you too will sample the special atmosphere around our wonderful distillery.
Today your ‘Friends of Laphroaig’ club boasts over 260,000 plot holders spanning 150 different countries around the world. It started from humble beginnings over 10 years ago with individuals writing to the distillery wanting to know more or to be put in touch with other lovers of Laphroaig. We decided to give each friend a lifetimes lease on a square foot of the land we bought long ago to protect our all important water source- the Kilbride stream. As your club grew it became too expensive to send letters to everyone personally. Fortunately the World Wide Web came to our rescue.
Today members come to our private website to build their ‘virtual’ home on their plot, they chat, meet friends from their country or their next door neighbours in the field, join in our auctions, competitions and of course to obtain special ‘Friends’ bottlings of Laphroaig whiskies and other merchandise from our online shop.
We also update your website every month with all the latest news from the distillery.
Each member receives a personalised digital certificate of land ownership. We will email you in the next few days when your certificate is ready for collection on the website. However you do not have to wait to join our online club, simply go to the Laphroaig website, http://www.laphroaig.com/friends and enter your username and password.
This username and password can be changed if you choose once you have joined by editing your personal details within your virtual plot on the website.
I look forward to counting you as a Friend of Laphroaig® for years to come – whether you visit our remote island or not (I hope you will one day). We always enjoy reading your correspondence and e-mails, so make sure you keep in touch.
One more thing – to make sure your emails from Laphroaig arrive safe and sound, please add us to your email ‘Safe’ or ‘Preferred Sender’ list.
Yours sincerely
John Campbell
Distillery Manager
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Happy Christmas!
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Tequilia in Constant Comment orange spice tea (hot).
Just me and Bev. She also bought some Barcardi dark and hot butterd rum mix. I fear I will need a blood transfusion and possiblly a new liver by New Years.
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Pagan, I’m having a little trouble logging-in, but I’ll figure it out. I appreciate it! Looks cool. I’m looking forward to developing my plot of land — and someday visiting it.
Thank you, and merry Christmas!
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I hit enter too quick (see tequilia reference above) and didn’t get to say…thanks Jeff for leaving the lights on 24/7… and my best to you and your family.
And to all you guys/ gals here…anybody C negaitive?
…just sayin’…
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Jeff: username:surfreporter
password:aylsham
please change your details once you log on!
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Quiet Christmas here in Nawlins!! Since we left West by God 22 years ago we haven’t been home for Christmas. My daughter and I cook Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, Ham, turke, dressing all the “fixins” and it’s just the 2 of us. We do the same for Thanksgiving. We lay on the couch in our PJ’s, eat, and watch the parades and football!!. we make calls to our family and enjoy the quiet.
I do SOMETIMES, miss the crazy run around days of growing up in Dunbar. Christmas Eve with my family and cousins at grandparents, helping grandmother make doughnuts to take to the fire dept, and everyone being together.
But the older I get the more I like the quiet!!
Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for let me be part of your community !!
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Merry Christmas, my fellow Surf Reporters! We’ve got one kid here who is bouncing around at supersonic speeds, so please excuse any typos.
The spiral sliced ham is in the fridge and will go into the oven as soon as the last shred of wrapping paper flutters slowly to the living room floor, and I’ve laid in a supply of Guinness for the day. I think we’ve overlooked dessert, but after holiday dinners we’re usually too stuffed to care much about dessert anyway.
I hope everyone’s day is wonderful, and encourage all to give a thought to those far from their families for whatever reason this year.
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Dear Mr Kay,
Congratulations on your membership with the Friends of Laphroaig club.
Your certificate of land ownership is now ready for collection at:
http://www.laphroaig.com/friends/bureau/certificates/index.asp?plot_no=411917&user_id=664440
One more thing – to make sure your emails from Laphroaig arrive safe and sound, please add us to your email ‘Safe’ or ‘Preferred Sender’ list.
Kind Regards
Friends of Laphroaig
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Merry Christmas Surf Reporters!
Jeff the other tradition, the placement of your favorite ornament (pickle) on the Christmas tree?
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Good Evening Surf Reporters….
I think Linus summed it up right….
Snoopy agreed…
the Angel said
unto them, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord.”
“And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men.” “Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy.
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown…..
…of course Linus also believed in the Great Pumpkin
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…and I say and I say on this very merry day. Merry Christmas to you all and now get the fuck off my lawn!!!
Bryn – I’ll give the “boys” an extra hug just for you!!
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All time best (and mandatory) Christmas food:
Roast leg of lamb with cloves of garlic stuffed into the meat and rubbed with olive oil and greek seasoning
Pita (not the stuff the philistines call peeduh bread) made with phillo dough and good bulgarian feta
greek olives
Rice
It’s also good for Easter, birthdays, and any other time you feel like it. Turkey is still allowed on Thanksgiving.
Merry Chirstmas everybody.
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by the way, for what it’s worth, ……..I’m just saying…
johnthebasket has some good things to say, glad to see someone else watching the balance on their Karma Kard.
…
Karma
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Christmas was in the air and all was well
With him, but for a few confusing flaws
In divers of God’s images. Because
A friend of his would neither buy nor sell,
Was he to answer for the axe that fell?
He pondered; and the reason for it was,
Partly, a slowly freezing Santa Claus
Upon the corner, with his beard and bell.
Acknowledging an improvident surprise,
He magnified a fancy that he wished
The friend whom he had wrecked were here again.
Not sure of that, he found a compromise;
And from the fulness of his heart he fished
A dime for Jesus who had died for men.
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Merry Christmas Jeff and fambly…and my fellow surf-reporters! Thank you all for being such a great group of…well…friends.
I hope Santa is good to all!
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Merry Christmas, Jeff and Toney!! And thanks for all the laughs during the year!
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Being a single guy my Christmas is pretty uncomplicated. No presents to buy and no cards to write. Christmas dinner will consist of a Turkey Hungry Man TV Dinner and locally produced grain alcohol from a mason jar.
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http://twitter.com/JohnnyBCool
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Merry Christmas to you all from Nome, Alaska! Just the usual Christmas here…working the midnight shift, then going home for a quick nap before starting the usual…Honey Baked ham, mashed taters and gravy, veggies, homemade crescent rolls, and cheese cake topped with cherries for dessert. Big meal will be Sunday, after my ex-wife’s son arrives…Prime rib, 5 pounds of crab legs, homemade bread, apple pie, pecan pie, and his fave, lemon meringue.
And to Jeff, and ALL the surf reporters, Happy Holidays! Seriously, as weird as it may sound, you guys make this world such a wonderful place to live in. Just knowing that there are other people out there with a similar sense of humor…yet know when to cry, makes me proud to be a part of all this!
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Merry Christmas to all and thanks for the hilarity. Keep it coming for 2010!
I’m not a BIG feast cook so I took the easy way out and ordered a Turkey dinner from Raley’s. To be supplemented by some homemade beer and store bought wine.
We “opened” the Christmas stocking on Christmas Eve and today after church and the Christmas play (the 5 year old graduated from sheep to shepherd this year) we’ll open the rest of the gifts. Don’t think it will be a quiet day since there are several Wii games under the tree. Oh, well.
Merry Christmas Mr. Kay and fam.
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@johnthebasket and shinyrod—i think i’m in love with both of you!!!
@everyone else MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR
Jeff-i hope your book is a smash best seller and you can tell your boss to shove it up his ass and blow it out his nose. then retire and write full time.
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Oh my dear lord!! I clicked on the grandmas cousins brothers Christmas song and expected to laugh my ass off, BUT NO, here I am almost in tears.
@ CitzenX, not sure if you know this but placing the very last ornament, a pickle, is a German tradition.
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Oh and Merry Christmas Jeff!
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Clintcurtis, you couldn’t have said it better. Not everyone has “our” sense-of-humor. This is home to me!!
For Christmas Eve I made cornish hens stuffed with wild rice and mushrooms with lemon/garlic sauce, green beans in browned butter and roasted shrimp cocktail….just for the two of us. Candlelit and romantic.
Today we got to my boyfriend’s fambly’s house for dinner. Nothing fancy but still fun.
Merry Christmas to all.
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Just found a band I’d like to join!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-WXEWbPMYc&feature=player_embedded
Merry Christmas all………….Cheers!
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A fun thing to do is to imagine Red Sovine doing his own rendition of Prince’s “Little Red Corvette”.
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Loved the song… sounds a lot like Tom T. Hall! By the way, since you asked in the last column… yes, I do remember the date I lost my virginity… it’s a little easier for me since it was the first day of spring, March 21. Plus, it was only 6 years ago, but I’ll always remember the date, no matter how old I get.
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Maybe my husband and I can go visit your 1-inch-square plot of land next year if we follow through on our plan to take our first-ever vacation…in Scotland…visiting distilleries!
We may have accidentally started a new tradition this year when I drunkenly volunteered my husband to bring smoked beef brisket to dinner. It was amaaaaazing and we are still scarfing down leftovers. Getting up in the dark at 5:30 a.m. to shovel our way to the smoker, bitching the whole time, will also be part of the tradition.
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…and Ryan’s only 43, so there’s hope for the rest of us yet…jtb
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Merry Christmas to most; happy belated Hannukah to some.
No real fambly traditions… we made a quick 24-hour visit to the GF’s mom. Had a truly excellent ham, raised and produced in Williamsport PA. She lives north of there, in (very) rural Tioga County. Per recent tradition, I got drafted into fixing some home network problems while we watched “Christmas Story” and “Christmas Vacation” a few times. Got some good pictures of the horses. Oh, and I did have a bowl of corn – motherfuckers.
@Pagan, funny you should mention Laphroiag – I received a bottle as a gift today, and am just now dipping into it. I’ve been a fan for some decades, since before FoL existed, and am enjoying getting reacquainted. This stuff is truly the ultimate Islay: pure, extreme, hardcore. I’ll be having another in a minute. I need to visit before I die. No, I’ve never met a whisky I didn’t like – what of it?
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Hope everyone had a great Christmas. My husband and I spent Christmas eve at home and had lobster tails, porterhouse steak piroghis, and peas for our dinner. For Christmas I made lasagne, roast beef, mashed taters n gravy, corn, rolls, pumpkin roll, cream apple pie, cookies, cake…… it was really nice having the kids drive to our house and my daughter brought Dad so he wouldn’t have to drive in the dark. I enjoy coming here every day, thanks everyone for all the laughs! Of course we all love Jeff, it goes without saying.
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Greg: Thank you for being so gracious in accepting my corrections about the Essex a couple days ago. I was a little grouchy about it, but you accepted my comments with real class. You were certainly classier than I was that day, and I appreciate and acknowledge it.
clint: Your comments above are articulate, clear, and right on. If I could write that fluently my posts would be much shorter. You certainly said what was in my heart. Good luck at the top of the world.
Hope everybody had a bang-up Christmas Day. Today (Saturday) is Boxing Day for Pagan and many others, and, without knowing what weight class Pagan fights in, I wish him luck. P, if you need a corner man, just let me know.
jtb
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Merry Christmas Surf Reporters!
My family doesn’t have any traditions. We just do the same thing year after year.
OK, that’s not entirely true, this is only my 3rd year in this family so I’m still getting used to it… Lots of food, lots of drink, wide varieties because there were 3 different celebrations. Meat, veg, dessert, drinks, rinse, repeat.
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We have a Christmas tradition in our family that consists of whenever the first day after Christmas my wife pisses me off, ALL the decorations, including the tree and outside lights come down immediately. Thats right, they lasted until Saturday morning. Hope everyone had a good one.
On IPOD right now- “Love Will Tear Us Apart”- Joy Division
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Our tradition is a lobster meal on Christmas Eve, then Smoking Bishop on Christmas day. It’s like a hot sangria. Scrooge says to Cratchit in the end of A Christmas Carol,
We’ll talk it over a hot bowl of Smoking Bishop”. It was one of Dicken’s favorite drinks.
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