Smokin' in the Garage

Sayre, of SayreSmiles, is the host today. Naturally she wants to know about the holiday that just passed. She wants touching and wonder, and crazy, stupid, and funny. I can't cover it all, but here's my contribution to the cause!
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On the 12th of December I drove the 6 hours to watch 7 month old little Caboose while Karmyn and Dave enjoyed a Saturday afternoon stage production and dinner. (You had to twist my arm, really!)

I also planned to enjoy the Christmas program in which Buttercup and Jammin’ would be participating, bake a cake with Buttercup for her mama’s birthday, and then head home for a week and come back with Grandpa for Christmas.

Then it started snowing. The forecast was cold and white. School was cancelled, and thus the performances by the children.

Between storms, I drove home on compact snow and ice.

More extreme weather arrived, and I-84 through the Cascade Mountains was closed.We (grandma and grandpa) would definitely not be driving anywhere for Christmas. We considered Amtrak until we read about the horrible delays.

Kim and Mike, our good friends, were in the same situation. Except, it was their parents who were forced to cancel a trip from southern Oregon. It seemed natural for us to spend Christmas together: Kim had lots of food (turkey and ham) and we love to eat!

Having always celebrated the holidays with one or both sets of parents, Kim had not previously prepared a turkey by herself. To her credit, it was one of the best turkeys we’d ever eaten. She basted and roasted it to perfection. Yum!

But… yes, dear Kim had a BUT in her lovely dinner. She placed the turkey dressing in a corning casserole on the stove top …on a burner. While she was bustling around putting the last touches on the Christmas feast, that wonderful tasty dressing began to char.

Kim smelled it first and scrambled to save it. Too late! It was blackened.

The dish had to be relegated to the garage, where the container could cool down and the burnt offering could “smoke” a bit. (The alternative spot was the two feet of snow in the 4 degree front yard. The sudden cold would most likely have cracked the glassware.)

The rest of the dinner was met with great enthusiasm.

Our conversation that afternoon, however, inadvertently took us to topics that allowed jokes about “smoking in the garage.” The laughter was fun and not at all critical.

Kim was a good sport and joined the merriment, even though she was irked that the food had burned to a crisp.

The "snow storm of Christmas '08" will be something we talk about in years to come, and “smoking in the garage” will be a cherished memory shared with good friends.

Go check out the links at Sayre's blog - to read more holiday stories.