One more of those ditties and I’ll go on a rampage. I drove past the local church to try and find parking. I had run out of balsamic vinegar, an item much needed in my cooking the Holy Raan. This Raan dish is for North Indian Moghuls and Oosterman tribe each Christmas.
As I drove past the church it showed a luridly bright pink sign which said the most profound ; “Jesus is the reason for the season.’ This, just after I had recovered from a solid bout of some clear-sighted despair and much festive gloom. I wavered and felt like another good old re-visit to darkness and despair. Miraculously, a parking place offered itself and I was able to get to the sourness of the vinegar. A child was being smacked by an overwrought mother. Noelll, Noeeeelll, the Coles supermarket amplified over the Dairy division. The poor child, trying to help mum had dropped a Kilo of ‘plain yoghurt’ which exploded on the linoleum floor. Poor mum, nothing is ever plain.
I went home and inspected my 4 Kilo leg of sheep sweetly being marinated in a large oven dish in the fridge. For those that want the best Christmas dish, look up Raan recipe by Juli Sahni. The leg of lamb needs three days of marinating in a slurry of all sorts of ingredients. It really works each year and you will get praised to smithereens.
I’ll have to keep this post short and snappy. Within minutes of the grandsons arriving I was sitting in the Emergency ward of Bowral Hospital. Thomas had cut his foot on a shard of glass. This a result of a bottle falling on the tiled floor of the kitchen. Doctor Tony inspected the cut and cleaned it out. Thomas was back playing cricket twenty minutes later. Noeeel, Noellll. Jesus is the reason for…..?. Oh no!
Anyway. This is it till further notice. “A happy Christmas and season’s best” wishes to all of you having had the patience and endurance to keep reading so many drivelling words in some order.. Nothing profound here. Try next door.
Therese Trouserzoff said:
Dear Gez, Helvi and all our friends at the PA, many thanks for your fine contributions this year. It’s been one of those watersheds years that we realise, some time after the event as marking a turning point for us. My cousin Terry has gone straight. After nearly three decades of practicing the law, he’s packed it in and gotten himself a volunteering job – driving semi-edible food around to old people who have lost the ability or the desire to feed themselves.
You know, I actually think Terry’s kicked himself up a handful of spiritual notches and he seems a lot more contented and at peace doing something for somebody else with no thought of compensation and the courage to discover one of his regulars having passed on.
He likes to quote the late great Kurt Vonnegut. “So it goes”.
I love the photos of your young tribe members G&H. FM and I’ll be hanging out for a long time before we can point to some new additions, what with the Emmlets charging on with their studies into careers with a lot of challenges and rewards – and always a human face.
Time to get back into the doing all this stuff before Santa – or Bill Shorten gets here – I keep forgetting which one is real and which one is a smiling folk tale. Our very best wishes. Cheers to all.
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hph said:
merry holiday gerard and helvi and vivienne and hooooo and algernon and david and mike and big m and shoe and lehan and to all your loved ones and to many others who don’t talk to me 🙂
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Therese Trouserzoff said:
Seasons Greetings, hph. May the goddess shine on you and all those around you. Have a merry Christmas, and a a fortuitous new year !
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sandshoe said:
Love your piece, Gerard. With a recipe. Too good.
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algernon1 said:
Compliments of the season to Helvi and your good self.Like the idea of the lamb. However I’m off to cook the Turkey for tomorrow.
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gerard oosterman said:
Thank you Algy and the same to you and family from Helvi and I. Also many thanks for your untiring musical contributions. Fabulous!
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Hung One On said:
Viv’s raan is excellent Gez, I cooked the recipe once here me me Tutu and Astyages.
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vivienne29 said:
Gerard ! I wrote the recipe for Raan a few years ago. Remember – you commented. Will be delish! (Though can’t think was the balsamic is for.) Happy Christmas to you – grandchildren be with you I assume. Love to the lovely Helvi.
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gerard oosterman said:
Thank you lovely Viv,
Yes I do remember. I will turn the lamb over again to night so that the marinade can get right into the meat which I skewered all round.
Grand-sons already used up a month supply of our allowable Data in just two days with their bloody tablets. Grrrr.
I now have to use the Telstra free top-op.
Love to you from Helvi and me.
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vivienne29 said:
And some more hugs and kisses back.
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gerard oosterman said:
And all the best of cheer and red reindeer with Shiraz to the Big M fam as well. Geez, the ER at Bowral is fast. A couple of weeks ago I had a kind of odd turn; in /out within 30 minutes. The same with our grandson and his bloody foot. In and out quickly.
This time tomorrow things will be busy with grandsons and daughter over again. Hope the weather stays nice and cool.
Anyone had a good root lately?
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Hung One On said:
Got some excellent carrots at the market as a side dish for Roast Duck. Carrots are cut in strips, steamed and served with nuts that come from the wall, crushed and maple syrup. Beautiful weather here in whatever the town is called.
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gerard oosterman said:
Cole dale?
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Hung One On said:
Close to my old stomping ground, no still stuck here in Tin Pot Town, see below.
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Big M said:
‘Anyone had a good root lately?’
I’m working on it, a coupla glasses of prosecco and a back rub in the spa bath may ease us into one.
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gerard oosterman said:
I had steamed turnips with beet-root back garnished with crushed ginger and some horse-radish. A side dish for smoked duck.
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Hung One On said:
Except for the turnips, beetroot, ginger and horseradish that sounds terrific. 🙂
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gerard oosterman said:
How to get traction in a bath always threw us.
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Big M said:
No, none of that caper, it’s all just a warm up for later. Wink wink.
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sandshoe said:
I immediately had seen so to speak yourself sittibg in a bath (no rescue helicopter and no premature baby child) in the throes of near coitus and nevertheless a hand over the edge of the bath writing messages for the bar, noble Xmas gesture to keep us all close as we gather from far and abroad.. ir was nothing he said later, I was only doing my duty. O, ok. 😉
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sandshoe said:
Few typographical errors…sorry … Gerard, message for you, here about traction. I don’t really get excited … didn’t ever … about those satin sheets, similarly. No traction. Give me a good quality thread Egyptian cotton any day.
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Big M said:
Happy Saturnalia to the Oosters.
We had the family Christmas on the 23rd, as I am working on the Great day, yes, sick patients need care 24/7 as the Americans like to say.
Very liberating, my boss said that he had his Christmas last Saturday, as he too is working. He reckoned it didn’t seem so odd having take away Indian for Christmas dinner!
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Hung One On said:
I ain’t working no more so I can enjoy sky pixie day at home this year.
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Big M said:
‘aint workin’, you retired, young fella?
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algernon1 said:
Luxury at his age Big.
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Hung One On said:
Sort of, quit the job, house for sale, campervan on lay-by, will let everyone know more when it’s a bit closer, probably Feb at this stage, agency work can plug the wages till off if needed, and I AM FUCKING SICK OF WORKING FUCKING NIGHT SHIFT. Deep breaths now but I can feel the benefit already.
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gerard oosterman said:
Keep well and all the best from H and G.
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Big M said:
Oh, I get it, you are actually fucking orff, good to hear. I may fuck orff one day, too!!
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Hung One On said:
Sick of it Big so yep I’m off. Tutu will join me from time to time and I will still work from time to time depending on the cash flow.
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Big M said:
If you keep your van in a semi-permanent place, I think you can get rent assistance!
Failing that, I could drop in and shout youz a schooie.
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Hung One On said:
Thanks Big, I’ll keep that in mind.
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vivienne29 said:
All the very best for your new life venture Hung. I’d be sick of working nights too. Enough is enough!
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sandshoe said:
Hung! Got shot of that fucking work thing at all hours of the night and another night and another! Good thing too! It’s un-Australian to be awake when you ought to be asleep! You’re too young to be working at night and soon to be dead with it!
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