Peace

Santa is Europe now and Mrs. Claus is enjoying a little peace and quiet.

Yesterday was busy, though. Rudolf spent most of the day throwing up in the barn. (He has a case of flight anxiety every year.) The sleigh received a new coat of paint and the mechanics had it in tip top condition. There were no problems with the sleigh's pre-flight checks but there were problems with the de-icer just before take off which created some last minute tension.

The PR elves are still at work dealing with allegations that some of the reindeer use performance enhancing drugs and TMZ is reporting that Prancer is openly gay. I thought everyone already knew most of the reindeer are gay but, still, it creates headlines and parents worry over what to tell the children.

Last night, I made Cincinnati Chili for Santa's Christmas Eve dinner. I was looking up something in my Joy of Cooking and was surprised to come across the recipe. Santa comes home every year telling me about regional delicacies from around the world. You would think he'd bring home leftovers, but there aren't any. Ever.

He told me they put chili on spaghetti there although I can't even imagine why someone would want to do that. He told me it was an odd combination of nasty and addictive. In truth, it's somewhere in the middle.

It's not "chili" either, in the traditional sense. Among it's ingredients are allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and chocolate. It's served in "ways":

1-Way = chili
2-Way = chili on spaghetti
3-Way = add grated cheddar
4-Way = top with chopped onions
5-Way = top all with cooked red kidney beans

I went all the way. Santa skipped the beans although if there was any night of the year for him to eat them, it was the night before he was going to be out of the house for 24 hours.

Most of the elves are napping in piles of bows and glitter and I have just under twelve hours to myself.

Mrs. Clause is going to slip into the tub for a while, have a glass of wine, and read Fifty Shades of Grey.