Christmas Eve Eve
Category: Kitchen Sink...
Posted Saturday, December 23, 2006 at 10:36 PM [GMT-6]

Just a quick report from the old homestead in Fort Stockton, where our normal holiday schedule has been rearranged to accommodate a somewhat unusual placement of Christmas on the calendar.

The Siegmund clan normally gathers for a Tex-Mex meal on Christmas Eve, but since that falls on Sunday this year, we've elected to instead have a combined luncheon with both my family and that of MLB in attendance. That led to our moving the Tex-Mex up a day, and in my opinion, the sooner you can eat homemade Mexican food, the better.

The menu tonight consisted of ratones (yeah, that translation is accurate; they're cheese-stuffed jalapeños, battered and deep-fried, and the stems make them look, you know, rodent-like), the traditional homemade tamales (chicken and pork) and burritos, guacamole, chips and salsa, and chili. Dessert was my mother's peach cobbler made with some Fredericksburg peaches saved in the freezer for just such an occasion.

We then settled back for that next great Texas holiday tradition -- football -- as the Division 1, Class 5A state championship game between Southlake Carroll and Westlake high schools was broadcast on TV. Very exciting game, right up until Southlake did the expected and pulled ahead for good with about five minutes remaining in the game.

Think this isn't an intense experience for the players? At one point during the drive that turned the game, the Southlake quarterback paused briefly during the snap count to puke, finished the count, took the snap, and threw a completed pass that led to a touchdown. He then threw up again as he left the field.

Tomorrow's a big day, and I hope you're spending it with those you love. I don't know if I'll have anything posted here other than the Gazette's traditional Christmas tribute, but please accept our wishes for a joyful and blessed Christmas holiday.