Christmas eve

Since I'm not staying in a hotel I don't have a desk or a bedside table.  I do, however, have an unused grill that I am using as a side table, so here's what is currently on it as I cook dinner.

As you can see, I am cooking Italian Sausage over the fire on bamboo skewers.  Although I managed to cook three of them I will rate this method as "Poor".  The skewers burn through at the ends far faster than the sausage cooks, leading one of the sausages to fall into the fire.  I ate it anyway after brushing off a bit of ash, as it fell on a piece of wood rather than into the thick layer of ash at the bottom of the pit.   The cheese is a Gouda and the wine is a Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages. 

You may be wondering about the choice of wine, but I honestly can't think of a good reason why I would drink plonk just because I am camping.  Anyway, a good wine that only costs about $14 a bottle is well worth the investment, especially if you buy it in bulk and save 10% as most grocery stores will do.

It is a bit odd to be spending Christmas eve away from any family at all.  I'm trying to think back and remember whether this is unprecedented and I can't remember.   1983 I spent with Uncle and Aunt in Wisconsin on weekend leave from boot camp, 1991 we got back from the Persian Gulf just before Christmas (although that may have been the year that my brother and his GF borrowed my truck to drive back home and I stayed in California).  Most other years I have either been home or with other family.  Oh well, either way I'll be headed to the beach tomorrow morning to do a little surfing so should be a good morning.