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21st Nov 06
M. R. SellarsSometimes, it is the little things in life that are the trigger…
For me, I think there are several of those little things, but among them is the wonderful, fattening, artery clogging, Egg Nog.
It doesn’t matter what sort of decorations appear on homes, in yards, at the mall, or anywhere else. Commercials on TV don’t hold a candle to it. Even Santa riding across the snowy hills on a Norelco ™ electric razor…(Yeah, unfortunately I am old enough to remember that when it originally aired…) Music, yeah whatever. Salvation Army buckets–here have some change, but it just ain’t doing it for me. Yule tree–pretty, but so what…
But, Egg Nog…Now there you have it. For me, the holidays have officially arrived when Egg Nog appears on the grocery store shelves (which it has been doing earlier and earlier every year…)
Now, I need to point out a couple of things. Yes, I do purchase commercial Egg Nog. Yes, I do doctor it with libations from the over 21 cabinet. However, commercial Egg Nog is by far an inferior product to the good old homemade “boiled custard” I fondly recall from my youth. I remember watching my grandmother (I called her Gram) and my mother standing at the stove, carefully and constantly stirring the nectar as it heated, thickened, and turned from mere milk, eggs, sugar, etc, into the drink that brings good cheer…
I, of course, have the family recipe deeply ingrained in my memory, and have, from time to time, emulated that scene, making a batch of the Holiday Indulgence for family and friends. Unfortunately, I don’t always have the time necessary to do it properly…And, when making good old fashioned Southern boiled custard, one cannot rush…
Two cartons of the commercial Nog have taken up residence in my refrigerator even as I type this. While they certainly aren’t “the real thing” in my way of mind, they are close enough to trigger the delightful memory…And, even though they just moved in, I suspect that a glass, some good Kentucky Bourbon, and I will be evicting them fairly soon…
Then, I guess some of their relatives will have to move in to fill the vacant spots…Temporarily, of course. 
MR
