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RRYC NEWSLETTER This is the December Newsletter, and I ramble on. Don't read it if you have anything important to do. And just because I am doing one for December, that does not mean that I will get to do one in January. Don't want to raise anyone's expectations. Big new boat at the dock. See the website. New pilings going in at Duncan's. The wind that came a couple weeks back actually bent the windex on Vixen, but some folks had a bigger problem than that. Lost sail, blown-over bimini, piling came loose. It was quite a storm, as the folks who were there tell it. Henry lost a tree by the water. Target is selling Holmes ceramic heaters in a two-for box for $29.95. That is not really much of a sale, and it does not qualify as a genuine two-for, because the things usually run a little under $20 in the first place. Anyway, I thought it a good time to get one for Random and one for the clubhouse on cold nights. Don't forget, you are on your own for heating until we collectively make a decision, come February. And the decision may be that You Are On Your Own For Heating. Or we may buy a couple larger electric ones and pay Duncan for the extra power usage. No kerosene, no gas--doesn't leave a lot of choices. If you want to try a nice dessert drink, the Buttery Nipple is one that some of the ladies used to bring to fox hunts on nippy mornings. It is Bailey's and butterscotch schnapps mixed one to one. Some folks make it as a shooter, but I like to sip it. It has been around a long time and I hadn't had one in ages, but I was browsing in the ABC store a couple weeks ago, and it sort of jumped out at me. By coincidence, I was in the store up at Flowers some time later and the clerk was telling a customer to try it. I got a nice broccoli casserole recipe out of the paper a while back and finally tried it last week. I liked it a lot. Couple of little boxes of frozen broccoli cooked and added to a mix of one can of cream of mushroom soup, a beaten egg, a quarter cup of mayonnaise, a tablespoon of prepared horse radish, one and one half cups of shredded cheddar and a quarter cup of milk. Put it in a greased two-quart casserole. I spread about a half cup of Pepperidge Farm dressing mixed with 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter on top. Cooked at 350 for about 45 minutes. Very yum. The horseradish is there, but you have to look for it. Very delicate. I was telling Jan's roomie about the oyster and cream cheese spread I did at Thanksgiving and she started laughing at me. Turns out that this is an hors d’oeuvre her family has made for holidays as long as she can remember. Is nothing really new? Rhetorical question, that. We have a new stove top. Thank Dave Groening for doing a bunch of shopping about that saved the club $200, and thank Cheryl Maupin for transporting it from Raleigh on the truck with the furniture for her NEW PLACE at Pamlico Beach, and thank Bob Haynes for getting it installed. This is about a $300 jolt to our budget and we were running, at most, a $900 surplus. Things happen and things wear out and things get lost, and God knows we need more counter space in the kitchen, but starting now, let's use the stoves as stoves and not as counter space. I will be careful, and you do, too. Might be that we ought to consider setting up the hors d’oeuvres on the bar where the TV lives, so that the kitchen bar can be used more for kitchen-y activities and might, just might, be a little less crowded. The Second Saturday in December drew a good crowd for another excellent meal and an exchange of gifts. There were collards, chicken legs, chili, salads, shrimps, pork loin, ham and I don't know what all. It is easy to get jaded about the Rat buffet. We had about three dozen folks in the gift exchange, which Pam Sinclair oversaw and kept moving along. Lots of enthusiasm, lots of nice gifts, lots of laughs. Arden says she is getting a good response on the NYE Party and I, for one, am looking forward to it. Jan and I plan to stay through the second. Wouldn't it be nice if we could actually go out on the river? January before last, Jake and I went out in Vixen on one of those days that you don't soon forget. The breeze was moderate and consistent; the temperature was in the 70s. I read a book and steered, Jake slept in the sun. I had to put on a sweatshirt as the day wore on and the wind built, but it was one of those days that you have to regard as a gift. I know, we get days like that in January fairly often, but not on a weekend, and not when I am at the river. I still remember a New Year's Day ride that my late father-in-law and I took many years ago. Just a little chilly starting out, very sunny, not another soul in the woods. We took a break at the old Knights of Columbus showgrounds south of Charlotte, which is now acre upon acre and row upon row of McMansions near where the new I-485 crosses Providence Road, but on the day of our ride, it was still well out in the country. Put the horses in two open stalls and closed them in by hanging the reins across the entrance, and sat down in the tall grass with our backs against the stalls and went fast asleep in the sun for half an hour. I can still close my eyes and hear the horses breathing and feel the sun on my face. Anyway, it was a nice party. Fair warning, y'all--I have put my personalized oyster knife with the non-slip grip in my travel kit to make sure that I don't forget it and have to depend on the kindness of my friends at NYE, as I have the last two times we had oysters. See you there. And if you can't make it, remember that the next Second Saturday will be approximately in the middle of January. More or less. I spent two Christmases, when I was 19 and when I was 21, in a place where no one should have had to be. My friend Tommy, who I copied on this message, was with me for the first one. We were kids, we made the best of it, we remember the good stuff and forget the sadness. That's what this generation of kids in Sand Land will do, too. We are not really in a position to do anything for them, but you might just remember, before you drift off, that we can sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf. Thank somebody--it goes a long way toward making up for having been there when most folks were back here in the World and did not have a clue. Happy New Year. Hope Santa finds you and remembers just the good things you did. Ron Brown Treasurer, RRYC
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