Christmas & New Year

After several weeks of enjoying the comforts of home I am back at my apartment in Madison. Although it does feel good to get back to a little bit somewhat of a routine, I must admit I miss being back in Ames. I had a really great break, perhaps the best one since leaving home on my various endeavors. All my siblings were back and Mom, Dad, and the pets were happy to see us. Whenever we all get together things get a little rowdy and raucous but it's always so much fun.

A little insight to what I'm talking about. Only somewhat employed, Aaron has had lots of time to undertake a multitude of projects and experiment with different things. Appropriate to his ecclectic personality, Aaron's latest kick has been homemade bacon and beverages. He, with the encouragement of his accomplice, Jennifer, has taken to smoking bacon and making moonshine or carbonated drinks. He and I drove to meat locker in northern Iowa and picked up some pork belly. We had only desired 4lbs or so, but when they brought out 7lbs, we thought what the heck. Aaron brined the pork belly for 4 days and then smoked them on our grilled and it turned out deliciously. Perhaps the best bacon I've ever had, if not a little salty.

That same day we procured a regulator and a CO2 cannister for carbonating beverages. This was to the kids gift to our dad, who also appreciates exotic gifts. The setup is rather simple but yields remarkable results. We made homemade root beer, carbonated juices, coffee, egg nog, milk, and other drinks. My unexpected favorite was the milk which was delicious. The egg nog was probably the least enjoyable but worth the experiment. On the whole, I ate and drank entirely too much food over the course of the two weeks I was home but I figure that's what the holiday's are for. Now, I'm back at my apartment with a baren pantry, save for all the treats I received, and will be back to my sparse diet.

Other adventures included sledding, a trip to grandma's house, target shooting BB guns in the backyard and the annual Christmas tree hunt. In this last adventure I take special pride because I actually helped picked out the tree. In years past I've ignored the looking part for snowball fighting but this year I managed to find a suitable pine between bouts of throwing. However, whatever pleasure derived from locating a tree was erased by being bested in a wrestling match by my younger brother. I take a certain pride in being the most athletic Ritz and when Asa brought me down I was severely deflated. We wrestled once more the next day to a draw but that is unacceptable. I have not been working out as much as I have in previous ages but I now vow to become fit again and regain my right role as the dominant sibling.

Aside from all this family action, I had a great time hanging out with friends and of course, Natalie. Ames is remarkably comfortable to me and it was excellent to be able to spend so much time with loved ones. I received everything I asked for for Christmas which is certainly more than I need. Natalie spoiled me with too many goodies but I'm not really complaining. I appreciate everything that came my way and hope everyone else had equally good holiday seasons.