Republished with an edit.

Winter arrives in the Big Easy with a veritable deluge.

*grabs the bottom blades of the blinds in his office window (behind his computer monitor), and pulls them down to check outside*

Oh, that is SO not funny. I was late for work because of the rain, and now the rain has quit, less than an hour later.

Anyway, 3" (7½ cm) of rain over the past 24 hours, might be just as well that it'd slack off.

......

I'm not quite as confident about my picks as I was last year. I'll update "Not For Burgers" over the next few weeks, and republish it on January 9, after Ohio State beats Florida but fails to cover the 8½ point spread.

......

Today is also the day of my office's Christmas party. Last year, 8 of 27 total $20 gifts (We do the gift stealing bit that ChocolateFrogs posted, but without the final steal by #1.) included a bottle of some size of Crown Royal, a Canadian scotch whisky.

I'm glad I didn't get one of those gifts, since I don't drink alcohol, and don't really know how to cook with it.

>>See? It's possible to be a successful adult without any "social lubricant." *authoritative nod*<<

In any case, Burgundy (the office manager) issued a decree: "No Crown on the table this year."

Not because there was me who didn't drink at all, but because it showed such an utter lack of imagination.

I didn't have that problem. Last year's & this year's gifts from me were Yankee "Housewarmer" candles.

Last year: Balsam & Cedar

This year: Home for the Holidays

.....

I like the office I work for. Not only did I get a (big for my needs) bonus, catalogued earlier, but I also got a Christmas gift straight up.

Christmas dinner!

A whole turkey (well, the whole bird that would get eaten).

A ham.

Pecan stuffing

Sweet potatoes

Crawfish cornbread

Gravy

A pecan pie

and a bottle each of merlot & chardonnay (red & white wines)

This is coming home. I'm going home for Christmas this Sunday afternoon.

I'll probably post again sometime before that.

-KIE