A Leg(s) Up on Christmas

Well, we've gotten all the Christmas gifts bought and mailed, with a few exceptions. Cappy loves his Jeep, which I couldn't hide in the neighborhood, anyhow, til Christmas. We exchanged a couple of presents, since he's going to be out on the boat. He gave me a video camera...a good one, so's I can finally, start the little 'free-lance' business, which I have dreamed about for more than 15 years. He also bought a good tripod for it, but says it still needs a few more whistles and buzzers...(wha-hoo!!) which we plan on aquiring after the holidays. Besides the Jeep, I gave him the meat grinder/sausage stuffer his little heart has longed for, for several years. He likes to tinker with recipes and come up with his own variety of anything he cooks, which is always, as he likes to say, "slap yo mama GOOD", and when he gets it just right, to his liking, we commit it to the 'most favored' recipe file.
If the man didn't love being out in the back bayous, piloting up and down the Mississippi River, or 'stirrin' up mud' along the waterways, in general, he could open his own diner,or at least a 'hole in the wall', as he calls it. 'Down the road' about 15 miles, there is a small 'shack' where folks walk up to the window to order the daily special, like oven-fried chicken and dirty rice...plus the usual stuff, such as burgers, fries, or ice cream desserts, like cones, shakes or sundaes; all pretty much homemade and 'Cajunized'...YUMMEE! I don't know why Cappy couldn't do that somewhere around our neighborhood. He could. But for now, he 'guinea pigs' his lucky crew, with his out-of-this-world concoctions. We didn't get chubby like this, just dreamin' 'bout cooking.
So, to get back to my point, we are pretty well set for Christmas. I'm hoping and praying that I can be able to meet up with his boat Christmas Day, so I won't have to spend it by myself, again, wiff just dese dawgs. In case I can't, I packed his seabag full of presents for him, and am making gifts for his crew, which I need to get finished and taken out to them in the next couple of weeks.
Soooo...Santa came early to our house, gave me a smooch, patted da dawgs and as usual, admonished them to "take care of Momma, while I'm gone", then, whoosh, he was gawn.
Now...down here in South Louisiana, there is a group headed up by a guy named Benny "Grunch" Antin, who has a CD album we love playing, called "The 12 Yats of Christmas". Some of the songs listed are: "I Got a Used Kazoo for Christmas", "Santa Put the Hurt on You","If I Won Da Lott'ry For Christmas", and "I Could See the Aluminum Tree Through the Pitcha Winda". Cappy said, "You laugh...we used to have an aluminum Christmas tree, with the colored light spinner wheel, in our picture window for all the world to see. We thought it was the height of fashion at the time, and were very proud of it". That was way back when he was a young boy, before his family began using green trees, which were then adorned with all kinds of glorious decorations, many of which his mother hand made.
Since this year he's going to be away, and no family will be visiting, plus, I stumbled upon this 4 1/2 ft. aluminum beauty at Hobby Lobby, on impulse, I got it for "him". His eyes actually welled up with tears that I would do something like that for him. Aww. I figger this way, I won't have to haul the big heavy tree, with boxes and boxes of decorations, from the attic...and for what? Just me and the dogs? And, I kinda love this little aluminum tree that's sitting in our window. I can't find the color wheel to go with it (there are plenty online...but, naw...he's already out on the boat), but he bought some small, shiny colored glass balls for it, so I think it looks downright beautiful, and told him so. He thought I was lying, but I'm not.

Sooo..."Santa" is back out on da boat, but look what he left; gifts under our trashy aluminum Christmas tree; and stocking 'chock a block' full of goodies. He even got me a brown (his fav color) coffee cup with snowmen merrily dancing around the outside, so I could enjoy it everyday during the Holiday season. As a matter of fact, I am...two days in a row, so far. "Who Dat" say dey aint no Santa Claus?