With Christmas just a couple of days away, the lefse is made, the lutefisk is soaking, and the oysters are awaiting their contribution to the annual stew feast. No matter how large or small my contribution to the festivities is, it still stirs the warm feelings inside me. I actually do soak the lutefisk in water for a day or two, just out of habit more than anything. Years ago, the fish used to be packed in lye and shipped in a sack, cold but not frozen. The lye was to preserve it and the soaking thing was to get most of the lye out before preparing the fish. Today it comes fresh or frozen, so soaking is really not necessary, but I still soak it out of habit and/or tradition.
My grandson, Trevor has been going to the Mississippi River fishing the last couple of weeks. He has been catching walleye and sauger and was nice enough to share some of his fish with Grandpa and Grandma. There is nothing better than a meal of fresh fish. He has fished with me since he was a small boy. He would never ask me to go fishing with him on the second week of December, but this past summer he did take me with him to Clear Lake, IA a couple of times. The walleye fishing was fantastic, and he even got his grandma to go along. He isn’t a little kid anymore; he is a young man that really has fine-tuned his fishing knowledge.
Years ago, we would have gone camping up at Spider Lake, and a big part of that was fishing, but also spending time around the campfire. It was what we did for entertainment in the evening. My sister Judy and her husband, Mike and my nephews, Jeremy and Zach would also go. As we sat around the campfire roasting hot dogs and making S’mores, we noticed some critters that looked an awful lot like skunks. It turns out that there were a few skunks around and they must have thought that they were actually cats because they would lurk under our chairs by the campfire and wait for someone to drop some food on the ground. They walked around seemingly oblivious to the fact that we were humans, but they seemed to know that we would not be a threat to them. I remember one Saturday morning as I was walking up to the lodge to check out, I spotted two skunks under the deck just watching people coming and going, which resembled watching a couple of barn cats. We actually survived those days without getting sprayed. Those were fun times which make for some great memories.
I bought a bag of chocolate stars at Fleet Farm in Owatonna a couple of weeks back, which brought to mind the old Spurgeon’s store on Broadway. I remember going in there as a kid and buying .25c worth of chocolate stars. I loved that candy, maybe that’s where I get my love for chocolate. The lady behind the counter would take a scoop and place it on the scale then pour them into a white paper bag. My grandma always had a candy dish full of chocolate stars sitting out at Christmas time.
Until next time: I want to wish all of the readers along with my family and friends a Very Merry Christmas!
Please show your support for the troops, many of whom are spending Christmas away from home and family. These servicemen and women are making that sacrifice, so that we may have the many freedoms that we enjoy today.