Contrary to what may have never crossed your mind, La Casa has not closed down for the holidays. Sure, half of us are away in sunnier lands, with (for better or for worse) family obligations, but that leaves half of us here in town, a skeleton crew, suff’rin’ thru the holidays together with joy, good cheer, and sarcasm!
[[Insert picture of We La Casans Four, sitting around a kitchen table teeming with open bottles and gravied foodbits.]]
Erin, Ronna, Don, and your humbuggish narrator Andrew, had a fine few days of gray grump and psychedelic carnage, cheering on the snow and eating plate after plate of lentil-free leftovers. Our special holiday companions? Alcohol; recreational greenage; movies with subtitles; and, oh yes, gobs of greasy Holimalaise!
Wikepedia says, “Malaise (pronounced /məˈleɪz/, mal-aze) is a feeling of general discomfort or uneasiness, an ‘out of sorts’ feeling, often the first indication of an infection or other disease. Malaise is often defined in medicinal research as a ‘general feeling of being unwell’.”
Now, I speak for at least myself when I say this Xmas stuff is a crock! We buy our children a hollow plastic miracle every year until they’re too jaded to buy it, then we sort of give up and let it linger, linger, linger. But we don’t give up, damn it! Somebody had a kid? Great, let’s keep the lie alive! “Yes, we love Xmastime in this family, don’t we?”
Combine that disgusted disillusionment with the shortest days of the year, ridiculous wastes of energy and resources (just for show), insulting pressure to buy just the right thing to show so-and-so how much you love them, and some narrow-minded Jesus-talk, and you’ve got yourself the bare essentials for a hefty serving of Holimalaise.
We’re even starting to get straight-up sick around here. “I feel like my head is detached from my body,” said Erin a few minutes ago, before going back to bed.
[[Insert picture of We La Casans Four huddled together for warmth on the couch, floating in a sea of vomit and Holimalaise.]]
Ok, it hasn’t been as bleak as all that. The food has been amazing. On xmas itself, we had mashed potatoes, two kinds of mac ‘n’ cheese, breaded tofu, and pecan pie with bourbon sauce, all with some mighty fine vegan gravy. Then, in celebration of Boxing Day (the day after xmas) we had five amazing artichokes with jungle juice! The leftovers keep on piling up (and thank goodness, because the kitchen sink is offline for four days while the fresh caulk dries!).
[[Insert picture of Sophie eating a full plate of full-gravied Human Food (not to be confused with Human) at the kitchen table.]]
Other good things have come out of this gray week, such as winterized windows, a newly-caulked sink and this blog post. (Except for the latter, I’ve had nothing to do with anything “good” around here, by the way.) I look forward to the inevitable repopulating of the house after the new year, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying being on this particular strange island with my three winter-torn comrades.
La Casa Grande Colectiva 