Eva's Wine Cellar

Change that order: a double espresso, please.

Now THAT's a Texas song I'll join in on....!

I was just fifteen and outta control
Lost to James Dean and rock and roll
I knew down deep in my country soul
That I had to get away

Hollywood was a lady in red
Who danced in my dreams
As I tossed in bed
I knew I'd wind up
In jail or dead
If I had to stay

I thought happiness
Was Lubbock, Texas
In my rear view mirror
My momma kept calling me home
But I just did not want to hear her
And the vision was getting clearer
In my dreams

So I laid out one night in June
Stoned on the glow of the Texas moon
Humming an old Buddy Holly tune
Called Peggy Sue

With my favorite jeans
And a cheap guitar
I ran off chasing a distant star
If Buddy Holly could make it that far
I figured I could too

And I thought happiness
Was Lubbock, Texas
In my rear view mirror
My momma kept calling me home
But I just did not want to hear her
And the vision was getting clearer
In my dreams

But the Hollywood moon didn't
Smile the same old smile
That I'd grown up with
The lady in red
Just wanted my last dime

And I cried myself to sleep at night
Too dumb to run, too scared to fight
And too proud to admit it at the time

So I got me some gigs on Saturday nights
Not much more than orchestrated fights
I'd come home drunk and I'd try to write
But the words came out wrong

Hell bent and bound for a wasted youth
Too much gin and not enough vermouth
And no one to teach me
How to seek the truth
Before I put it into song

I still thought happiness
Was Lubbock, Texas
In my rear view mirror
My momma kept calling me home
But I just could not, would not hear her
And the vision was getting clearer
In my dreams

Well, I thank God each and every day
For giving me the music and words to say
I'd-a never made it any other way
He was my only friend

Now I sleep a little better at night
When I look in the mirror
In the morning light
The man I see was both wrong and right
He's going home again

I guess happiness was Lubbock, Texas
In my rear view mirror
But now happiness is Lubbock, Texas
Growing nearer and dearer
And the vision is getting clearer
In my dreams

And I think I finally know
Just what it means
And when I die you can bury me
In Lubbock, Texas, in my jeans

Okay, I'll make it by myself: keep on singing (but please, pleae not soooooo loud!)

Good morning, Walter!

A double espresso? Jacques! The gentleman at the corner table needs coffee...NOW!

Party on, people...I'll see you in the morning. (12:54 a.m. here...yawn)

ROFL

Cheers

Whew! What a party!

The Albuquerque contingent (dys, Diane, her two gentleman friends with the large empty bottle, osso & roger) are asleep over there behind the bar. At least, I think they are sleeping.

The guys are over by the fireplace, comparing hangovers. Lord Ellpus and Tico are both looking a little green this morning. Kicky is understandably morose after listening to dadpad's tales of NYE wedded bliss and is contemplating finishing off Dys's bottle of Thunderbird. Walter, naturally, was the only one who held his liquor. Don't be so smug, Walter. :wink:

Come on girls, let's go in the kitchen and get some coffee. It won't be long before someone gets hungry again. Besides, we should help Sophie with her New Year's Day dinner. Montana brought a few frozen lobsters...hope she knows what to do with them! Squinney will insist on blackeyed peas, I'm sure. Letty in her sparkly top can put on some soothing music while ehBeth and msolga help me round up some clean place settings.

Sophie is having a difficult time remembering what each of you consider traditional New Year's Day fare. I know it's different in each country. What's yours?

<Ellpus opens one eye and lifts his head from a pile of snacks. A pretzel is attached to his left eyebrow>

God my mouth tastes like the inside of a Turkish wrestler's jock strap.

<takes swig of Walter's espresso while he's not looking>

AAH! That's better!

A full fry up, please Eva.
Bacon, sausage, black pudding, two fried eggs, toast, baked beans and a pile of bubble 'n' squeak will just about do the trick.

I was given three bottles of the best wine I've ever had last week. It's made in a basement by a friend of mine, aged two years then given out as Christmas gifts. And it's got a nice kick! No name, no label.

You must have a very strong stomach, LordE, to order a breakfast like that after a night of drinking! I don't think I could handle anything stronger than cafe au lait. But Sophie will be happy to oblige.

Nick...did you bring some of that no-label to share? (Later!)

Walter...how was the pork and sauerkraut? Isn't that traditional fare in Germany on New Year's Day?

Here are some other traditional New Year's Day foods...

GREECE - A coin is baked inside St. Basil's Cake (vassilopitta,) and whoever finds the coin in their piece of cake will be blessed with good luck in the coming year.

SPAIN & CUBA - Eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight for good luck in all 12 months of the new year.

DENMARK - Boiled cod

NETHERLANDS - "Olie Bollen," a type of fritter or donut

BOSNIA & CROATIA - "Sarma," beef wrapped in cabbage

POLAND - Pickled herring must be eaten as the first bite of the new year.

JAPAN - Buddhists eat noodles at midnight. Others begin the 7-day feast of "osechi ryori" where a variety of delicacies are served in small, lacquered dishes.

I just learned about Olie Bollen from our Netherlands poster, gwendolen.

Head falls in olie bollen awe....

Hi Eva, sorry for skipping out, but I was looking for a recipe for Hoppin' John, a black-eyed pea recipe for New Years day.

Both Squinney and I will enjoy that traditional dish known to bring good luck for the rest of the year.

, Hoppin' John

INGREDIENTS:
· 1 cup chopped onion
· 1 tablespoon bacon drippings
· 2 cans (about 16 ounces each) black-eyed peas, slightly drained, or about 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
· 1 cup chopped cooked ham
· 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
· 3 cups hot cooked rice
· salt to taste
· sliced sweet onion, optional
PREPARATION:
In a large saucepan sauté chopped onion in bacon drippings until tender. Stir in black-eyed peas, ham, and cayenne pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes; stir in hot cooked rice and salt. Serve Hoppin' John hot with sliced onion.

Hoppin' John recipe serves 4 to 6.

Of course we had blackeyed peas, Diane. I've always heard of Hoppin' John, but I've never actually tasted it. Looking over the recipe, it sounds delicious.

I think I'll try that next time. As much as SonofEva loves rice, it would be a sure hit.

<HIC>

Shomeone give me shome more booosh

<HIC>

Nobody lovesh me anymore

<SOB>

<kiss, kiss>

Oh, don't be ridiculous! You know you are well loved here.

Jacques, please give this man whatever he would like to drink. On the house.

So, G, tell us about the new job! Have you started yet?

Jacquesh, forget the drink. Just give me what I really need... <staring at his a$$>

Nopesh, not yet. I have three months notish to serve <HIC>

Three MONTHS???

Congratulations. You must be indispensable!

Prince Gautam, does my bum look any bigger to you?

Waving to Eva. How about a wee snifter of light brandy, Jacques?

Letty babes - I don't want to look at yr a$$. Fainting from sheer joy is something which I am keen to avoid these days as due to my post holidays size, I may damage the flooring....

Eva, three months notice period is normal....