Shucking Oysters

   If we'd drunk the medronho (Portuguese moonshine) first, this would make more sense.  Two drunks doing something crazier than usual.  But we didn't.  We bought a dozen fresh oysters in the shell and brought them home.  "Google 'shucking oysters,'" Richard recommended.  I did.  Asian guy says it's easy.
   1.  You need an oyster knife.  Problem:  we don't have one.  We have a cheese-spreading knife (too blunt), a good paring knife (too sharp/dangerous) and a less-than-great paring knife that will have to do.
   2.  Hold the oyster in a wet towel to keep it from slipping and to protect hands from the knife and the sharp edges of the oyster.  Richard decides we will use Ove Gloves (one of the best inventions of the 21st Century).
   3.  Find the little groove on the oyster and insert the knife.
   4.  Slide the knife around between the bottom and top shells and open the oyster, being careful not to spill the water (gourmets' call this 'oyster liquor").  Serve with lemon juice and Tabasco sauce.
   Having conquered steps 1 and 2, Richard and I stood side by side with the oysters on the kitchen counter.  By taking turns with the paring knife, we discovered that I am fairly good at #3.  With an Ove Glove on my left hand to hold the oyster and protect myself, I could locate the "groove" and stick the knife between the shell parts.
   Then I placed the oyster with the knife still attached into the Ove Glove on Richard's hand so that he could "slide the knife between the shell parts."  In the YouTube demonstration obtained through Google, the guy had oysters that were smooth and even.  The knife slid easily.  Not so with Portuguese oysters.  Edges where the plates join are rippled.  Still, we managed to open all dozen oysters in less than half an hour.
    During our work time, it dawned on me that a crucial ingredient to enjoying oysters was missing:  vodka.  In my opinion, ice-cold vodka is the perfect pairing with oysters.  Sip vodka.  Slurp oysters.  (Not the reverse!)  What to do?  Richard already knew.  We have a bottle of medronho, the Portuguese form of moonshine distilled from berries picked on the mountains here.  Maybe a bit more alcohol than vodka, but there's an art to making do with what you have.
   Will we make this a habit?  Become regular oyster shuckers?  Are you crazy?