Pictures of Thanksgiving 2008

Better late than never... The boys found T's Camera! So here they are!


Glasses party with Hamster and T!


More glasses party with me and Hamster


The Marks


Me and T *smile*


Mark and Victoria


Me and Mark


The messy group later into the night


Me after cleaning up the first victim of the evening, a broken glass...


Glen's scary attacking the camera face hehehe


Billy, Glen, Kevin and Gail


Me and Victoria



And we'll end on a high note, me drunkenly singing "Fever" as if on piano...

Thanksgiving

Well for once this holiday was something kinda special. It was more than just some food, lots of dishes to wash, and falling asleep in front of a TV... It included some great company and I had a blast. My friends Billy and Glen opened up their home to several friends as well as my date. (Yes, Zack is dating a boy.) They made their version of a good ol' fashioned "Southern Thanksgiving" complete with the best fried Okra you'll ever taste and so many things to choose from, there was a remark about next time maybe bigger plates. That is a scary proposition if i've ever heard one...

The table was covered in beautiful settings, the perfect amount of space and chairs, fun and gross stories that at any other thanksgiving would not be fodder for dinner table conversation, and our two amazing hosts to top it all off. We started early, the boy and I arrived at noon and I think he got a taste of what its like at an event here...as well as the report with my fun friends. We had cocktails in hand and were off to chat and relax within minutes of walking in the door. Hilarity and shenanigans ensued as more and more people arrived. All in all there were about 12 of us, and the party was in full swing. The Bird was delicious, the Ham was awesome, and the 4 different desserts were so good you just had to try to make room for them. The day turned to night, more drinks, lots of laughs, a few broken glasses, a lampshade gone home to Jesus later, and it was time to go home.

I continued to have an amazing weekend... not gonna jinx anything with much more detail. Its really the first time I can say all this about a Thanksgiving in ages. Thanksgiving has always been a little bit of a throwaway for me in the past as i'm not geographically close to many family members. This thanksgiving just kinda rocked. Not much more to say than that.

Home for the Holidays

Easily the best Thanksgiving movie ever. This is one of my favorite scenes when Robert Downey Jr's Character Tommy comes home in the middle of the night and wakes up the family. I adore Holly Hunter and Anne Bancroft in this.

Its Turkey Lurkey Time!

From a Burt Bacharach Christmas show, and the Musical Promises, Promises

Now I'll never be a teen model!

So yesterday morning, I got into work and sat at my desk as always. The next ten or so minutes consisted of the usual post vacation chat about turkeys, pies, tiredness, family etc... After recounting to my boss about the wonderful break I had enjoyed, it hit me..... The plastic cover for the fluorescent lights above me smacked me down like a bitch and left three nice gashes in my nose. I know poor me, but it all really did happen so fast. Laugh laugh, loud noise, bang and I'm down. I now fear being cheery in the office. Perhaps that's what they want!? All kidding aside I'm fine and just a little embarrassed at how these weird things happen to me frequently in life, remember my little scrap with an electric door? Anywho, the bandaid is off today, I got a well deserved extra day at home with an ice pack and some movies, and the throbbing sensation has subsided.



To recap turkey day: It was a lovely day with good friends, a wonderfully juicy turkey, and some mellow fun. I even made a tart which turned out pretty well. (A little over cooked in the crust dept. but still good.) All had a good time and I was comatose in bed by 11:30. We all also learned from my roommate's sister that the new term for a Queef (female vaginal fart) is a "Rose Fart." Odd, I know, you kinda had to be there. I hope someday a writer friend will name one of their characters "Rose Varts." I digress.

I got in alot of movie watching time so here's my bit second reviews of all the films I saw:

1. Beowulf. Ok, still look kinda corpse-ish, lotsa ass, very rentable fair but not riveting.

2. Enchanted. Cute, Amy Adams MAKES this movie. Patrick Dempsey is still a block of salt. Worth a rent if you are bored and want to smile, don't bother seeing it in the theatre with all the whiny kids.

3. The TV Set. Weird, too insidery for those who aren't in the biz (aka boring for them) and the only redeeming factor: Sigourney Weaver in a light bitchy role. David Duchovny and beard= bad.

4. Zoo. Disturbing doc on beastiality that is set in my hometown Enumclaw, WA. Worth a watch for its subtle style of telling such a touchy story. Worth a rent for those with a stronger mind than stomach. Also, in one shot you can see the back of my old house up on the hill.

5. Notes on a Scandal. Wonderful, great acting, a must see, creepiest damn Judi Dench character EVER.

6. Year of the Dog. Disappointing, Molly Shannon is boring, weirdly depressing and not as hopeful or funny as it says it is...avoid it.

7. Day Watch. If you liked Night Watch, this is a great continuation of the funky Russian vampire/ matrixy good vs. evil trilogy. They weren't nearly as specific and creative with the subtitles this go round.

An early happy Turkey Day

I'll be off from bloggin' the next few days so everyone enjoy their overly fatty and delicious meals wherever they may be.

Itchin' for the tryptophantastic!

Normally, Thanksgiving is a holiday of very little excitement for me. In my past it has been filled with angst, sickness, bloating, and football. For those of you who don't know me well, these are things I am not very fond of. The eating, the good food, the companionship, the wine, the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the laziness, the abundance of pumpkin... these are the things I adore about it.

My mother always made a big spread even when only my father and me were left. She would start the night before prepping and sauteeing, and thawing anything she thought she might need the next morning. I always woke up late in the day to the faint aroma of cooking and the sound of clanging pans and screaming. Don't get me wrong, my parents aren't the type to have major screamfests every night, but Thanksgiving would usually take bickering to a whole new level. By the time the food would hit the table, grudges and unkind words were left behind, for the most part. The meal was always the typical fare: Turkey, yams, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce usually out of a can. Every now and then my mom would: "try something new" she'd often say with glee as we all sat down. This was never a fun moment, when you realize all the things you like about the holiday hang in the balance.... what did she fuck with this year? Most years the turkey was left as is... always juicy and tasty, with the awesome gravy my dad makes! (sidenote: My ex and I tried to re-create the recipe and it ended up tasting like "cum" according to our houseguests that fine holiday. It was appropriate, I guess, since it was made by two fags playing house for Thanksgiving.) The thing she still to this day will try to force down my throat are her damn creamed onions! Yuck! This apparently was some sick concoction from her years as a child growing up in Boston. Imagine biting into a semi-cold, frothy, cream covered eyeball and you'll get the idea. She loved attemting real cranberry sauce... always a nasty paste. She did however try apples and some other weird fruit mixture in the stuffing one year and it was pretty good. I'm not gonna just rank on mom here, I should also mention my sister's frozen turkey disaster party of 1994, and my second attempt at Thanksgiving with the next ex, where I just let him cook as I am not good in the kitchen myself. I must say, the crazy ex bf could cook.

Thanksgiving often brought woe, not just burnt/frozen turkey to my family. There was the year my loser brother talked his way back into the house for Thanksgiving, only to ruin it. There was the year my friend (We'll call her Burger) came over with her brother because her dad died that morning and her mom wouldn't come out of the bathroom. (He died a hero though Burger, I'll never forget that day.) We even had one event the next morning that marked our home forever... I can smell it now.

My dad always like to make turkey soup with the leftover cacass from Thanksgiving. He'll drop the whole thing in a pot and simmer it overnight and strain whats left. This year in particular, he put the stove-top on high and went to bed. Around 5 in the morning, the smoke began to billow enough from the burning bones and melting metal pot that the fire alarm went off. I've never smeeled something so thick that it stuck in my nose like that. It was as if I instantly inhaled charcoal dust and it adhered to my insides. After many "dumbass" coments and a fresh coat of paint on every surface, our house appeared the same as it was before. The smell never fully went away, thank god for moving!

This year marks what is probably the first time I'm just generally pleased with the idea of Thanksgiving. I'll be attending a gathering at my sister's Aunt's house. (To understand why she isn't my full aunt, Imagine the brady bunch family's situation.... two families come together... I'm the love child... there you have it) Her Aunt is awesome! She made a great spread last year. I had a great time even while my sister's Grandmother called us fat. I think after how hard this year has been for me, I'm just excited for anything with warmth, companionship, family, and generosity. I couldn't be more pleased with the idea of Thanksgiving.