Deck the Halls with Booze and Holly

Volume Four, folks:

ONE

My friends are the coolest: Anna, upon receiving her first speeding ticket - "You can't possibly hear the last movement of Beethoven's Seventh and go slow."

TWO

So I walk by the cabinets in my kitchen where my mom puts all the invitations, schedules, pictures of my little cousins, etc. and I see the invitation for my mom's side's annual Christmas party. Talk about a good time! I love the family Christmas party, My mom's side is huge. I'm talking extended family of the extended family comes to this party. We used to have it at a yacht club by the river, but it was moved to various relatives' houses when I was in college. Everyone comes and eats and drinks and tells stories and laughs and drinks some more...

Then I see this: Where? Steve and Gigi's house!

WHAT.

Steve and Gigi are my parents. The Christmas party is at our house this year. All I can say is... seriously? We just had Thanksgiving at our house. The 30+ people then will look like a small get-together compared to this family gala. Holy Bloody Mary, Mom!

THREE

I was unabashedly waiting for this entry to come in; do you remember the contest I held? Here's the winning entry by the lovely Ariel!

Merlin's toast at Arthur and Guenevere's wedding (inspired by T.H. White's Merlin):

"Ahem. Ah-ha-hem. Yes, well as the Wart's tutor and magician of known probity and international reputation, I believe I shall give a toast to the young couple. To Lancelot and Guenevere...Hm? What, what, what? Arthur's wedding? Betrayal not happened yet? Confounded backsight!

Well my boy, don't take it too harshly. Many believe love is a trick played on us by the forces of evolution anyway. But what should I know? I have been, or rather will be, trapped in a tree by the wiles of a woman! And don't worry about Morgan and your deranged son Mordred. What now? Still a royal secret? Castor and Pollux blow me to Bermuda!" *Poof*

(Isn't she fantastic?!)

FOUR

Wendell Berry reading one of his short stories; so good.

FIVE

On Monday, I went outside to get all the inches/ feet of snow off my car and... it was frozen solid. No lock would open. (And unfortunately stayed that way for a few days.) So I drove to work with my dad in our massive excursion and started singing, "I'm Mister White Christmas, I'm Mister Snow! I'm Mister I-ci-cle, I'm Mister Ten Below-- they call me Snow Miser. Whatever I touch!--turns to snow in my clutch! ...I'm too much!"

See here for the fabulous 1974 animation and tune:
 

Then Dad said I'm too much. Preposterous!

SIX

Okay, like I could show you Snow Miser without showing you Heat Miser too!

I think I love the Miser Brothers little minions/ back-up singers best.

SEVEN

My cousin Carrots (my nickname for her) is moving away this weekend. She's technically from Detroit, but has been living in my hometown while she gets her Masters in Education/ Counseling. She's graduating. Every Sunday, my nuclear family has family dinner. We technically eat dinner as a family every night, but on Sunday we always have it in the dining room and Dad usually cooks. Carrots always came over for Sunday dinner for about 3 years now and there will definitely be a difference when she is gone. She, my aunt and uncle will be coming over for dinner tonight, though, so I am pumped.


Founding Members of the I Love Food Club


If there is one really stand-out memory from my childhood, besides Dad sitting between Kato and my beds and telling us stories and spending blissful days playing in our old house's big backyard, it is family dinners. Mom and Dad insist we always eat together, from my smallest days till now. We go around the house hollering for everyone not already helping get the table ready, sit down, pray thanksgiving, and then begins the litany of each family member telling about their day.

Telling about one's day really means expounding on the highlights; to the little kids, though, it meant going through each minute of the day. In Dickensian fashion, the smallest child would never fail to open with "Well first, I woke up..." That is how we are taught to tell stories; it better be good or everyone else will start talking over you. When I went to college, I didn't know how to finish stories. People liked teasing me (Lissa still calls them "Julie Stories"), but when Bear came to my house for Fall Break freshman year, she saw my family in action and finally understood why I like to jump to the punch line.

My family loves having friends over to the house for meals and/ or as house guests. One never really knows a person until you see how they interact with another's family members. Some people are good conversationalists; some people are more quiet (which provides the challenge of seeing who can coax words out of them first); other people jump right in and start talking first. I'll admit we like these people best. Meals are important quality time in my family, and being able to hold one's own at the table is considered a virtue.

Here's an example, which never ceases to make me smile- Mrs. F is my mom's good friend, who happened upon us at a meal one day...

Mrs. F.: "I don't know what's happening! There are five conversations going on at the same time!"
Dad: "This is our life: everyone talks at the same time and the person who has the best story wins."

Fact. What are some fun traditions in your own family?

Even our dog knows how to have a good time!

Happy Friday, y'all. See Conversion Diary for more!