Random ponderings

I think I've had blogger-block lately... or maybe it's just been a lack of time. After getting back from my Atlanta/Primus trip late Tuesday, it was a whirlwind of day-times at Lede PR and evenings putting together my resume and writing sample for another iffy prospect. Somehow, three-day-weeks always feel like five...

Defying my requests that he stay 6 for a while longer, my nephew had his 7th birthday this weekend. Kids ran around, at least one cried, sugar was enjoyed by all. My bro-in-law launched his new kids' party band, Big Bang Boom - lots of interactive stuff and nothing that made adult ears bleed... except, perhaps, my mother and I singing along to our old favorite, Don't Stick Your Finger Up Your Nose. It's a classic, I swear.

And now for Thanksgiving... I have this weird relationship with Thanksgiving. As a kid, I usually ended up at my step-mother's parents' house which, while they were welcoming and all, never became part of my holiday tradition, if that makes any sense.

I started cooking my own Thanksgiving dinner six years ago, when a friend's mom moved away, leaving said friend longing for some sort of Thanksgiving continuity. I barely cooked at the time; I had certainly never roasted a turkey. I remember my then-girlfriend's mom going into a Massachusetts-accent frenzy when I mentioned the bird was still in the freezer three days before Thanksgiving. Somehow it all came together, though, and I've been cooking ever since.

I have these fantasies of big Thanksgiving dinners, people I like scattered all over the house with plates in their laps, general merriment all around. In the last few years, we've gotten half-way there: general merriment has been had though we've yet to break the sitting-around-the-table barrier. I plan to take advantage of the table-lock this year by trying to get a game of Apples to Apples started. If you haven't played this, you have to run out and get it - now! Players have cards with nouns written on them; the judge (which changes every round) throws out an adjective card. Players add the noun card they think is best described by the adjective and the judge picks a completely subjective winner... it's a lot more fun than my description. With my smart-ass group of friends, you end up with adjective/noun pairs like "Hilarious Hitler" and that kind of thing... Booze helps but isn't absolutely necessary...

I've ordered Jones CAN holiday cards and am thinking about being done with my Hannumas shopping... where did this year go?