Cooking class!

Evey nailed these pretzel bites for school work! A new weekend tradition Evey???

The weekend that was, Thanksgiving 2020

So I'm wrapping up five days off in a row. How was your break?

Wednesday the kids and I got after it and did laundry, cleaned the house, etc. Felt good. then it was easy street for a few days.

We cleaned the basement up and had a double feature. "My Spy" and "Gemini Man." I kinda liked My Spy. It took us 2.5 days to finish Gemini Man because of our slow internet.

Gemini Man started off strong, and ended with a dud.

***

Thanksgiving was chill. Judy cooked the bird and the pig, I made the easy stuff, the stuffing, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. It was a quiet day overall. We ate well and had some awkward zooms. One with my family, the other with Adrianne's. I watched the Jayhawks get ran by Gonzaga (felt like the scored easily on every possession) ... first half in the HOJ, second at the house.

The most notable thing was that Virginia came over, possibly because Boyd wrote her a note inviting her. It was great to have her here and I think she enjoyed herself just fine even though she wouldn't do a tequila shot with me (don't worry, I didn't offer her one.)

The food was great. We ate plenty. 

***

Friday felt good. We chilled. Leftovers. 

We watched KU win in the HOJ. Came back over. Everyone was tired and cashed it in early. 

Adrianne and I watched The Crow on free pay channels — I get the impression that was the first time she's seen it in 20 years — and it still holds up for me, stylistically. Then we did a double feature and watched Go which she had not seen. I think that's a great 90s movie (if it came out in the 90s?) and she liked it, I think... at least, she stayed awake for all of it.

***

Saturday the weather was amazing and we weren't going to miss it. I cleaned up and burned a bunch of yard waste. Then I trimmed a tree behind the house. Then I burned that yard waste.

I was exhausted by 1 p.m. on Saturday, but I kept burning stuff, the weather was so nice. The kids came out and helped pick up the yard. Adro was pulling weeds like crazy and it was going directly in the fire.

Then Cathy brought her family over and invited us over for a game of croquet. That was surprisingly enjoyable! The kids were nervous going over, not knowing the rules. But once we learned how to play, we had a nice time.

My bonfire was still smoldering after the match. I came over and started burning the last of the big tree behind the house. Almost burned the whole thing!

My moment of clarity came on Saturday as the sun went down. It was cold. I was alone. But the jukebox was rocking. There was a small bonfire burning. I had a productive day, where I could point to the results. My body was fatigued but happy. My evening pint tasted sweet, like a reward. I sat in my barber's chair and thought to myself, "thank you." 

Pretty lucky. Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving 2020!

It was a smaller group than usual but the day was still memorable. The food was awesome. The company was smaller but still fantastic.

Sorry I cut you off on this pic Bub! Give me a little lean forward next time you Stink McGee!

Guest star weekend!

So two weekends ago (I'm slow) we had a few guest visits. I think we all sensed the current shut-down and wanted to say hello while we could...

The first visit was from one Sean Lipford, who I toasted a few drinks with Saturday afternoon, in honor of what appears to be the end of a political regime. Any change in political regime warrants beers among friends.

Then Ted and Heather and their kiddos came over! Pizzas, drinks, and a bunch of movies on the projector. It was such a nice change of pace. We watched movies, burned sparklers, played foos, climbed on rocks ... and me and Ted drank like we were in college.

The next day we got another unexpected guest star ... I invited the neighbor (Alex) over to watch the Chiefs in the HOJ, because that's what I do. But in these pandemic days, that guest star prevented the appearance of the fam ... and I watched the game with a stranger/new friend.

It was fun! It's all fun. Mostly.