Baby Jesus Vomit

The holiday season is upon us! I typically am a strict "not before December  holiday decorator. I was forced out of this on Friday and brought up our two plastic totes of decorations on Friday after work. I was only 8 hours early and its what the Russian wanted. She had planned and organized schedules for a dinner party with 6 of our friends. At the last minute two could not make it due to self quarantine  The pox is upon there house and so I wish them no ill will and actually want to thank them publicly for not infecting the rest of us. If there were more people like Rick and Dub Dub who self quarantined during sickness a zombie apocalypse would be a non issue.

Actual photo from race. I almost wept

So, dinner party. Wait no, Decorations. So Friday  night we decorate the house. Some of you may have seen pictures of it on the supermodel's book of faces. For readers among you who haven't, it was described to me this morning as "Christmas threw up" in my living room. Saturday we woke up and took the family to Krispy Kreme (not the rapper). I can now consider this training as there is a race in January. 2 miles. Eat a dozen doughnuts. 2 more miles. No only will I be competitive in a race for once in my life, I can almost guarantee a victory in the first 2/3 of that race. Anyway, while I was training, there was a car show going on in the parking lot. My name is Big Cat and I have a problem. There I said it. I adore cars. Every aspect. Aesthetics  technical design, performance, all of it. It is one topic about which you can never learn everything and opinions are welcome. I love them. J'dore. So I may have eaten too fast. I may have taken El Fox (Stay-puft) and run to go look at a lowered VW Bus from like 1962 parked next to a Plymouth Fury. sigh. I have my truck but dream of a garage to work on it and buy the car of my dreams. So doughnuts and cars then to go get the pick up and the dog. We were off to get a pretty Christmas tree.

June Bug and Senor Toilet getting ready to tree shop

For years we cut down our own in the backyard. This felt wholesome and american. Last year we had to drive forever to go to a tree farm and do the same. The supermodel hated every minute of this.  Our back-stories differ. She and her mother bought pretty trees and had themes to decorate them differently every year. My family all loaded up in the car to a tree farm, rode a tractor to the field and spend hours listening to mother debating size to bald spot ratios, and using my sister and I as place markers to save the current best. I would then try to use the bow saw to cut it down, my father would then cut it down. Hot chocolate and a car ride later we were home. Father was in charge of lights then the rest of us put on the ornaments. We each get 1 new ornament a year and so each one on the tree is special and brings up memories. This doesn't make for a uniform department store tree but it says a lot about each of us.

We had to have a sit down and discuss this disconnect. We went with a hybrid but it was a big deal. Marriage is hard sometimes and apparently Christmas Tree decor is one of these things. A blend works well and in the end her fancy tree she got from a local big box store had so many limbs that we put all the ornaments on that we had or were gifted to us. It is quite full now and no two bulbs of the same color are too close to one another on the strings of lights. That is a big deal. Ask me how I know. Two red bulbs next to each other - earth shattering. Janky homemade stockings - perfect. I don't understand. That is why I am the sous decorator. It looks baller and festive and Carols a plenty.

We are so much fun

I was also sous chef for the party. My  wife can flat out cook. She once said she feels more like herself when she is baking. That is fine and good but what comes out of the oven makes me BE more of myself. I get big. Menu for party: Roast in red wine with egg noodles. Homemade rolls. Dessert, Bread Pudding. Of course she made the brioche from scratch and when the first one didn't make her happy she made up her own recipe and tried again! Then made a sauce full of bourbon! I like to think of that as a sort of renewing our vows. I am recommitted to her after this meal. Our friend brought a delicious salad with toasted pine nuts and avocado that was to die for. The others were in charge of the pickled herring. I was dubious until I tried it and it was delicious. I felt so very Scandinavian. I am practically Garrison Keillor after eating that.

I cleaned some night of and woke up
early to finish cleaning before wife woke up

The same friend who told me Christmas vomited all over my house also said she recently read an article about the death of the dinner party(found link. of couse she reads the times). People apparently don't do it anymore. I say bring it back. I never have more fun that when we have people over or are at another persons home just laughing and enjoying our different points of view. Sorry, I just think its dumb that we all sit at home and watch TV alone and then when we get together, all we discuss is what we watch on TV.  Dumb. Invite some people over and make dinner. It doesn't have to be fancy. Lord knows I am bad at fancy. I plan on having more people over before the season is over just because I can and I may just cook Chicken and Dumplings

Okay to sum up. things i like:
Doughnuts
Dinner Guests
Decorations for holidays of any sort
Delicious Food
and 1954 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 as a mild custom (but i'm not picky)