A Berry Bonobo Birthday

Well kids, in the words of the famous Charles Brown, "Christmastime is here." Actually, I don't know if ol' Charlie himself coined that phrase, but I do know that I associate it with him.

Christmastime is here. And Beverly, our lovely tree.

As many of you know (or likely, none of you do), the approach of Christmas means the approach of Tiffany's birthday. This year we once again celebrated her survival and her ability to thrive into her 28th year. And thrive she has! Tiffany decided to have somewhat of a joint celebration with Baby Jesus, who's birthday is also fast approaching. For those of you who are not in the know, Baby Jesus is no longer thriving, nor living. But we continue to celebrate nonetheless.

But that's not my point. My point is that Tiffany lives, and for her birthday party she decided to have tree-trimming party. This is something that New York hasn't seen much of since the Victorian era, when people still enjoyed a good figgy pudding and yule log (or, as Wikipedia would have it, "Great Ashen Faggot") while small British paupers gaze in longingly from outside of the frosty windows.

Never one to be outdone by her forefathers, Tiffany resurrected this tradition of days gone by which produced a welcoming "pip! pip!" from the party guests.

Where is that dang Ashen Faggot when you need 'em?

It was a gay old time! I was very pleased with the tree trimmings as well as the various cordials and liqueurs that were on hand for consumption. That Tiffany certainly knows how to entertain a crowd!

Tiffany and the crowd, entertained.

Peanut butter jelly time

Its funny how every now and then, you get those days that you welcome with really high expectations, but then just kind of somehow...slip away from you.  Black Friday was one of those days.  I was kind of thinking Taki would want to, I don't know, go shopping...go...shopping, or maybe even go shopping? But no, she was pretty indifferent to my suggested activities, so of course we ended up at 7B.

It was probably around 3:30 or 4:00 in the PM, which is never really a good time to go out for a drink.  It really means you're setting yourself up for disaster.  But, then again, it is sometimes fun to ride the wave for a little while. 

Amanda and Jelly enjoying his lovely Pucci poncho.

The problem with that particular time is that its too far from lunch, but too early for dinner.  So, your belly is just naturally primed for optimal enjoyment of a refreshing beverage.  However, after a few hours, those rumblings of hunger in your tummy begin to be silenced by the drink rather than food.  This is not as Mother Nature intended.

The Beast, unleashed.

Its funny that the camera took the picture blurry, because I thought it was just my eyes.

That weird milky stuff was unfiltered sake - which tastes just like candy but much easier to ingest and therefor probably better suited for infants or small children.

Being as I am an old grandmotherly type, our little happy hour soon got the best of me and they say that Meeks was gentleman enough to escort me home.

Upon reaching home I quickly drifted off to dreamland...with visions of rice wine dancing in my head.  

Giving Thanksgiving Thanks

In the jungles of Kinta, the mind switches gears very quickly. The Thanksgiving holiday was preceded with many nights of cleaning, shopping, and food prep. But on the eve of the big day, we were preoccupied with the most important item on the agenda for the day: Booze.

You see, my buddy Takako was in town from Michigan for the weekend, and she needed some ding-dang entertaining! Of course, Mike and I humbly obliged.

Now, THAT's entertainment!

Now, being as I am lady, I don't dabble in idle gossip.  But I will indulge that we did indeed trip the light fantastic 'til the wee hours.  Of course, the next morning it was - chop! chop! back to work!  The turkey needed basting, the salad needed dressing, the football needed watching!  Everything turned out just as dandy as candy, I have to say, and we had a very pleasing time!  And for that, I give thanks.

I forgot to take a picture of us at the table before we started, but you can kind of see the bird carcass in the background (with Francesca picking at it).  I swear it looked much better before the feeding frenzy!

King Slagle loves himself some salty meats!

Jen, diligently guarding the crock of hot apple cider with rum, cheese and onion platter, and pumpkin empanadas.

Meeks, Tim, and Paul, clearly overwhelmed by the Thanksgiving spirit.