I was downloading photos from the camera memory card to our PC’s, came across one Carolyn took of our grandson Alec and I. I am in my Indiana Jones hat and Alec is wearing his Spider-Man costume. Looking at the picture I called Carolyn over,

“Hey, why is Alec flashing bloody gang signs?”

“What? What gang signs?”

“There, he is flashing frickin gang signs. Who is the dumb ass who taught our grandson bloody gang signs? I think I need to go postal on someone’s arse.”

“They are not gang signs calm the heck down or I’ll smack you up the side of the nut.”

“Then why is he holding his hands like that then?”

“Look how he is dressed, what is he?”

“Er, Spider-Man.”

“Yeah, well how does Spider-Man hold his hands when he is releasing his spider web stuff?”

“Er, oh yeah, ‘Spidey hands.”

Carolyn walks off shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

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This year for Thanksgiving we were looking to take it easy, maybe go out for dinner so we didn’t have to cook. But I got scheduled to work, not too bad, I can work for a couple of hours and get paid for all day at double time.

Carolyn didn’t want to do any cooking, even less so if I was working, so our son said he would get all the fixings and come around with his girlfriend and their two kids. The son would then cook dinner, Carolyn took him up on the offer right away.

Carolyn is looking forward to playing with the grand kids while someone else does the cooking. If I time it right I can get in to a nice turkey dinner and the dishes and stuff already in the dishwasher, bwhahahaha.

Our other daughter will more than likely come around with her two kids so the place will be a mad house.

Dang, now the father of our granddaughter wants to be in her and her mothers life more, he could well bring his other two daughters around, if they get hitched that will make ten grand kids, no wonder I feel old!¹

Technorati Tags: Thanksgiving, kids, grand kids

1. plus two of our kids are still able to have kids, so more could be coming [↩]

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How do you know a family member takes their dinner parties seriously?

When they have a huge kitchen with a huge fridge/freezer combo, two rather large wine coolers, two stoves, a buffet full of cutlery of all shapes and sizes and a dining table that is too big to fit in our house.

Carolyn’s aunt and uncle used to own a huge 9,000 sq foot single level house that they built themselves on a hill overlooking San Jose, indoor swimming pool, huge rooms absolutely immaculate. The house looked like it was never lived in it was so clean and tidy.

We visited on a couple of occasions, and I got to see the smog over the city and I was glad we didn’t live there. Recently Carolyn’s aunt and uncle sold this house and purchased a similar property in Oregon City. Much closer to us and we have been invited down for a big family party.

Always feel kind of out of place, you don’t want to touch anything for fear of messing it up. At dinner they have all the requisite wines for each course and the whole array of cutlery, you need an instruction manual just to know which fork is for what.

These people made their money from having their own construction company and by being frugal. The aunt would restrict how many pieces of toilet paper were allowed to be used, would hang up kitchen towels to dry to reuse them and reuse tea bags as many times as she could get away with.

It is nice to have money, but to live so frugally and in an environment that is so clean and perfect just seems stifling. Even after a large family dinner party, the place still ends up looking pristine as everyone is on their best behavior.

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Wife and I got back just now, my company had our annual company picnic and we went to Tillicum Village on Blake Island just off the Seattle waterfront by ferry. A ferry ride, salmon dinner with the salmon smoked over alder wood fire free beer and traditional Indian dancing and culture. Not bad and we didn’t have to pay for it then we went and saw The Bourne Ultimatum. We enjoyed ourselves and we would’ve stayed out later if we didn’t have to work tomorrow.
Got home and relaxing and in waltzes the son-in-law, “Like my new tattoo?” he asks. This kid is tattooed all over and I told him I had no idea which was the new one, he showed me a small tattoo on his calf of a topless woman. They all tend to be naked women, then he asks, “Want to see my new piercing?”

After checking his face and not seeing anything that isn’t usually there I told him that was okay I didn’t need to see a piercing that wasn’t on his face.

The reason he came around was to use our computer to search the web, he was interested in getting a radar detector for his car. He asked if I knew anything about them, er, hello, mother-in-law and I don’t drive and don’t even have driving licenses  what would I know about them.

Interesting what I did find out about them, best radar detector, there are even radar detector detectors! I thought these things are illegal but apparently not 49 states. He seemed happy with what he found out and talked out other stuff to trick out his vehicle, like spinners and colored lights and other stuff that I have no clue about.

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