T-Day went by without a hitch.  Well, why wouldn't it, right?  I guess since I am the self-appointed CEO of my family's Thanksgiving, then I take it upon myself to be the official spaz.  It's a total waste of energy.  Remind me in a year's time to take a chill pill.  I need to quit selling myself short, I can totally cook up a feast!  And I actually enjoy it.  I won't let the holidays get me in a fit.

We had our Thxgiving meal @ KMHD & Zach's home.  The menu was traditional & straightforward.  Zach & KMHD built (I said BUILT) a lovely dinner table & decorated it, too.  Our guests of honor were Mayumi & Zach's mum.  Nothing went wrong, everything was tasty.  I didn't forget to hook up Gen. Chang with turkey under the table!

As is our tradition, we had supper @ Waffl3 Hous3.  The one on McCain Blvd. was so understaffed & miserable that we went to the one in Sherwood.  It's a tradition I can live with.  

KMHD:

Zach's mum, Zach & ATM:

ATM & Gen. Chang:

Mayumi:

Zach:

That evening, we put up the Xmas tree.  All ornaments are from my late paternal Grandmother.  They are older than I am, so they've lost their luster & are probably chock full of lead, but are valuable to me.  Aside from the lights, there is nothing new on that tree, it's all vintage.

I am so addicted to Irish Cream coffees.  My homemade ones are KILLER & I find myself drinking them all hours of the day/night.  It has become my official drank of winter 08.  Here's my recipe: one shot of Irish cream, freshly brewed good coffee, two dollops of homemade whipped topping & a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Do not mix it, drink it through the cream.  Go to town!  Do a dance!  Wash some dishes!  We actually need to lay off 'em, they are screwing with our sleep habits.

On Black Friday a.k.a. Buy Nothing Day, we carefully navigated back roads & avoided main driving arteries to get to the tobacco shop & Sam's Oriental Market.  I always want to observe BND, but I'm never prepared enough or have the discipline to do it.  I'll forget to buy something that I'll need that day/evening.  I mean, I don't go to any stores in hopes to shop for some bargain Xmas deals, but I will go to the grocer's to buy a forgotten ingredient, or the liquor store, or the gas station.  I will try harder next year.  On Thankgiving night, we actually saw people camping out in front of B3stBuy.  In tents, wtf.  We considered stopping by & watching them for awhile.

Our post-Thxgiving Bring Your Leftovers potluck was a success.  We had too much food, not enough appetite.  Although I had a lovely time, I think it'll be awhile before we have company again.  We've had several communions in such a short amount of time.

Yesterday, Eclipse Glasses Banda were photographed for a Dem-o-zette article about them & the AR Flag & Banner building.  I tagged along, so I could look at the legendary Dreamland Ballroom upstairs.  I walked around in awe, you can envision how awesome shows were in the heyday. It needs a lot of work.  Hopefully the coverage will bring in the money. Little Rock needs it.  ELLA FITZGERALD & BB KING WUZ HERE.

Arriving, outside of AR Flag & Banner:

Entrance, on the third floor:

From the stage:

Group shot I:

Group shot II:

Group shot III:

After lunch with the guys, me & ATM drove to Hot Springs to check out the flea market.  I also do a little retail Xmas shopping.  I bought things like nice olive oil, real maple syrup, & olives.  You know, things we want for Xmas.  I'm all about getting/giving perishables for gifts.  Our house is small, we don't need more stuff.  The rest of the gifts will be baked goods (I've got banana bread duty, KMHD will attempt sourdough bread) & Heifer Int'l givings.  We didn't leave town before stopping by Rolando's for supper.  That stuff is God food.

Today, it is cold, grey & rainy.  I wanted to go to JT Designs for the last time, but they were closed.  I don't know if they were closed closed or just not open today, but I bet I could've found some vintage kitchen gadgets with a severely reduced price tag.  I'll just have to keep my eye on it, maybe try this coming Saturday.  I'm about to look up chicken pot pie recipes for this evening.  Perfect for this kind of weather and a good way to wrap up this Thxgiving holiday.