That was a Thanksgiving for the record books! We had a total of six guests; some were last minute, some were last last minute, but we managed to accommodate everyone. It was interesting times!

The menu included the usual stuff and some new dishes: Roast turkey, *honey baked ham, dressing, smashed potatoes, smashed butternut squash, braised & creamed Brussels sprouts, sweet peas with pearl onions, cranberry sauce w/ orange zest, yeast rolls & bourbon sweet potato pie with homemade whipped topping.

*a gift from ATM's father & stepmother

This is the adult table; KMHD & Zach had to sit at the kid's table. Hee.


So you can Christmas now, o.k.? I'm joining the fight against Christmas Creep. Let us Thanksgiving first! In fact, let us load the dishwasher before we get started! Mayumi & SOLO helped me put up the tree.:


I can't recall the rest of Thanksgiving day; it's all a blur now. We did do our traditional late night run to Waffle House. We have to do this because there is no way I'm cooking again and no one wants leftovers just yet, amirite?

The next day, desperate to be out of the house but wanting to avoid Black Friday madness, KMHD & I drove Mayumi to Hot Springs to treat her to birthday goodness. We window shopped (Hello, Minnetonka moccasins!) & had a late lunch @ Rolando's. Then we went to Garvan Woodland Gardens. I'm a fan! We are so getting a Japanese maple for our house one day:




KMHD/Mayumi:

My total high school shoe self-portrait:

What's this?

Oh!



A new holiday tradition! It felt good to be outside, walking around, loving Arkansas. Maybe we can try a state park next time.

I was completely spent Friday night. I went to bed at 9 p.m.

On Saturday, we spent the entire day 1. reclaiming the house and 2. making egg roll for the Peek baby shower. Totally time consuming. And the egg rolls weren't as great as the first batch, which made me fear that I was bringing the dish of shame.

Speaking of the shower, it was the best baby shower I've been to. It was like a normal party, save the pile of presents in the corner. There were no embarrassing games and we didn't have to sit through gift opening! I got to see all kinds of folk, including those who live a half-world away. It was pretty much awesome. My favorite part was when some of us snuck off to Zach's shed to listen to his 8 track player. Party within a party. Heather did a lovely job as hostess with the mostess. And since we are neighbors, we got to walk home! We need more people to move up to Park Hill. So we can walk home from your party.

I took a ton of photos and this is the best I could do? I guess I didn't have my camera eye on. Watching the game:



Before stumbling off to bed, ATM had the idea of going back to Garvan Gardens the next day, so he can get his cover shot for the magazine. I couldn't say no. Too, we were going while the holiday lights were on. Even with the rain, it was lovely.

Those beautiful maples again:


Koi:

This is actually a little creepy:


Before heading to the garden, we stopped by the flea market & the Arlington for a drink in the lobby.




It was a good way to wrap up the holiday weekend, but you could still feel the Sunday weighing us down. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks of normalcy until we get to Round II.

I don't want discuss what this did to the self-improvement plan. Back in the saddle, back in the saddle.


Someone please edit this post.

Sneak peek!

Tonight is THE night for us to get everything done before Thanksgiving -- all of the cleaning and the shopping. How exciting, right? I love playing hostess, it is 'my thing'. We're doing something a little different this year by going to Hot Springs on Black Friday to avoid, well, everything. Too, I'd like to treat my stepmother to dinner @ Rolando's for her birthday.

Last night, I decided to play test kitchen and try my hand at making egg rolls. I've been given the task to make them for Keiko's baby shower which is this Saturday & I wanted to give myself time to fail, fail again, and fail yet again before serving them to real life humans. I actually hit the nail on the head on the first try; they are really tasty! They are poorly constructed (READ: ugly). In fact, the next one is uglier than the last! But, they are YUMG. I borrowed from the Vietnamese, the Chinese & the Japanese -- cabbage, carrots, shrimp, green onions, soy sauce, fresh ginger, tofu, mung bean sprouts, glass noodles, sesame oil, etc. It was so hard to limit ourselves to just a couple "samples". I think I'll wait to take photos after I fry them up.


Hot Dog!



Thanksgiving sneak preview...brussels sprouts!

My sous chef:


Mum brought our ferns back -- they've been kickin' it in her greenhouse. Anyway, this guy came with:

He is currently loose in the house somewhere. Probably on my toothbrush or something.

Sprucing up the joint for the holiday:


This is the most put together our house has been since we've moved in:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Salty

(To all of my genteel readers, please excuse the following colorful language.)

To the motherfucker(s) who broke into KMHD's house: I bind you by grave injunctions from the river, back to the river. May you fall in a nettle patch; may savage dogs eat you one inch at a time! Before the night is over, before the day is through, whatever you have done to others, will come right back at you!

Can you believe this shit? This is the SECOND time this year KMHD has been violated. I feel so angry. I feel so helpless as an older sister. She was so frustrated yesterday, she considered putting her house on the market and getting the hell out of there. I don't blame her! It's just so extreme & I hate that she's getting punked. Please send warm thoughts her way (as the events made her feel ill) & curses to her violator.

Naturally, this makes ATM & I reevaluate our current situation & what we need to do to secure our own home. We are fools because we've yet to change the locks on our doors. That will be remedied this weekend or sooner. It's that time of year for smash & grab. Ugh, I despise thieves!

There's a lot we haven't done around the house, but I'm slowly learning that this is a slow, lifelong project. We've got our homeowner eyes on; all I can see is everything that is wrong with the place and it is vexing. We need new locks, better windows, a new light fixture, a paint job, more furniture, etc. etc. I am trying to be self-aware and notice what's right & good about the place, but it can be hard when you still have packed boxes everywhere & horrible fluorescent lighting that you have every intention of replacing when you've got the funds. I do love my home, though! And I'm still getting used to the idea that I can do whatever I please without consulting a horrible landlady. It's all just taking a lot longer than I anticipated. At least I have 30+ years to work on it.

I do, however, need to get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday right away. We're hosting! While I have all of the dishes planned, I have no idea where to procure tables & chairs. Too, I found out we're having two extra unplanned guests, so that complicates matters, but only slightly. It'll be an interesting gathering, I think. ATM & I will both have members from our respective families represented & I'm curious as to how this will turn out. If I seem calm, cool & collected, it's just an act. If I could have it my way, we'd run away to New Orleans for Thanksgiving. Alas! We cain't affurd it.

Last year, Mayumi got me a noren curtain from Japan per my request. For someone who usually has great taste, I was taken aback by the colors she picked; I had no idea how I was going to integrate it into my home. You can see it below underneath all of the other goodies:

Peach/tan & weird gray? I decided that I'd dye it before giving up hope on the thing. I'm pleased to say that I did a successful RIT dye job! RIT is notoriously bad, amirite? I've only heard horror stories about the stuff. I was hoping to dye it the mauvey purple on the box:

It turned out way more royal purple than I expected!

Alannah suggested washing it in really hot water to take some of the color out. I'll have to give it a go the next time we go to (Un)Fun Wash. I'm really glad that I like purple AND it goes o.k. with our newly painted gray walls & our blue furniture.

One thing at a time.

It seems like a lifetime ago, but a couple of Saturdays past, we hung up the new post box, had a party, and hosted our first-ever guest.




Alannah came down from Fayetteville to help me celebrate my birthday & to warm our house. There are no words to express the gratitude & love I feel for this woman. We share a lot of the same beliefs and everyday problems. It's so terrific to know that I'm not alone AND I have back up. I always hope that everyone has that someone in their life; it makes things so much easier!

That said, check out the bitchin' birthday prezzies she got me!

This candle holder is made of Himalayan salt. I know because I licked it! And the box that it came in said so, too. It gives off fantastic light.




Alannah's sister, Jessy, is the proprietor an incredible little shop in Fayetteville, AR called Good Things Boutique. Naturally, they carry free trade & sustainable products. I was ecstatic to receive goodies from there. This incense sampler is pretty amazing. I opened it up to give it a whiff and I smelled a spicy curry-like smell. Japanese incense is ace.



This shirt, too, came from Good Things Boutique. I am a proud native Arkansan -- I'm so serious, whenever Arkansas does a good deed or has a pretty weather, I nearly cry tears of pride & joy.

Alannah also gifted me some bubbly & some art that she made. If you will, imagine me pointing at myself right now: this is what spoiled looks like!

Our housewarming party was, in my opinion, a smashing success. First of all, we have a superior lot of friends who give good company. Then there was the nacho bar & ice cream cake.

The Peeks got us these lovely (hard to kill) succulents. I love the one that looks like a sea creature:


Team Micah/Donna got us these precious flower bulbs. We need to get those into the ground, pronto! Alannah told me a very charming story of how when she was little, she believed in fairies. (Still does?) She believed that they slept on the fuzzy part of the bearded iris. Awwwwww! Of course I will always think of that every time I see them.


Holland/Salley nachos. The only thing this par-tay was missing was 1. Dr. P3pp3r & 2. pony rides.




Thank you for recycling:


The next morning, Alannah, ATM & I went to Loca Luna's for brunch. I regret not whipping out the camera to document our dishes. You know how there is usually entree envy? I don't think anyone suffered it because we all kept our eyes on our own plates and ate everything in sight. All I can say is crab cake eggs benedict. I'm sitting here yearning for some. It made the day feel like a holiday.

That evening, after everyone went home & the house was cleaned, we went to Pizza Cafe to meet the brand new Murphy baby. His name is Nikolai (Yes, Niko for short!) and he is beauteous. I'm so glad we got to meet him before he & his folks jetted back to San Francisco.

With mum, Lauren:


Niko, ATM & Papi Henry:


Moving on!
Say good-bye to this:

I don't recall which evening it was, but I started tearin' away at this hideous wallpaper. Next thing you know, ATM is in on the deal and we ended up with piles of it on the floor. Unfortunately, it was just the top layer. I spent all of Veteran's day scoring, soaking & scraping the bottom layer off. UNFUN. I'm still not done! Essentially, we peeled off this band-aid that uncovered the flaws of our kitchen; we will need to replace the countertops before we can paint the walls. So, I have since moved on to painting the livingroom, which is just as well as it is sparsely furnished. Sigh. I'm finally learning & accepting that this making our house a home will take a minute. Say...30 years? And it's all "one thing at a time." I will be very happy when we are done painting the living room and the entry way. I don't know what project we'll be moving on to next, but it probably won't be anything lofty.




This past Friday, we went to Lauren McEntire's art opening @ the Historic Arkansas Museum. I love Lauren. She is a true sweetheart. And her art's pretty good, too. In fact, I bought this one:

The story behind it is that she had friends draw, from memory, the states. Then she embroidered it. Someone was way off on Arkansas, but it's a great piece overall. I'll retain ownership in January 2010, but I already have it's place picked out at the house. It's the first time I've bought art through a museum instead of the artist directly, so I felt chichi & baroque.

Embroidered punk rock pillows. Lace? Of course! Richard Hell, Paul Simonon, Patti Smith, Ian Curtis, John Doe & Siouxsie Sioux. I wanted to see the Exene Cervenka one, but she already sold it!



Pearl, Lauren & Jeremy:

If you have a chance to go see Lauren's collection, PLEASE DO. Details here.

After Lauren's opening, we went to the Peek residence to celebrate Rett's birthday. I can't explain my photo-taking habits; I do not have ONE photo with Mr. Peek in it. Instead, I have one of a seriously sassy Collin w/orbs:

And one of Keiko, Luca, and Negi:

And one of Rett's gift, a John Kushmaul painting. I will admit, I'm envious. I've been trying to obtain a Kushmaul for a minute. I may just have to commission a painting. Notable, too, the Robert Dylan/ATM profiles.

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Rett!

On Saturday, I finally got to celebrate my birthday properly with ATM. He treated me to a massage @ the Quapaw Bathhouse.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And then we had dinner @ the consistently delicious Rolando's. You can see the massage effects lingering in my eyes. Hee.:

It has been over 10 years since I've had a professional massage. Let's just say that I'm a massageonyst now. I'm already looking for my next fix. I think we'll book ourselves something around the holidays? I hope so. I mean, I DO have an overworked arm that has been giving me problems for awhile now. Mmmhmm.

On Sunday, we did brunch @ Robert y Leigh's apartment. Killer fish tacos (by Leigh and Collin) & fruit & guacamole & cheese dip & churros & Mexican Cokes.


After brunching, we started working on the living room. Micah told me to take a lot of pictures as we transform our house, so we can remember how much we've done and what it looked like before. This is just primer over the existing living room color. Last night, I started applying the color and it looks great! Me and my shoulder can't wait to be done!


After making some headway in the livingroom, ATM & I went to ACAC to see The Blue Hit from Austin, TX. It's really just one of those bands you need to see. Before they started playing, my rude 'tude was all "whatever" at them, but their first song sounded like Portishead, so my interest was piqued and I actually enjoyed the show. Singer-lady is a total show(wo)man!