Friendsgiving and Black Friday: Coronavirus Edition

Happy Thanksgiving-ish, America.

Starting off the day with the Great Christmas Record Odyssey. 

Well, the ol' Covid Pandemic continues to rage unabated throughout American society, and consequently our usual Thanksgiving plans for this year were kibosh-ed. 

Now, typically, we Houghs load up in the minivan and travel down to scenic Romulus in order to spend the day with Kris' extended fam (both her mom and her dad's side), squeezing dozens of visits all into one day.  Due to impending society collapse, of course, this couldn't happen this year, and so we were left wide open for the holiday for the first time since, well. . . ever.

Ultimately, we ended up spending the holiday with the Larsons, Boses, and Johnsons - all of which have already been hit by Covid (more than three week ago), have quarantined, have the antibodies/imunities, are all working from home, and only hang out within our immediate circle.  We were hesitant to even do this - considering how insane things are getting these days with ever-increasing case numbers, etc. - but, seeing how they're no longer carriers and everything, we deemed it safe.  Note: as a further precaution, just to be safe, we plan on quarantining for two weeks following the holiday, since we don't want Christmas to suffer the same fate.

So, America, I leave you now with a bunch of pics that highlight our last-minute, Hail Mary attempt at celebrating Thanksgiving, the usual subsequent Black Friday tree setup, etc.  

Enjoy. 

My brother, Chris, proposed having a family-wide Zoom call on Thanksgiving Day, but since he has no experience with Zoom at all, asked if I wouldn't mind setting it up (I spend about 6 hours a Goddamn day on Zoom, so I didn't mind.)  We kicked things off at 11am, and set up in the kitchen so we could visit with the rest of the Hough fam while Kris and I started putting dishes together.

Definitely reminded us a lot of our Florida days, that's for sure. . .

From Top Left to Bottom Right:  The Houghs v.2.0, the Whites, Dad, Cindy, Bryan and Chelsey, and The Houghs vs. 2.1. 

It wouldn't be Thankgiving without watching the Lions lose. . .

Queen of the Sides, hard at work in her office.  Kris was tasked with this year's mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, and stuffing.

After our Zoom call with my extended family, and while Kris wrapped up her meal prep and the kids showered and got ready for the day, I took these two assholes around the neighborhood for our daily walk.  Definitely a highlight of my days, as I get to have a moment's peace with a pipe and an audiobook (currently I'm working my way through this phenomenal book, which is incredibly well-researched and insightful.  And long.)

Around 3pm, we headed on over to the Larson residence, who once again hosted Friendsgiving (like they did last year.)  Mitch did the Turkey for us this year, putting it in a smoker instead of a conventional oven (he's one of our group's 'mad scientist' grill experts, so pulling shit out like this on a whim is his forte.)

Smoked Turkey.

Mitch's wife, Kelli, hacking the bird to pieces.

After the Lions lost, we watched the Cowboys play the artists formerly known as the Redskins. . .

Abby, Sophie, and Maddy enjoying some sparkling cider.  I really wanted to have Kris, Danielle, and Kelli (their moms, respectively), recreate this pic in order to do a side-by-side, but sadly we never got around to it.

The Cannonball is a huge fan of mashed potatoes (her plate was practically filled with it earlier.)

The Johnsons and Colliers showed up shortly before dinner, and afterwards us dads just kinda sat around in the living room and had a few beers while watching football.  Personally, I don't like football, so I spent a lot of my time shopping on Amazon.

About 8pm, ourselves, the Johnsons, and the Boses ended up leaving, but not before we left all of our children behind at the Larsons for a mega-sleepover.  There's no way in hell I would've been down for something like that, but to each their own. . .

The next morning, a desk that we ordered from Wayfair was delivered (assuming it came in the morning because it was privately shipped - usually we get packages in the late afternoon/early evening.)  Kris really wanted to buy Abby a desk, seeing how she's currently learning from home virtually, and for the unforeseeable future.  This desk cost far more than I was hoping to spend, buuuut. . . Covid.  I ended up assembling it in under an hour by myself with zero issues (thank God.)

For most of the day, our kids hung out at the Larsons - despite not having packed a toothbrush, change of clothes, etc. - and they didn't come home until about 5pm or so.  When they did so, we heated up some leftovers and popped in a Christmas movie: being the Day After Thanksgiving and everything, it is now 'officially' the Dawn of the Holiday Season.  As such, it was only fitting I start cracking away at my reserve of Holiday beers. . .

As in previous years, we started (and plan on ending) the Holiday Season with our household's all-time favorite Christmas movie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

After that movie ended and the kids went to bed, it was once again time for Kris and I to decorate our Christmas Tree.  Our traditional, go-to movie while hanging up all our decorations is the comedy classic, Some Like It Hot, and we keep our DVD copy of the movie in the same tote bin as our tree ornaments, as this is the only time of year that we watch it.  Alas, seeing how it's 2020 and everything, this year the movie was mysteriously missing - it had randomly disappeared without a trace (of course.)  So, consequently, we were forced to rent the movie off of Amazon Prime.  

Kris, not amused.

Alongside Christmas Vacation, I like to open and close the 'official' Holiday Season with my all-time favorite Christmas cocktail, a Merry Irishman.

This cocktail is a bit too strong for Kris' taste, so I always whip her up a Christmas-y White Russian instead (using peppermint vodka instead of regular to give it a festive twist.)

If you've never seen this movie before, you're doing yourself a disservice.  Shame on you.

I was adamant this year about sectioning off the tree in various 'regions' of themed-ornaments (much to Kris' annoyance.)  I gave her the front of the tree for our nostalgic and sentimental ornaments, while I sectioned off the sides for our series runs.  And yes, I'm aware that I put waaaay too much thought and effort into this.  Shut up.

Samson made it on to the tree this year (fortunately Hallmark offers an annual, dated dog frame ornament.)

Proud to say that I own every Indiana Jones ornament Hallmark has ever created.  Tell your friends.

Trannies.

The Master at work.

Behold, Hallmark's The Muppets collection.  I'm completely up to date with this series. . . except for 2008's Waldorf and Statler and 2010's Beaker (I'm keeping an eye on them on Amazon, but the price for those has skyrocketed.)

Meanwhile, back on the train bound for Florida. . .

I purchased this extremely hard-to-find NES system ornament after months of it being out of stock (and triple the price through most online vendors.)  Was able to pounce on it when it was back in stock at the regular price for a few minutes on Amazon - I've never seen such a popular Christmas ornament, but totally get it - the lid opens up, there's a Super Mario/Duck Hunt game inside, and if you hit the Power button it lights up and plays the Mario Bros. theme music.  Pretty badass.

Pervy old men. . .

Admittedly, my Star Wars section of the tree could use some serious work. . .

And for the finale. . .

Hell yes, Fezzig still has a spot on our tree. . .

And there you have it, folks:  The Houghs' 2020 Christmas Tree.

Let the Holiday Season begin. . .

- Brian

Friendsgiving, Romulus, and African American Friday: Dawn of the Holiday Season

It's the most wonderful time for a beer. . .

Happy Holidays, America.

So we just wrapped up our run of the Thanksgiving Gauntlet and are now officially in the Holiday Season.  Thank f***ing God.

I, for one, start gearing up for Christmas the second Halloween is over and done with. . . more or less because I despise Thanksgiving and would rather just sleep through it entirely.  I know I've explained this before many, many times, but my family has never really got down with Thanksgiving all that much.  Even growing up, we just treated it like any other meal, just with additional uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents.  Womenfolk in the kitchen, guys watching the Lions lose, someone gets physically injured and requires medical attention, or some expensive appliance breaks, arguments break out, people get pissed, and we all agree to do it again next year.

God, I hate Thanksgiving. . .

All out chaos in the Larson's kitchen at Friendsgiving '19

Anyway, like in previous years, this year we once again planned on going down to Romulus to visit with Kris' extended family.  This year, however, we added another social obligation to our calendar:  this year, for the day before, our friends the Larsons decided to host a Friendsgiving, with everyone in our nine-family social group bringing food (and drinks) and hanging out together.  Wives in one room, husbands in another, kids in the basement. . . you know, the usual.


Come to think of it, that's a lot like my Thanksgivings growing up, just without all the hospital visits, garbage disposals breaking, and relatives yelling and swearing at one another.

And more beer.  Definitely more beer these days.

Anyway, here's a brief run-down of the Houghs' Friendsgiving/Thanksgiving/Black Friday tour-de-force.  Enjoy the holy hell out of it. . .

The Dad Brigade.  Lonnie, Matt, Brad, Dave, Morgan, Ryan and Steve.

The Shepherds, who relocated to New Jersey in August, flew in for the 'holiday' (if we can even stomach referring to Thanksgiving as a 'holiday.')  Pete's buddy there, on the left, showed up for Friendsgiving, but I can't remember that dude's name.

Total child mayhem in the basement.  I try and stay out of the 'kid zone' whenever we all get together - it's absolute insanity.

Yes, that's moonshine.  It always turns into one of those nights with these guys.

The following morning - much later than we had anticipated - we set off for downstate.

The van works out well on these cross-state trips - the built-in DVD player is a godsend (my Escape doesn't have one.)

Welcome to scenic. . . Romulus.

 

Once again, just like every other year we come down here for Thanksgiving, Kris refused to stop so I could try the apparently world-class filet mignon at the Landing Strip - Romulus' premier strip club.

The Laginess Clan.  They asked if I would take the annual family picture this year, which I of course was totally happy to do, but afterwards we all realized that we should've made one of Kris' niece's boyfriends take it, since, you know, they probably won't be around in a year or so, and I've been around for nearly twenty.  Oh well.  Since I don't take pictures of this event, and Kris never takes pictures at all, this is the only one you get.

Fast forward to the morning of Black Friday.  Since we Houghs don't really get up early to brave stores and engage in ridiculous 'door-buster' deals for shit-ass, third-tier TVs or crappy electronics and toys (we do our shopping online, like civilized folk), we hung around lazily and let the girls start decorating their tree in the basement.

(Any excuse to play around with my new camera, folks.)

Breaking out the B-squad ornaments that have been labeled as 'not good enough to go on the main Christmas Tree.'

Eating brownies at 10am.  'Cause it's sort of a holiday. . . right?

Snuggling with the dog.

Watson and the Cannonball.

Abby did about 90% of the tree decorating, as Alayna was too preoccupied consuming her gigantic brownie. . .

I can't bring myself to replacing our Star Wars-themed tree skirt.  I just can't do it.

Posing for the camera.

See?  The dog does it, too.

Later that night, after the girls went to bed, it was time to mix up one of my favorite Holiday cocktails - a Merry Irishman (Tullamore Dew, peppermint vodka, and coffee liqueur) and decorate our tree with ornaments.

Like I've mentioned before - many, many times over the years - Kris and I always watch the classic comedy Some Like It Hot while we hang up our ornaments on the tree.  You'd be hard-pressed to find a funnier movie from the '60s,

Note the designated Indiana Jones, Muppets, and Detroit Lions sections on our tree.  We try to theme various areas of the tree while decorating, some years more successfully than others.

Meanwhile, back on the TV. . .

Watson napped most of the evening while we worked around him in the living room.  The pillow on the right is Kris' first new throw pillow of the season.  Cause indeed for celebration. 

I look like a homeless guy here.  A holly, jolly homeless guy.

 

The legendary Jack Lemmon.

Yes, still napping.  The lazy bastard.

 

A really good beer, just perfect for a History teacher during the cold, winter months. . .

And that's how you kick off the official start of the Holiday Season, America.  Prepare for the Yule-ness of the coming weeks. . .

- Brian