Texas has a habit of making summer linger around well into the later months of Fall. When I booked my ticket for a quick Thanksgiving trip to one of my hometowns, I knew there was a distinct possibility the weather would be a brutal wintery wake up call.
THANKSGIVING DAY
Despite my best preparations, I never expected to stand outside for approximately eight hours in the bitter, blistery cold while freezing winds seared my body and snow fell from the wintry clouds overhead. With Corey and I bundled up around the grill spending the day smoking the turkey and drinking, I caught a cold that would hamper my life for the next couple of weeks.
Gen tended to the kitchen, preparing the sides for the big feast at Jodie's house and tried to keep a dutiful eye on the children, who had a funny penchant of opening windows and screaming out at Dad and Uncle Mikey standing in the bitter cold.
The turkey, which came out pretty incredible, along with all of the side dishes, was nearing completion when the phrase of the day was uttered, a defiant resolution against the cold conditions: "this is hotter than a homeless handjob."
We were pretty much done at that point.
ADDITIONAL PREPARATIONS After a spirited run through Kansas City's version of a 'Mexican supermarket', we unloaded the bags that overflowed the car and I got to work on my big task for the entire affair: making my mom's family recipe for peanut butter balls. After snitching the peanut balls from under my mom's
nose for decades, I finally got my comeuppance with two adult hands and two children's hands returning the favor as I mixed the ingredients through the night. Frustrated by fate turned against me, I was still able to turn out about 2/3 of the yield and they were the dessert hit of the day.
Gen took another of my mom's family recipes - her cranberry bread - and reproduced the recipe to near perfection. Unfortunately for mom, the exact recipe appears on the bag of Wisconsin cranberries that we bought. When this was
brought to mom's attention, she shamelessly replied, "Well, it's a good recipe, and one worth stealing!"
ON HANNAH MONTANA: A POTENTIAL JUROR RINGS IN After a filling Thanksgiving meal and a few glasses of wine, my good friend, with help from her mom, unleashes a saucy dissertation on the demerits of the current kiddie fad: Hannah Montana.
COMING SOON: + HOME BEFORE DARK A depressing trip through the mind of artists + NORTH(EAST)ERN EXPOSURE My two month sabbatical in the North + THINGS TO DO IN DENVER The splendor of Colorado
ALREADY THERE: + TALES OF THE REALLY WHITE VIGILANTE the tale of one young man's attempts to stop the gentrification of East Austin a 62 page comic book.
2008 MAY 10-11 Alter Ego Show Gallery DV8 2300 East 16th, Austin, Texas nearly thirty Austin artists explore their other sides JUNE - JULY Tales of the Really White Vigilante, Volume 2 our intrepid hero battles hipsters, SXSW and battles his own demons NOVEMBER Solo Painting Show my first complete solo
show since April, 2006 with all new works
