Thanksgiving Week

Last Sunday, Tim and I joined our friends Heather and Zane for a big dinner at Heather's family farm. It's essentially a Thanksgiving meal, but held on Sunday instead of Thursday. We made lots of new friends, ate 'til it hurt, and then out came the dessert(s). We were even sent home with some extra. Late in the afternoon, Heather took us out to meet their horses.

For our own Thanksgiving, Tim and I stayed close to home and just cooked for two. I've roasted full turkeys the previous two years, but this time we only bought a boneless breast and did that. We're not overly fond of dark meat, and we don't like to do leftovers, so it really worked out to be just right.

While we were watching the Macy's parade in the morning, I had a nice phone call with my father. I want to take a moment here to say how proud I am of him. Yes he is a hardcore Republican, but has come such a long way towards accepting Tim and me. He sees what Mom never has: that if Tim and I are happy, that matters more than politics or religion. I'm here to tell you: if my father can be brought around on the gay issue, anyone can. I'm not sure when or where it'll happen, on Dad's side of the Mississippi or ours, but I want us all to meet soon. There's a lot of catching up to do.

In the afternoon, we reinforced a few emerging household "traditions". We drank Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade, and watched the ultimate Angry Bird in Thankskilling. We were also pleased to find the Phineas and Ferb movie finally available on Netflix streaming (we're too cheap cool to have cable, so we've been itching for it since August). And we gathered 'round the laptop to listen to the Gay Pimp's telling of the tale of Gobble Gobble Gurl. I've got it embedded below, but it does contain NSFW language.

Gobble Gobble Gurl Saves Thanksgiving! by Jonny McGovern


We didn't aspire to do any "Black Friday" shopping (I never pass up an opportunity to show my contempt for retailers who use that phrase in their advertising). But that evening, we went downtown to watch the ceremonial lighting of Denver's City-County Building. I managed to forget to bring any SD cards for my camera, so I dipped into a Rite Aid on the 16th Street Mall, and found a $20 card for only $6.99. So that was the full extent of my indulgence in "doorbusters".

After a presentation of live music, and a cameo by Santa & Mrs. Claus, Mayor Michael Hancock and his wife threw the traditional "switch" to turn on the building's lights, officially ushering in the holiday season.





While downtown, we poked our heads in a few businesses, including the new H&M. The store is pretty, and the prices are low, but the clothes feel very cheap and thin. Like a Swedish Steve & Barry's. I'm not sure why people are so excited about this store, unless they've got some kind of clothes-ripping sex fetish that calls for bulk volumes of inexpensive disposable garments.

Last week, actor Jason Segel hosted Saturday Night Live in support of his new Muppets movie, and Florence + the Machine was the musical guest. I had not heard of her before, and was really impressed, so I bought the latest album online. Such a strong voice. If you like Dead Can Dance, Kate Bush, Sarah Brightman, stuff like that, definitely give Florence a listen.

By coincidence, we found ourselves playing Ceremonials in the car on the way to the theater last night to see The Muppets. Great, great movie, by the way. It takes the angle of the Muppets finding their place in a darker, more cynical modern world—their heyday came and went long ago. But isn't this dark and cynical world when we need the Muppets most of all? It was a fine way to cap off a week in which I've thought about my life and what I have to be thankful for.