First: Good thoughts for Oscar today, all. It's his last day on the Critical Watch List for bloat.
Last night's
tupper took place at Sally's charming abode. It launched with Michelle's early arrival -- looking serene and beautiful and calm, like a woman who had NOT rushed to dinner straight from getting off work soothing distraught mentally ill people at 7pm.
Sally's new chair was much admired, Alix professed a distaste for Philip Glass, furniture was
marshaled and organized. Conversation commenced with an overview of the sufferings of poor Oscar and
Binti, and Alix noted that her trip to Italy had cost less than the dogs' weekend of intensive care.
Andy and special guest star Stephen Lamb arrived fresh from the airport just in time to sit down to a
spectacularly delicious dinner of couscous, a yummy garbanzo-bean mixture topped with parsley and lemon, fresh green salad, olives stuffed with
Gorgonzola, warm pita bread, and several bottles of reportedly excellent red wine.
Kathleen launched a discussion of a Christmas party, and those of us who can barely endure this season fell into despair, while others spoke in a lively manner of their engagements.
Andrew
announced the return of the Demented Breakfast Cereal party, Feb 2, after a 6-year hiatus.
Alix noted that all
tuppers are welcome at her place for thanksgiving.
Andy explained about Women of the Lost Mesa, which featured an 8ft in diameter man-eating spiders and spider women, and also Lash La
Rou, who taught Harrison Ford how to wield a bullwhip, and noted that the author of these weird horror films moved to Tennessee, met Andy's grandfather, converted to Christianity and became the leading producer of
Christsploitation horror films.
Ron
Ormand, as he was named, became close friends with John R Rice, and indeed, the flaming pit of hell was filmed in Andy's childhood backyard. The film included a cameo by Jerry Falwell as himself, (not as the Devil, as per Alix's suggestion).
Kathleen breathed some salad and turned purple.
Another thing that happened in Andy's backyard was that his grandfather came and rode his horse around it. The horse was named General of the Armies Douglas
MacArthur Jr and had to be addressed by his full name or not at all.
Break for free-for-all about various pet and object names of all
tuppers. Jan had a boat called the Prince George of Denmark. I can't remember the others so please add them in the comments to ensure the accuracy of the record.
There was a brief discussion of
Facebook and
LinkedIn, with certain parties expressing dismay they'd never been invited to join these networks but a simultaneous resolve never to have anything to do with them.
Stephen noted that he was in town to hear pastor Rob Bell, of the Emergent Evangelical church, who does yoga from the pulpit in Michigan. Several fascinating-sounding books that discuss how people raised in the Christian right began to question and seek alternatives were mentioned. Anyone who wants to record their titles in comments would be most welcome!
The subject turned to how best to dismay and
appall Stephen's family with piercings, the highlight of which was Sally's suggestion that he appear with a giant diaper clip appearing to be stuck
thru his face, possibly with a little bear or other cuddly creature as the closing part.
Dinner came to a close when Andy fled the table after mention of a certain popular body modification that is too sensitive for mention in this forum. He was lead, rather like Oedipus by Antigone, from the house by young Stephen, covering his eyes, accompanied by the distant screaming of a monkey.
Kathleen will cook next week, dinner will be at Alix and Andy's -- we are promised a selection from Alice Waters's new cookbook. Yippee!
Love Jan
