Black Friday
Friday, November 24, 2006
Collette went off to Cracker Barrel for breakfast that morning – the traditional breakfast meeting-place for Diana, Collette, Carrie-Bri, and Eve – a newspaper reporter in Chicago, a wife and soon-to-be mom, a grad student, and a college student. Diverse, but still old pals.
There was talk of going to New Zealand, about Diana and Eve’s Nana being married again at 71 for the fourth time, how everyone thought Diana English was the best name for a journalist, etc. over eggs, biscuits, and apple butter in the mild cool of the morning. Diana and Eve’s other Nana and Grandpa also dropped by while they ate to say goodbye to the girls before returning to Arkansas; they had spent Thanksgiving with the Englishs.
“But first, we have to stop by and get some more sugar free candy,” Grandpa pointed his finger at Eve. “Because this girl ate all of it yesterday.”
Eve turned red and laughed, “I did not.”
“Well, better you get in trouble with him than I do,” Nana joked.
Following breakfast, Diana and Eve returned for Diana to go on a date to the movies with her dad before leaving for Alfonso’s and Velvet’s for pizza that night, and for Eve to work out at the gym with her aunt before joining Kitts and Carrie later in the day. Collette came back to the apartment to help OLeif set up the Christmas lights and decorations (which never actually happened), and Carrie was off for a day with Kitts which would begin jumping on a floor of trampolines at SkyZone.
In the afternoon, instead, OLeif finished touching up the family Christmas pictures before they headed over to drop them off at the Silverspoon’s and Snicketts’. At the house, all the Christmas decorations were up and Dad had strung up the rather faded red lights on the house, while Frances mowed the lawn.
Inside, Kitts and Carrie were preparing to record an outrageous Russian music video and dressed themselves up in outlandish costumes and painted their faces. OLeif also gave them a photo shoot.
Before that, OLeif and Collette drove Rose around for her to take pictures of various things, which included a car smoking black clouds out of its tailpipe and another small convertible car with a giant Christmas tree sticking straight up from the back seat. They also picked up a huge amount of gingerbread house supplies, and returned before the crowd hit.
Before six large pizzas came to the front door, a good crowd had arrived: Eve, Curly and Izzy, Wallace and Starr, Lolli, Relevance, Old Blue and Cashmere, and Bo Ernie.
Somewhere in between, Dad returned with Frances and Linnea from the RecPlex for a few hours of swimming, and then Dad took Linnea out to dinner.
A small bonfire was built in the backyard and some fancy gingerbread houses were constructed, including a trailer home (by OLeif), a tropical setting with tent (including green grass from crunched Jolly Ranchers, by Izzy), a third world dwelling (as though it was taken from Bangladesh, as Mom said, by Frances), a few more conventional homes by Eve and Rose, and the Hanging Gardens (by Carrie-Bri).
The beginning of Christmas festivities.