Holidays – Page 2

Finagling out of going

When I was younger I went to a lot of parties. I don’t know if I was a party animal in the sense that I went to every party, which I didn’t, but I enjoyed going to quite a few, plus all my friends were there, so I sort of had to go. These days I don’t really care to go. I do, but I would rather not attend.

There’s a condo get together next week, just about a dozen of us are attending, I would love to not go, but I guess I should. I mean I just have to take the elevator down a few floors.

A few years back, I didn’t go to my brother’s for Easter. I had just seen my family a couple of days before at Pizza Night and I didn’t feel like taking the long drive out to their house. When my nephew asked me why I didn’t show up, I said, “You expected me to drive all that way for a fukn slice of ham?”

I can still see the look on his face, his reaction. He jumped back, the way Charlie Brown does when he sees the little Christmas tree all lit up and decorated at the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas. I laugh every time I think of it. I’ve been to so many events at their house over the years, I just didn’t feel like going that one year.

I was just with about 20 people at Thanksgiving at a cousin’s house in New York – that’s a yearly thing, I wouldn’t miss it. And this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I’ll be with my family here in Miami, I wouldn’t miss any of that.

One time I didn’t go out on New Year’s Eve. It was my first time being alone, ever. I’m including when I was a baby and a child up to adulthood. I was never alone.

I don’t remember the reason for being alone this one year, but it was very uncomfortable at first. I’ve always been with family or friends or at parties or whatever. But this was so odd. I didn’t know how to react. But you know what? I loved it. I look forward to not doing anything on New Year’s Eve every year now. As they say, that’s a night for amateurs to go out.

I’m known for not doing things I don’t want to do. Typical Gemini.

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Walking in the air

The last few years there has been a Sarah Brightman Christmas special on PBS and in it she talks about an animated 1982 British movie called The Snowman, based on a children’s book.

There’s a haunting song that she features about and has a boy from her choir along with the original singer Peter Auty.

This is a scene and the song from the movie.

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Pumpkin smile

This Tomversation cartoon ran today. It started out as a similar image which was almost identical to a New Yorker cartoon by Sara Lautman, which you can see here.

I drew the original cartoon last week, thinking it was a funny image, with the jack-o-lantern smiling with big white teeth, but I couldn’t think of a gag. So it just sat for a few days and then I came up with the candy corn teeth and I played around with that, making various images.

Sara came up with an excellent gag. You can see my original smiling one below without any text, since I couldn’t think of anything funny. I just thought it was never done before – a smiling, big toothed jack-o-lantern.

I hate when similar ideas happen regarding cartoons, which is quite often. It always looks as if one person got the idea from the other. Great minds . . .

Here are a few more of my candy corn variations without the text. There are more, too, believe it or not.

I’m glad I went with the top one. It fits in with the Halloween theme this week, perfectly.

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I gotta rock

This recent cartoon is a play on words from “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” You know, the “I got a rock!” part.

I got a t-shirt recently with the Peanuts characters and Charlie Brown is shown saying that as the kids go trick-or-treating. I plan on waring it at NY Comic Con on Thursday.

I was wearing the shirt the other day and one of my neighbors, who reads this blog, by the way, asked me what it meant. She didn’t get it.

She’s not big into pop culture. But this cartoon been playing non-stop every October since 1966, so I don’t understand how she didn’t understand it. She’s about my age, so we have had plenty of years to see the tv show. It was funny, because I was explaining the scene to her. She asked, “You mean every time he went to another house he just got a rock? Why?”

“Because he’s Charlie Brown,” I responded.

You can get the shirt here on Amazon if you like it. It comes in different colors.

Looks like Apple tv still has the rights to the Charlie Brown specials unfortunately. I miss having the shows on CBS with Dolly Madison and Coca Cola sponsoring them.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte

Today’s cartoon is about Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s just August 9, but already Pumpkin Spice Latte is on the menu at many coffee and other places, it’s all over the news. I guess apple cider doughnuts and apple cider doughnuts are out, now, too. It all reminds me of the Hudson Valley where we go pumpkin picking in October and have these things.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever tried Pumpkin Spice anything, I probably did, but it doesn’t seem to be something I would like.

I eat pumpkin seeds almost daily and I love pumpkin pie, it’s second to my favorite, Cherry Pie, but Pumpkin Spice things don’t really have pumpkin in it, I’m told, but it’s all about the spices – fall spices, my favorite season (and seasonings).

Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves are part of the mix in Pumpkin Spice.I put cinnamon in my coffee daily and I try to use fresh ginger or powdered ginger in my food.

Maybe I’ll give it a try soon, but still, it seems like we are rushing autumn, but then again, in autumn, usually in early September, we start seeing Christmas commercials on tv, and I haven’t been to Home Depot or Target lately, but I’m betting Christmas decorations maybe up already – not sure – but just a guess.

For years I was in the newspaper and publishing business and we would be doing a lot of Christmas stuff starting in summer and early fall. By the time Christmas actually came, we had experienced it already for that year, so we basically had two. Same with other holidays – always two – the early publication material and the actual holiday.

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Throwing the tree out

Got rid of the Christmas tree the other day. It’s artificial, so I didn’t throw it out of the window. But I used to! Well, sort of.

That’s how I got the idea for this cartoon. When I had a real tree, I would throw it off the balcony of my condo and then drag it to the street for recycling or pick-up. I didn’t leave the decorations on, I “undressed it” first. But throwing it off the balcony was the easiest thing to do because it avoided all those pine needles getting all over the elevator.

I would have someone wait downstairs to be sure no one was under it when I threw it down. And you’d be surprised how light the tree is after it’s all dried out! So it was easy to lift up and throw over.

After it hit the ground, I would run downstairs and drag it out to the street.

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Mariah is exhausted

This cartoon ran on Christmas Day. It’s been going around social media and people are asking what does it mean.

Really?

I admit that I don’t usually get Six Chix cartoons. But this one is very clever and funny.

Mariah Carey is the “Queen of Christmas” due to her ubiquitous “All I Want for Christmas is You,” which plays non-stop during the season.

Mariah broke another record by having this be the number one Christmas song for another year! It plays on the radio, on tv, in stores, in elevators, in doctor’s offices, in dentist’s offices, in auto repair shops, blaring out of cars next to you at stop lights, in Grand Central. I’m not sure how some people have never heard the song. It’s almost impossible not to hear it.

So she is exhausted from working non-stop all month, actually all season (through the song playing non-stop) and she’s passing the baton to the ground hog and Easter Bunny, the next two holidays or days of note.

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Cinnamon or Nutmeg; Ina or Martha?

This recent cartoon started out by the witch on the left telling the witch on the right how to do the laundry. I was originally laundry, not a witches brew inside the cauldron. But I couldn’t get the wording right.

As it sat for a few days, I saw Ina Garten on the Today Show and thought I would like to do a cartoon Ina-related. And this one came to mind. I changed the laundry to eggnog. As for Martha being part of the scene, I don’t know how I came up with that, but it became a debate on what to put in eggnog – cinnamon or nutmeg.

And I added the text before I actually looked up Ina and Martha’s recipes. And lo and behold, I was correct in my first assumption. Ina prefers cinnamon and Martha prefers nutmeg.

Me? I love eggnog but I’m not going to take sides. I’m not telling if I prefer cinnamon or nutmeg. 🙂

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The wonderful Southampton Christmas Parade

On Saturday, five of us drove out from the city to one of my favorite things – the Southampton (NY) Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting. It’s a yearly thing. I think it’s 60th.

Thousands of people show up for this event.

We usually do some shopping, which is what the Chamber would love us all to do and then we eat at the Southampton Publik House. Then we step outside on Main Street and the parade starts around 5 pm.

It’s mostly lit up fire trucks and ambulances from various Hampton communities on the east end of Long Island. All small, quaint, old towns. So charming.

At the end of the parade, everyone walks to the end of the block where the tree is lit. It’s a real tree, permanently in the park, it’s there 365 days a year, just not lit up until this Saturday after Thanksgiving every year. There are fireworks behind the tree and it’s a perfect evening.

Before the tree is lit, the high school choir sings Christmas songs and then there are a few speeches, People are thanked for their support and hard work in making this event happen each year. Two ladies have been in charge since the 1970s and that always brings thoughts of the small town I live in in Miami. I can picture them going to work during the year – calling the hardware store owner, asking for something to be built, calling the bank manager for a donation, and so on, throughout the year, making things happen.

It’s all so Mayberry and Stars Hollow. I love it all. I’ve been to Southampton at different times of the year – different seasons. They are all lovable and charming. So are all the Hamptons in eastern Long Island.

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I’m back in NYC

I’ve been in NYC a lot this year, been back and forth from Miami.

I came back for a couple of weeks for Thanksgiving. When I left Miami it was 76 degrees, it was 32 degrees in NYC! But when we landed, it was 39 in NYC and that’s not bad when the sun is out. It’s actually refreshing.

I stopped by to see a friend and then checked out the Union Square Green Market and Holiday Bazaar, which opened this weekend for the season. I’ve purchased so many gifts here over the years.

I checked out Washington Square Park and Greenwich Village, my usual haunts.

Glad to be back, even though I was here last month, and the month before . . .

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