Holiday Party

Holiday Party was a HUGE success.

Residents filled all seats in the Community Room, and spilled out onto the patio – where the “taco truck” was to be located.

My curiosity as to how a “truck” was going to locate itself on the patio was met by two guys setting up stations.

I never saw a truck, but assume they’d arrived in a van.

Though I did not partake of the truck’s offerings, residents were overheard to say the carne asada tacos, quesadillas, rice and beans were “muy bueno”.

Meat Station

Rice, Beans, Condiment Station

A lot of residents were dressed festively in cute Christmas sweaters, others were over-dressed as though going to church or an after-five event and, after I’d opted to be a good human and not bring politics into the event by creating an Ugly Orange Guy in the White House Sweater, Apache (the Orange Guy’s No. 1 fan) went there.

Make America Great Again hat, Orange Guy medallion

He was making a statement.

Statement being to express how angry he is at the Mueller investigations and allegations of sexual harassment against the Orange Guy.

He’s becoming so fanatical in his support of the Orange Guy that I had to unfollow him a few days ago because he’d posted that the Orange Guy has been surrounded by beautiful women his entire life with zero sex assault claims until he ran against Hillary.

How clueless can a person be that he doesn’t understand women have had to keep quiet about such things, until recent years, because of fear of not being believed and backlash.

At any rate, everyone was having too much fun to pay attention to Apache continually flashing his medallion and saying the Orange Guy’s name, hoping to get attention and a rise out of someone.

After folks had a first and second run at the taco truck, four residents lined up for the Ugly Sweater Contest.

Since my tee was technically not a sweater, I didn’t stand with them, but the crowd liked my outfit and insisted I participate.

THEN Apache, dissatisfied that he’d not gotten the attention and platform he craved thus far with his outfit, took it upon himself to enter the Ugly Sweater Contest, once again flashing his medallion.

So desperate for attention was he that I think it made him happy that the crowd, when asked to clap for the sweater they liked best, boo’d him.

It was the Baker’s front and back decorated sweater that won the contest.

Then we had the Unwrap Game, which consisted of – under constraint of differing times, according to an app Activity Director was using on her phone, putting on a headband, oven mittens and trying to unwrap a gift with several layers of wrapping paper before she said “pass”.

Have you ever tried to unwrap a gift with oven mittens on your hands?

It’s not easy. It’s stressful, exhausting and was oh so much fun for participants and the crowd.

After multiple passes around the table, we broke through the first layer of wrapping, then diligently went on to the second and third and final layer of wrapping. Last person to pull off what remained of the wrapping won the gift.

That person was The Baker, who was making out like a bandit; but she deserved to do so because of all she does for the community.

After the oven mitten unwrap game, there was more eating, followed by drawings for the last few gifts.

Down to the last gift, drawing the last name, lo and behold it was this girl ... me!

It was a blanket – the second one I’ve won, the first being at the Halloween Costume Contest.

I have the afghan my daughter crocheted for me, I have quilts I’ve made for myself so, with no need of these blankets, I’ll pass them on to daughter for her homeless outreach activities.

Remainder of the week is going to be quiet around here. Staff vacations, Assistant Community Manager out last two months with her annual mysterious illness, not expected back until January 8, substitutes holding down the fort, Head Maintenance Guy (HMG) doing whatever the heck he pleases.

In fact, I caught Community Manager hanging stockings yesterday morning, with the names of everyone on staff.

I told her I was going to put a lump of coal in HMG’s stocking because he takes too long to get around to handling maintenance requests.

If I run into a lump during my travels to the doctor’s office and the Sisterlocks locktician this week, I may actually do so.