Better And Better

If you don't draw yours, I won't draw mine. A police officer, working in the small town that he lives in, focusing on family and shooting and coffee, and occasionally putting some people in jail.

Monday, January 31, 2011

House Party XLIV

I turned in a request for 24 hours off this weekend, to burn some of the 400 hours of vacation and 80 hours worth of holiday time. I feel bad about having another guy work for me, but it's use it or lose it, y'know? Then too, there's the issue of where I went, and why.

Phlegmmy threw a bit of a shindig at her house for our beloved LawDog.

The food was rich and very plentiful. There was a case of Nerd Beer for LawDog (written on the side: "LawDog's! No Fraudulatin'!") And a case of Nerd Beer for the rest of us rabble.("Fraudulate all you want.")

The stories were thick and well-told. The weather, on Saturday evening, was shirt-sleeve-worthy. Christina, Vine, Old NFO, FarmGirl, Jennifer and EvylRobot, me and my wife, Phlegmmy, LawDog, Ambulance Driver, my dad and his bride, and others all chatted freely.

Old NFO (whom I cannot believe was not linked here. What the heck?!? My shame is boundless. I had him on my Favorites that I would click directly to him on my browser. Fixed.) handed me a couple of interesting pistols. There were grins when I double-checked each pistol before handling it. Apparently, this was something of a theme of the evening: EVERYONE multichecked each gun before handling. If only it were understood how common that action is among responsible gunfolk. I don't mean to say that it's absent-minded. I just mean to say that, when handed a firearm, I have the sudden urge to check the status of that gun that is as strong as the urge to pee after having a triple-iced-tea lunch.

Old NFO handed me a like-new S&W 637 that he's been talking about just flat giving me. I could not possibly accept such a generous gift without recompensing him with something, yet I couldn't afford to give him what it was worth. He kindly accepted a promise of a mere pittance from me. I later found out that Dad and Holly covered half of that! My heavens, but the generosity of the friends and family around me is amazing. Thank y'all. More on that gun in a later post.

EvylRobot brought his home-roasted coffee, which I incorrectly declared to be too darkly roasted, but which LawDog used his fancier French press to produce utterly superb coffee from. I restrained myself to only about 25 cups of that coffee. We reloaded the french press approximately 20 times during the weekend. Note to self: trust EvylRobot.

Ambulance Driver had called me earlier and asked if I wanted to go in with him on a nifty gift to LawDog: a signed first edition of Elmer Keith's hardcover book "Hell, I Was There!" I kicked in along with others (I'm sorry; I've forgotten), but this was all AD's idea.

My own meager contribution was a fair bit of good loose tea for LawDog, and some muslin bags to make teabags with on the run, and a couple of bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon for the the house, to belatedly celebrate Phlegmmy's housewarming.

As the air chilled and the hour got late, several of us retired to a very nice inn that was just two blocks away from Phlegmmy's house, and found our underpriced quarters to be very pleasant. We planned on going shooting in the morning after breakfast.

Come morning, a front had moved in. Shooting just didn't sound that fun. We broke our fast at a joint with heavy smoke coming from the barbecue pit. Note: ALWAYS choose the smoked meats at such a place. We camped at our tables until lunchtime, then moved back to the house, where we hung out into the Sunday evening. Phlegmmy fed us yet again with a very rich dish, of which I was only able to get two or three bowls* down.

I was glad to introduce my own wife to some people she had not met before, part of the tribe that I've become part of. She, ever the introvert, said little. She said she liked it.

LawDog, an introvert his ownself, was at home. He was among people that had come a fair distance to see him because they love him. He was at his home, with a lovely lady who admires and revels in him. I've seen the 'Dog stressed, and I've seen him happy. I don't think I'm speaking out of turn to suggest that he was happy, this weekend.

I hope my own 44th birthday is as good and filled with good cheer.

Happy birthday, friend.





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*Large bowls.

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7 Comments:

At Monday, January 31, 2011 4:34:00 PM, Blogger Old NFO said...

You'll just have to let us know Matt, but are you SURE you want this crowd descending on y'all? It was good to see y'all and to finally meet your lovely wife! I'm not sure what she thought of us, but I hope she had fun. Re the pistol, at least it now has a good home with somebody that can actually REMEMBER which way the cylinder opens... :-)

 
At Monday, January 31, 2011 5:28:00 PM, Blogger Matt G said...

She said that Saturday was, for an introvert like herself, "overstimulating," but she liked the convo on Sunday, a lot. She kept going to study for an Anatomy and Physiology test that she had to take online on Sunday night. (She got a 100%, of course.)

 
At Monday, January 31, 2011 8:58:00 PM, Blogger phlegmfatale said...

Matt- was so delighted you and the lovely Missus joined us. We had a splendid time and started today with a cup of your tea brewed in the teapot FarmGirl brought. Was lovely to see you, and lovely to see how delighted Himself was with your thoughtful gifts. :)

word verification: finalie

 
At Monday, January 31, 2011 10:11:00 PM, Blogger Christina RN LMT said...

I had so much fun seeing everyone!
House Parties chez Phlegmmy are the bee's knees.

And btw, I'm glad none of you pulled out the Sharpies to "decorate" my face when I dozed off in the living room. I just hope I wasn't snoring...

 
At Tuesday, February 01, 2011 10:35:00 AM, Blogger Old NFO said...

That's super Matt, glad she aced the test, I'd hate for us to have been the reason for a bad grade!

 
At Thursday, February 03, 2011 8:09:00 PM, Blogger charlotte g said...

I enjoy all these folks and have never met most, but it is still a neighborhood. I got to break in my day-trundle bed for the girls, and cook a little for them. We had fun, and so did you. Eventually, I'll meet a few FTF, and in the meantime, I know and care about them in print. And I'm so retro, print is really good.

 
At Sunday, February 13, 2011 7:44:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Good deal. Wish I coulda been there.

 

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