christmas eve 2003

fredericksburg, va

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at renato's the group gathers and enjoys a raucous dinner that includes discussion of all things topical (including recent dental surgery techniques and that show with voice-overs on the spike television network)

after dinner, the after-party begins. more drinks are mixed and the fun continues.

i eventually convince the men wearing holiday themed ties to gather for a photo.

the fun moves into the living room for a white elephant gift exchange. the good-natured barbs fly. looks are exchanged and expressions of thievery enters everyone's eye whenever a good gift comes on the market.

the selection process is rough and tumble. some of the odder gifts (why do i keep bringing ill-fitting t-shirts to these occasions?) are tucked into corners, out of sight. oh, and there was some long extended joke about a nipple ring. maybe the extra shot of hot damn! should've been avoided.

in the smoker's lounge (read: garage) joe describes the events from earlier in the week that had his wife embarrassingly teeter and fall from a height that was just "that" big.

after a long day that included shopping, eating, drinking and more, kathy makes the smart move and finds a comfortable spot on the couch.

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