Quita Penas

On the Sunday before Christmas, we all gathered at Granny's for our annual Christmas get together.



As usual, there was a feast fit for a king, with everything from stuffed mushrooms and shrimp cocktail, to miso cod and...



... Spam musubi. Mmmmmm. Somebody please stop me before I eat the whole tray.



Gunko looked sharp in his holiday-ish sweater. Good thing he's wearing loose fitting clothes because there was a lot of eating to do.



As I went to load up my plate with food, I caught Granny just standing in front of the toaster staring at a piece of fish. Hear her tell you about it herself in this video. She's a funny lady.



With the emerging tradition of drinking at family functions, either Karl or Bruce (I forget which of them) took the liberty of bringing each of us a shot glass with our name on it. Nothing high-tech, of course,... just a sticker on a double shot glass. Looks like we're ready to get the drinking started! Now who has the drinks?!



Hearing about the drinking shenanigans at our past gatherings, Willy thoughtfully brought over this bottle of Quita Penas for us to enjoy, which means "takes away worries" in Spanish. Well if that's the case, Bruce, we better start drinking now because I've got a lot of worries I need taken away.



Apparently, so does Dawn...



... even Granny has some worries she needs taken away (though I think Gunko's telling me she's got nothing to worry about)...




... In fact, it looks like we could all use some Quita Penas!! Shots all around! Woo hoo!!!



I know, Gunko. You need some Quita Penas too. I'll pour you a glass.



Those who weren't drinking ate and caught up with each other. It's always so much fun to go to Granny's.



Hey, look who joined us later that night!!! Since Granny's party was two days before Christmas, two of my best friends were able to make it out and join the fun. To me, these guys are family anyway, so it was only right that they were there.



And once they heard about the magical Quita Penas, they wanted a shot.



After a huge meal, prego Ingrid did what has become usual for her and laid down for a nap on the couch. I'm going to be so sad when she's no longer pregnant and uninterested in naps.



Looks like someone else also wanted to take a nap, but I'm guessing it's not because of pregnancy.



I wonder if Bruce is sleepy because he's now an old man (turning 50 years old just the other day), or because he drank too much...



... well I guess we all know the answer to that. Laying there with the bottle, Bruce was nothing but smiles. It looks like that Quita Penas actually works!



Go ahead and make yourself at home, Bruce. You've got nothing to worry about... at least until your hangover begins.



As Bruce slept away his worries on one couch, my brother drunk dialed on another. Hey, bro... Drunk dialing is only going to increase your worries. Trust me.



We had taken so many shots of tequila by that point that I had dreams of licking salt off my hand before taking more shots. Ahhhh, too bad it was just a dream.



This was the first Christmas where friends joined us, and I was thrilled to have Frosty and Darren there. There's no need to keep these parties so exclusive and I hope they make it out next year too.



Hey, Chelsea. That face looks like the one I'm making in the first picture of this post (after most of the drinking had been done). Have you been drinking too?! If not, I think it'll only be a couple more years until you can join us. Get ready!



Christmas is always a great time for everyone to get together and catch up on the year. Thanks to everyone for their help in preparing yet another great party at Granny's. Merry Christmas!