this ain't your grandma's washboard

alright, so since no one showed up with a corkscrew, i had to get creative (well, that and i forgot to pick one up at walmart, again). so i took my battery drill and a screw with reasonably wide threads, snatched up a pair of pliers, and *voila*... (insert that "pop" noise you make with your finger and your cheek, here).











now my bottle's open and i've got a pretty cool ornament for my christmas tree. (i'm always looking for neat things to hang on my tree).

so, yeah... corkscrew schmorkscrew. i just saved myself ten bucks. ha.
and i've decided... money spent on a case of coke is better than on a bottle of wine... no matter how little you pay for it.

in other news...
this weekend my parents are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary (well, technically tomorrow). they kicked it off in style, with dinner at big al's followed by drinks at the jolly inn (and the rest will be spent at the beau rivage casino resort in biloxi- fyi).

well, i was kind of leery about going to the jolly inn.. not thinking it would be very interesting, but... alas.. indeed it was. folks dancing, accordians and fiddles playing, drunkards drunking,.. and washboards being used for other uses than their intended purpose. i'm guessing somewhere along the lines, after people decided that the washboard could be used for making sounds (not necessarily music, mind you- i've heard what they're capable of)... someone decided that it was just entirely too much work to have to hold it up. so, he sat down, had a little conversation with himself and said "self... this is just too much work. hows about i make some washboard overalls so i can just strum on my chest without having to hold that thing up all the time"... "naaah.. that would be too much.. a little too much stress on the nether regions".. "oh, yeah... i agree.. let's just make it a chest plate type thing then.. and make it hook over the shoulders, kind of like a bib, but not so much'"... "why, self, that sounds like a superb idea" (i like his use of the word "superb".. i thought that was a nice touch).

and so, now one can play the washboard with great ease... if you like all that "zipp" "ziippp" noise it makes... geeezzz... that creeps me out. anyway.. so, moms and pops, and our cousin diane took to the washboard stack at the jolly inn and tried their hand at it. and after i grabbed a few photos, i gave it a whirl also. and for what it was, i have to say.. i'm pretty freaking good. (feel free to be jealous.. it's an understandable emotion when it comes to my musical talents).

this is the jolly inn (where all the jolly takes place)..





here's mom and dad and cousin diane jammin out on the washboard vests (yes, that is what i will continue to call them)





here's me and dad jammin out "zydeco jam session".. haha.





and here's a group of random people.. (and diane again- she's not shy)





people dancing stuff that i can't do.. and frankly, they're not defensive dancers.. nono. they'll plow right over your behind, and without shame too. (crazy people)




and here's me and dustin's "rockstar" poses out in the parking lot. (we put the "cool" in coolpop- and YES that is a vest i am wearing.. and i will continue to wear it in the summer and the winter and the fall and the spring and in jamaica if i ever go.. because darn it i paid 47 cents for it, and i'm gonna get my money's worth)









thanks, i'll be here all week.