Blender fun, anyone?

Every time I smell blueberry muffins baking I think about my dad. (He would get up on Sunday mornings and bake blueberry muffins while playing Ashford & Simpson, Teddy Pendegrass, and Barry White albums.) Whenever I hear the theme song for Land of the Lost I think about my cousin Billy. (He once kicked me in the shin so hard that it caused a blood clot just for turning the television while he was watching it. I wonder if he watched the Land of the Lost marathon on the Sci-Fi channel this weekend.) And whenever I I see the opening credits for Days of Our Lives I think about my grandma (she used to watch it at her kitchen table on a small t.v. that sat on a small rolling cart). However I think the thing that triggers my most Pavlovian response is the soft whirring of a blender. That sound makes me think of one thing. (No, not Steak 'n' Shakes Caramel Turtle Nut Sundae Shake.) It sends me back to my childhood and watching my parents and friends leveled to drunken hilarity.

My parents were very "social" creatures but they were also incredibly good parents; therefore, they didn't make "partying" a habit. However, they would invite people over from time to time. On these nights we would clean up after dinner. My sister and I would watch television while my parents would shower and get dressed and then it was off to bed with us. (Occasionally though we were allowed to greet a few guests and be adorable and charming, which was fine with us because adults tend to give kids money just before plying themselves stupid with liquor.) But inevitably we were sent to bed but we never went to sleep right away. We would stall (42 trips to the bathroom and 63 glasses of water), we would eavesdrop (you can only imagine the things tipsy adults say when they are unaware of little ears listening), and we would wait... wait for that beautiful hum of our marigold colored Sears brand blender. Because that sound meant that they were making Sip-and-Go Nakeds.

What is a Sip-and-Go-Naked you ask? Well it is a drink made of Beer, Vodka, Lemonade (or maybe Lime Juice, I can't remember) and ice mixed in a blender. So when we heard the sound of ice being crunched by the semi-sharp metal blades by our mixer, we knew the party had officially started! My parents definitely knew how to throw a good party but once Mr. Sip-and-Go-Naked made his appearance my sister and I knew that the event had evolved from shindig to bash. The music would slide from Level 5 - Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes through Level 8 - Kool & the Gang all the way to Level 10 - Marvin Gaye. My sister and I would take our stations, one peeking out of the bedroom door and the other watching out of the window into the back yard. We were convinced that once they made the Sip-and-Go-Nakeds they would ACTUALLY sip and go naked! (It never happened but we waited patiently and bore witness to lots of other ignorance... Grown people throwing other fully dressed and fully intoxicated grown people in the pool! Drunken incoherent arguments about politics, race, music and sports. My father dancing - enough said there! Or when they would "wake" my sister from her fake sleep and try to convince her to flip - she was a gymnast- for cash!) My favorite though was when my Uncle Kenny was at the house - He was a riot after a pitcher or two! (I mean, we thought so but Aunt Jackie wasn't quite as convinced of his hilarity!) Sometimes I would sneak out of my room and talk to him. He can be amazingly "deep" while plastered and then he would always hand me another 5 bucks! (Good times, good times!)

This weekend my sister and her husband invited us over for dinner, so we loaded up my grandkids and headed to Casa de Dani. The food was great! The company outstanding! My grandkids enjoyed their cousin! And she pulled out the blender!!!!! Because I had the grandkids and a long drive home, I did not drink but my husband had his first introduction to the Sip-and-Go-Naked! He started out slowly (he is not a BIG drinker and it seems that the combination of beer, vodka and lemonade does not sound alluring) but he was HOOKED fast! He did however have the good sense to quit before he was drunk and for that I was glad! Nevertheless, in the long run I will find him sitting, Sip-and-Go-Naked drunk, on the stairs discussing the vast fiscal ramifications of Global Warming with my 5 year old pajama-clad niece as she clutches a $20 bill in her cute little hand (Yes I said $20, the cost of living is higher than it was in the 70s... drunk adults need to make the necessary adjustments).