HAPPY 2013 EVERBODY!!!
I love Love LOVE the Holidays. I love Christmas Carols, I love Christmas decorations, I love making Christmas cards, I love Christmas lights and trees and I love it when my Christmas involves SNOW! Why do I love these things so much? Probably because I grew up in the best place ever with lots of awesome people around me: Smithers BC!!! So yes, I realize Christmas is over and I’m posting this in 2013. But here’s a self-indulgent recap of my Holidays so I can re-live them again.
I arrived on Dec 17 with 3 days to get ready for for my Birthday/Apocalypse/Solstice Hoedown at the Hilltop Pub. On Dec 21 my mum organized a nice birthday party with my family and friends. There were only 2 candles so I had plenty of breath left for my gig that evening. Mip was the only band on the bill so I had to put together at least 2 sets and thanks to Madeline Lough (bass) and Ian Olmstead (drums) we managed to pull off 2 sets with 11 songs each. At first it looked like it was going to be an average night but by the time we’d played 2 songs the place was packed! Eventually the bar reached capacity with 134 people crammed into the bar (though I know a few people who jumped over the balcony and got in anyways). Considering the world didn’t end my friends and I thought that we’d celebrate the 2nd hour of Dec 22 at the good ol’ Twin. Unfortunately, I lost my jacket which made me grumpy so I decided to take the DD’s ride home instead of catching a $30 cab ride back to the house (yes, I live 20 minutes out of town AND IT’S WORTH IT!!!)
The next night was caroling! Now, this is not your everyday caroling. This is Farmer caroling. You drink a lot at the house and “practice” singing Christmas carols then the DD drives us from house to house for us to sing for our unfortunate neighbours (drive to the neighbours? you ask – well where I come from the next door neighbour is the equivalent of a city block or 2…and it’s -10 out). This year we even performed a hip hop version of Smithers’ folk-hero Mark Perry‘s “David and Louie.” Our neighbours are so wonderful that they often serve us drinks, snacks, and smiles in exchange for some out of key Carols, sung with 110% heart! Every year we end up at the Smithers Argo dealer’s house and he and his wife very kindly give us gifts of Argo calenders and whiskey.
Once the carolers return safely to the starting point some folks stay for another drink then go home while the hardcore party folks continue to drink and wind down into the part of the evening where we share all our incredibly deep and profound thoughts. This year, around 4AM I walked my friends back to their house next door just so I could walk back alone on Old Babine Lake Road and take in the cold air and the awesomeness that is my life.
On Dec 23 mum and I took the dogs for a walk to my friends’ and neighbours’ house and we sat around the Yurt fire. Jody, who owns the Yurt, will carve your initials into the post if your a Yurt regular. This is actually where the name MIP was born!
Christmas Day. We had Eggs Benedict in the morning and then we dove under the tree. This was the first year my brother was not home for Christmas, which was sad (don’t you dare tell him I said that). No one was poking and prodding at the presents and then guessing them all before opening them! No one humiliated me during the afternoon road hockey game except myself! He sent us Alpaca sweaters from Ecuador and when mum, dad, and I talked to him on the phone he sounded like he was doing pretty alright. We had a potluck-style Turkey Dinner in the evening! It was a large gathering this year as the 5 Perry boys and most of their families were in town. The family’s Secret Santa with home-made gifts is always fun. This year my cousin Jame built me an inlaid Chess box, which was unreal! The woodwork (as far as I could tell) was fantastic. In fact, the only problem with her wonderful gift is that it is going to force me to learn how to play Chess…
On Boxing Day my mum likes to organize a Boxing Day Beach Volleyball Game. We basically split into teams (young vs old), crank up the Beach Boys, and hit a partially deflated volleyball around in our indoor riding arena while wearing full winter gear. Between games we run to the mulled wine table! This year the young’uns only won one game. And the last of those games we got pretty much schooled. But I guess that’s what the mulled wine is really there for… Also, after posting about my jacket going missing from the Hilltop on Facebook it was returned to me! Hooray!
My uncle will rent the rink for a family and friends game if there is enough interest, but the ice time was not so great this year. By 8:30AM Dec 27 I am on the ice in mostly full hockey gear attempting to play hockey. Almost every member of my family played hockey, at least as a kid, except me. I can skate just fine, and I ADORE hockey, but I can’t play it very well. I got knocked on my arse pretty hard during the game while handling the puck so I got a penalty shot. No goal. Oh well.
In the evening my dad, Mark Perry, and I hosted our annual concert at the Driftwood School. We always invite a few other guests and this year featured Shauna Hunter Maclean, Eric Anderson and … Alex Cuba!!! It was a very intimate evening with a lot of laughs and a lot of talent. And there is nothing that says “rustic” like trudging through the snow in freezing cold weather to relieve yourself in the resident outhouse. After the concert the musicians, my uncle, and my mum sat around the wood stove in the School drinking Canturbury (Prince George BC’s take on Old Milwaukee beer) and once again basking in the glory of northern life and the warmth and smell from a good wood fire.
The next night I roadtripped to Houston BC with my uncles and cousins to watch the Houston Luckies vs the Smithers Steelheads. I mean, especially with the NHL lockout, who wouldn’t want to spend their Friday night driving an hour in the snow to watch the local teams duke it out. Maybe even hiding a beer in your coffee cup…
I think I made #SmithersSteelheads trend on twitter. My cousin scored the final empty net goal. I gotta get me a T-Shirt!!!
Another turkey dinner, multiple games of Black B*tch, and a horsebackride through snow later I find myself having to say goodbye to my wonderful Northern home. Until next time, Smithers! Maybe I’ll have convinced some readers and/or fans to join me!?
I hope everyone had a marvelous holiday season with their family and loved ones!!!
Cheers! Sláinte! Na zdrowie! Cin cin! L’chaim! Salute! Prost! Kanpai! Skål!
mip and MPT!