Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for November 27, 2018

Al married the most interesting woman who sure knows how to bring (Christmas or non-Christmas) cheer to everyone.

I sense marital discord coming if Mr. Gray wants tasteful and modest. Frankly I would enjoy seeing any emotion from Mr. Gray. It would be a nice change.

That’s why engagements should last at least a year.

For the first time since we were introduced to Al Grey, he has that “deer caught in the headlights” look on his face.

This is something his usual skills for fixing can’t fix.

Big, bright displays that call attention to one’s house are discouraged for clients of the witness protection program.

Go-all-ly! Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Hey, Irma? You want to “Teach the World to sing in perfect Harmony?”

Well how about taking some of that Bountiful, Boundless LOVE of Yours and spreading a Generous portion on Les and that Nice Tiffany Gal You met last year? BOTH of them could use it right about now, and would cherish it considering they got NONE of it from their “parental units.”

Hey Al that’s the rest of my Christmas decorations can you make your love happy and start unpacking.

If only Irma had received some kind of a clue that Al was a bit of a dullard with no taste for creativity or desire to break from routine. A clue like, say, the fact that he only ever wears the exact same outfit regardless of the occasion.

Well we have Toni and Brad, so why not Al and Irma? How this fits into the Luannverse I don’t perceive yet, but at least it shows another couple. Will our younger protagonists ever become a part of a couple?

And they’re going to fight about this? Save your bullets dude for something important.

You didn’t know that about her when you married her, did you? Too late now.

“Al, sweety, can you move those boxes a little more to the right? The second truck should be here any minute now!” ;-)

Why would Al mind? I assume he’s away from the home more often than not, seeing as he’s always in his work suit.

Oh, god, she’s one of THOSE!

I love how Irma’s wardrobe is becoming more colorful and expressive – an indication, I think, that she’s comfortable and blossoming in her marriage to Al. I hope we’ll soon see some indication that Al is relaxing as a result of his marriage to Irma, too.

Do we have Christmas music 24/7 at 200 decibels coming up?

Irma will give National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation” a run for their money. Al still hasn’t gotten over Halloween yet.

If they can keep from fighting, it will give Gunth and Les something to do for awhile at least. Do either of them work???

They really need to give some careful attention the Irma’s profile: it just looks like Gunther.

I’m thinking of that young lady that sold Les like 200 discount coupon books during the furniture sale. At this point, I would like more than anything for Gunther to show up with her to one of these family dinners and watch Les’s reaction – Tiff would be dust. Les’ reaction would probably be like this facial expression of “Large Marge” from that Pee Wee Herman movie. To see Les’ reaction, here is the selected section of the video:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzolCu-QLw0

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(Thank you to Tim Burton)

Oh good grief!

Mr Grey? Run for it!!

I love looking at decorations. Putting them up? I am way too lazy. When the kids were little we did the “Dinkleberg” and that was an attempt to put up a totally horrible display. Strings of lights with only one functional bulb etc., a Charlie Brown tree *outside, that is. It became a running family joke. Now I have one of those “projector” displays. Uber easy. Plug it in. Point it at the house.

She is going all out this year because she has more money to spend. Obviously she didn’t discuss it with him.

Wouldn’t he have seen how she decorated her house and yard last year?

I really like the new projectors. Whoever came up with them should get a medal.

Two words, “Blackout curtains!”

Al Gray courted Irma Berger for years before they married. He surely saw the Berger home during the last several Christmas seasons, so he knows her decorating habits. If Irma had all these lawn decorations, then he already knew that, so why is he surprised? Did he not know that Irma has a storage locker?

I reached a compromise on the Christmas decorations 45 years agol She can do anything she wants for decorations, As long as I do not have to put them up or take them down. And they have to be out of the yard for at least the week of the fourth of July.

Christmas comes but once a year, Don Al…

Tomorrow’s strip….Al is on the phone and professional decorators show up.

tasteful and modest………NOT FOR LONG! welcome to married life, Hitch!

And that’s just the first load!

Time to deck the halls with bows of holly.

I hope she doesn’t pull out the elf on the shelf.

Uh ooooooooohhhh…. Test #1 for Irma & Al. Will be interesting to see who prevails in re: this little scenario, or if they come up with a compromise…. {Popcorn}

wasn’t he dating her last Christmas? He’d know already how she decorates.

At the very least, it will give Les something useful to do.

My wife and Mrs. Gray subscribe to the same school of Xmas decorating.

Greg is a member of the Snow Family clan??

Looks like Al has just discovered that what he thought was his home body wife might just be an outdoors girl, and that who he thought was tastefully bland is actually demonstrably expressive…

methinks Irma got into an over-compensating habit.

It’s beginning to look like Christmas at the Greys, then Christmas at Brad and Toni’s, then Christmas with Luann and Jack. Will there be a Christmas at Ferrell’s?!?!?!?!?!?

(♬) It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. (♬)

By the way, check out Drabble today.

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This will be an interesting week… if Gunther and Les stay away…. it will be interesting to learn more about the Irma & Al relationship dynamic. Thoughts and odds of potential developments I have thought of:

1. Al is perfectly accepting of Irma’s “eccentricities” about decorating and simply has the tinniest half smile to indicate all is “ok”. … then we see the home decked out in all of its excessive glory. (7 out of 10)

2. Al is shocked, but accepts the over-the-top-display and the proceeds to call his “people” to set up all the flashing lights and doo-dads on the outside of the home. (5 out of 10)

3. Al TELLS Irma “No!” to the decorations and a significant disagreement ensues. (2 out of 10)

4. Al is visibly uncomfortable about the decorations, and before the outside decorating can begin, brings Irma inside and starts to fidget a bit before revealing to her… “Uh, Mrs. Grey, unfortunately there is a secret I must now reveal to you…” (5 out of 10)

Hey! They live in my neighborhood!

I thought she was Jewish?

“I love to decorate! Now get up there and hang these lights!”

Aww, see! They’re just a regular couple. I mean, who doesn’t know a guy whose wife makes him drag out a dozen boxes of dusty holiday decorations every year? Seems like Mr. Gray is our typical husband in shock by the magnitude of his wife’s holiday madness. You have my sympathy, Mr. Gray. Raise the ladders!

Tasteful pink flamingos with elf hats…

A couple that marries and honeymoons in ‘Vegas doesn’t really know what “tasteful and modest” mean…

ruh roh

Me thinks Mrs. Gray just found Mr. Gray’s credit card

LOL! Get out the work clothes and roll up the sleeves, Mr. Gray. Oops! I forgot. That’s not your style. Guess you’ll be supervising Les and Gunther.

Turn about is fair play. Al delivered more than Irma expected on their wedding night.

Al will not have to climb a ladder. He will have one of his henchmen bring a manlift or a cherry picker around so he can maneuver to hang all the decorations.

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I do not decorate much on the outside, some net lights over our dwarf Mugo pine, a lighted spiral tree in the middle of the front yard, and a huge real neon wreath powered by a 12KV transformer in our master bedroom picture window overlooking the front yard. Inside is a different story. Last year, we had 28 Christmas trees in the house, upstairs and down. Our main tree is in our family room – it is 12 feet tall on a rotating base sitting on a 1 1/2 foot tall pedestal, so it ends up at 14 1/2 feet, the ceiling in there vaults up to 17 feet, so there is still a bit of headroom. We have an upside down tree, a silver tree that is all Hallmark Star Trek ornaments, another tree that is in all purple for our bitsko basketball team, the Sacramento Kings (rah…), a tree in orange and black for the SF Giants, another tree with all Warner Brothers cartoon characters, a 7’ tall by 5’ wide “flat” tree that is only 6 inches from front to back that is set against a wall in the dining room that holds the Christmas cards we get, and many other themed trees. Everything is decorated all the way to the stair rails and the fireplaces. Sure it’s crazy, but as long as I can still do it, I will, and we try to add a little more each year – it sure makes the eyeballs pop in the little ones that come for Christmas. It takes about three weeks to get it all set up and about two weeks to get it all down and packed away – working here and there as we are not retired yet. A few years ago, when we could post pictures here, I did just that at another commenter’s request.

personally, I like those battery operated LED light sets. No extension cords, built-in timer. Just turn it on, set the mode for 6 hours and blinking ( or whatever suits my fancy) and don’t look at it again till after Christmas when the lights are too dim to see.

OK so their house can win the most garish energy-wasting display award. Irma will get Les and Gunther to put it all together and maybe there will be some left over for the guest house.

Just noticed small joke on the very lowest box (far right): INFATABLE SANTA. HA!

I fear this could become a source of contrast between the modest Al and the festive Irma.

Well, he is Mr. Gray. You never know, he just might loosen up.

uh oh… there’s an inflatable Santa aaauughhh. I guess Al can be thankful that he at least doesn’t have to buy these things for her.

OOPS.

Interesting… I don’t feel like the Ann Awful story line was really closed, so are we setting up a Tiff-Les-Gunther against the BQ (second word is Queen) arc? I don’t see Tiff picking either of them as a boyfriend, but I see Gunther and Les both wanting to help her.

Being an outsider in this little group I must ask “Do any of you care what the arc is about just as long as you can post asinine comments day after day?”

Bring on the snow gnomes.

Mr Bump on a log and Mrs make me wanna hurl with her uppity creepiness

She needs to hire an army of professionals to do it for them.

This first tiny hint of possible discord in the bland, Gray marriage prompts me to wonder: what if the discord grows so much deeper that they divorce soon? What would that do to the already-fragmented continuity in Luann?