Christmas At The Petroleum Club 2008

"I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month."

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The Mistletoe Ball At The Petroleum Club (December 13th)

Mistletoe Greeting Card Circa 1900
Mistletoe post card circa 1900

Mistletoe is the common name for a group of hemi-parasitic plants in the order Santalales that grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub. Parasitism evolved only nine times in the plant kingdom; of those, the parasitic mistletoe habit has evolved independently five times: Misodendraceae, Loranthaceae, Santalaceae (formerly considered the separate family Eremolepidaceae), and Santalaceae (formerly treated as the separate family Viscaceae). Although Viscaceae and Eremolepidaceae were placed in a broadly-defined Santalaceae by Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2, they originated independently, according to DNA sequences analysed by Dan Nickrent, Southern Illinois University.

The word 'mistletoe' is of uncertain etymology; it may be related to German Mist, for dung and Tang for branch, but Old English mistel was also used for basil.

An old Christian tradition said that mistletoe was once a tree and furnished the wood of the Cross. After the Crucifixion, the plant shriveled and became dwarfed to a parasitic vine.

Mistletoe is a poisonous plant that causes acute gatrointestinal problems including stomach pain, and diarrhea along with low pulse.

At The Dance...

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Earl pays our table a visit

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Ray Ashcraft and Nick Thomas discuss the season

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Aunt Kaye strikes up a conversation with Dennis & Diane

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Topper's everywhere

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Nick, Dean and Laurie

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Oh dear.. Is Jim in trouble or did Jan see someone make an incorrect step on the dance floor???

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Buck and Bobby

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Bob is dressed for the event... Sleigh is outside!

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Aunt Kaye and Paul trip the light fantastic. This phrase evolved through an interesting series of usages and references. The phrase is typically attributed to Milton's poem L'Allegro, but a somewhat similar phrase appears in Shakespeare's The Tempest. The phrase in this modern usage comes from the lyrics of the song The Sidewalks of New York. The following chronological list outlines a few notable usages of this and similar sounding phrases.

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
We had a wardrobe malfunction!  The bow tie died!

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
Nick and Carri

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008

Topper's Mistletow Ball 2008
A little relaxed there Paul

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