Did someone say, "chinnigan?"

I love our monthly get togethers. As many as are able gather at my house the second Sunday of the month for food, laughter, conversation and good times. That's not to imply that we are not too many to fit comfortably at a table, or that we don't make enough dirty dishes to keep three people washing for an hour, or that late comers might miss out on Aunt Christy's jello. But as we crowd into our little house we learn about each other, we help each other, we entertain each other, and we love each other as we wash those dishes, clean up those spills, help button the dress on a bear, find the helmet for that Lego guy, and teach about how to share, and why we don't bite.
This last dinner we had finished clean up and were thinking about sitting around being full and mellow, I was asked if I had any eyeliner. Kind of a funny question if you know about how I apply makeup. (I'll just say it takes about 30 seconds and involves two "beauty products" and one of them is Chapstick.) I said, "Yeah, in my halloween stuff. What for?" Suddenly we had a very impromptu demonstration of what a chinnigan is. Or should I say, who a chinnigan is? My mother and my aunt used to have little wigs and dresses, and knew the greatest songs to show off the unique characteristics of the chinnigans. I hope you can imagine how truly cute they are, by looking at the wonderful, funny, hams in our family. I love their willingness to play along. Good times, irreplaceable memories.

Oh, and that old Chinese lady? That's supposed to be Mulan ('s mother) who visited our Halloween party at school.