Turkey Time

Thursday was Thanksgiving, the best holiday of the year. I was telling Mindy about why it is so great - "I love it...nothing but the essentials. It is all about eating, drinking and football". The problem was that exactly as I was saying the word "football", she was saying the word "family". A quick addition "Oh yeah, and family" at the end did not appear to cut it.

Mindy's brother Ben with his family was coming up from Virginia on Wednesday night, getting in at around 2:00am. Fortunately, I had the cricket to keep me busy! Not much to do after this other than get them all situated and get a few hours of sleep.

Thursday morning brought some preparations for the big day. There were going to be a total of 15 people for the day - 8 adults and 7 kids - so we needed plenty of food. Ben brought up his turkey fryer so he and I took care of frying up our 19 lb turkey. Also, the 15 lb ham was in the oven and the sides were getting cooked. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes and beans were all being taken care of. In addition Gary (and family) brought a pork loin while Phil brought along his Mac 'n' Cheese to share (and 4 delightfully large bottles of Belgian beer).

So...serveral bottles of beer later and after some whisky tinged egg nog and after much watching of football, things wrapped up. Quite a successful afternoon's entertainment.

Friday was our turn to be tour guide, bringing Ben Adria, Ben and Chase into New York for the day. The place was PACKED with shoppers and I think it might have been a lot for them to take in, especially with a two year old. However, I think they enjoyed the experience.

Saturday brought more beer and football, this time of the College variety. Went over to Gary's to watch Florida stomp FSU in their annual rivalry game. Always a good time.

Sunday was a beautiful day, perhaps the last one for a while. We went down to the local tennis courts with the girls and let them have a hit around. After this, Naomi and I went for a walk in the local nature centre (Fiona wanted to stay at home). A relatively early night brought closure to a relatively busy and very enjoyable weekend. Now just a few weeks until Christmas and other than a birth of a kid, nothing much else in our future!