Thanksgiving at our house

Ben's Thanksgiving Art

11-21-07 Wednesday We had a houseful! Daughter #1 L came with grandson, Ben, and dog "Bear" on Wednesday pm. Her dad retired after a very exhausting day and Ben was not far behind. She and I talked until 1:30 am. Bear was anxious and was at the front door. We went to see why and "The Surprise" was here! Her husband drove from his SeaBees camp to be with his wife and son for the holiday. Tears and laughter, hugs and kisses of course. J will be with us until he has to drive back on Saturday...nite!

Reunited

With Grandpa's Guitar

11-22 Happy Thanksgiving Day! I got up around 9am. Ben was up and L on couch. Ben was playing nicely in "his toy corner." Made him Crispix, milk and lots of blueberries for breakfast. Jerry went with Ben to Dunkin' DoNuts and picked up two dozen and coffee. Ben got TWO doughnuts (not coffee) and was bouncing off the walls. L premade 2 pumpkin pies. I prepared stuffing ingredients yesterday, so they were ready to get put together. Turkey on the grill is really handled with no problems. Other dishes of mashed and sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cream and regular corn, polish sausage and kraut, cranberries, Jello salad, rolls and etc.....were prepared after the turkey was on.

Daughter 2 K came in the am with her puppy "Dookie"and peeled 5# of potatoes. Friends Buzz (sore foot and all) and wife D came before 2:00. J and L went to shop for appetizers. J made a great tray of meats and cheese while L made a bread bowl with spinich dip in it. All that food!! Daughter 3 C came with friend M and their dogs, "Mason and Lucy." We were all having Holiday Cheer while the turkey was cookin'. The dogs all tolerated one another.

Making Gravy

Almost forgot the gravy! K and I did try a quickie. D was our observer. Used the baster to get the liquid from the bottom of pan. (I usually do this earlier and cool it) Well, we got all the fat with the good stuff and tried to continue. Wrong! Ended up pouring off the fat and starting all over. Turned out just fine. How old do you have to be to know better?

Christine Hosts: Kielbasa Wars

Mark, Turkey Carver Extrordinaire

M carved the turkey and we decided on a buffet setup with all the food in the kitchen. Football games were being played on TV, so we were eating in almost every room and outside on the patio. I must admit that I miss the camaraderie good health toasts and pictures at the dinner table. Next year, we'll all sit together. There was plenty to eat and the girls did the clean-up for me. We saved the dessert for later.

Buzz and Donna with Lucy

Buzz and D left for home. So nice to have everyone home. The rest of us bedded down for the night. Amen, I was tired!

The Pack

Friday J up and making his and Ben's breakfast of eggs and potatoes and cheese. Everyone is up and seemed to have a good night of sleep. Lucy and Bear don't like Dookie because all she wants to do is bark and play. Mason (big black lab) is afraid of the tile floors. We moved the carpets around so he could come and go. The rest of the day was filled with football, munching leftovers and turkey sandwiches. Couldn't help but play with the dogs! C & M had to leave for they had a previous engagement. L & J went up north because L had two clients that she had to see on that day! While they were up there, they picked up daughter, granddaughter, R to spend the rest of the holiday with us. Did a lot of visiting and reminiscing.

A "Moist Maker"

Saturday I was up by 9am. Cold outside! L on couch and J with Ben making breakfast. Bread rolls are spoiled! Ugh! He's using the french bread for french toast for all. Slow moving day. J is doing laundry. He needs to get ready to pack up. J & L did some errands together. He left for camp about 4:30. He'll stop when he nears and bed down at a motel for a good nights sleep.

Ft Lowell Park

K, R, B and I walked to the park. The girls had the two dogs. I had Ben. He played so hard. Running, climbing, sliding, running! Home. Did some laundry. Chuck football. I was going to make pizzas for dinner. I just couldn't cause I'm just beat! We ordered delivery. Watching TV with kids. R on computer. Nite! Dog clean-up in our bedroom. Chuck handled.

Sunday 11-25 Happy Birthday great niece Colleen! Showers, 9:15 Mass. Call kids and they'll meet us at Home Town Buffet. Nancy and Ted joined us. Had a 20% off coupon. It helped. L is packing up and working on line to fix a bug that occurred after she connected us with a wireless hookup. (Now they can all use their laptops while visiting)

The Tree Topper

Fixing the Lights

B is napping. Got our tree out and up. So nice that the kids were here to hang ornaments that they made or received when they were little. Such nice memories!

L left with B and R. R will spend the night and her dad will pick her up after school on Monday. K is here with Dookie. Dookie will stay with her in the bedroom. We'll know where she's at...

Nite!

Guess I'll post this. Will continue with our visit with K and Dookie soon... xo

Happy Holidays!