Turkey-Day Recap

I had a family filled Thanksgiving. Including meeting some additions to the extended family for the first time - my cousin's young children look like they walked off the pages of a magazine. When I was growing up, Thanksgiving was a big deal as we always traveled East (and/or North) to visit Grum and family. I don't know how my parents survived these trips with two kids in tow. I was with this portion of my extended family, but without my immediate family. The day started off well - with a long car ride. There were several interesting discussions including one that made me never want to go to a retail store again. See, the two cousins in the car have worked retail and had some pretty horrific stories. Eww... gross... germy stories. I won't elaborate here. Then there was the main event. We enjoyed appetizers, wine and lots of chatting once we arrived. It was fun to catch up with folks. Highlights included a tour of the very cool remodeled basement complete with radiant heat in the floor of the greenhouse area and a sauna, art projects with the kids (including color me), discussions of the tur-duk-in we were going to eat, learning about French bull dogs (one of the breeds of dog present), watching a bit of pool, hearing a bit of school of rock music recorded by the host cousin's kids (very talented musicians). Dinner was served around 4 pm and traditional grace was said. We missed Grum. But still, we ate, and ate. It was all delicious including the Texas beets. Apple pie for dessert an hour or so later.