Thanksgiving

It was a quieter-than-usual Thanksgiving this year.

Adam is on tour, so while we were eating turkey, pie, and more pie, he was playing a show in Scandinavia somewhere. Earlier in the day he did send us a picture of the band gathered around a packed restaurant table in Oslo, so he doesn't seem to be missing out on any food. Good for him.

Gammy is now living at an assisted-living home in Lynnfield. I think travel is prohibitively difficult for her at this point, so it was easier for Lisa and Bob to visit her there for Thanksgiving than for them to pick her up and drive her out to us. So that's what happened. The upshot of all this, of course, is that it was just the five of us, my parents, and Sarah, Mike, and Joey for Thanksgiving--exactly the same attendance as at another dinner two weeks before.

Joey was the star of the show, and my kids all doted on him in their own ways. Andres, decked out in his goalie gear, was overly accommodating in letting Joey kick some goals during the outdoor soccer game. (Joey would celebrate these scores by raising his hands over his head and running around the yard in a slow circle.) Celia held Joey's hand during our pre-dinner walk and generally laughed at his antics during dinner.

Joey scores!

Joey celebrates!

Cousins.

Lucia was Joey's most constant companion, though, and she entertained her younger cousin all day. They played games together, talked together, played the piano together, had a pillow fight together. Watching her do so well with Joey all afternoon made it abundantly clear how much she wants to be a big sister. (No, it's not happening.)

Celia fixes Joey's hat during our walk.

We were in charge of providing appetizers. Natalia made a brie with some sort of fig jam on top (I think...I don't eat it so I don't take much notice), some spinach and artichoke bites (these were great), and cookies, too (for dessert). We also brought a cheese plate, some guacamole (thank you Celia!), and some cranberry chutney. It was a lot of food for not many people.

But we did save room for the main course, which was fantastic, as it always on this day. Turkey, stuffing, jello mold, and maybe some vegetables somewhere on the plate. The kids mainly ate turkey and none of them had the courage to try more than a small bite of the jello. I was absolutely fine with this. What? I get to eat it once every two years, so I'm not keen on sharing it.

Dessert was similarly divine, and, amazingly, the kids all found room for ice cream. I stuck to ice cream, Natalia's home-made apple pie, and pumpkin pie, and then I chased it with some coffee, a combination that made me want to find a bed and hibernate for the winter. Alas this was not in the cards, so we did the next best thing: we packed up leftovers, said our goodbyes, and headed back home for a long weekend of doing almost nothing.

A pillow fight to end the night.