Thanksgiving Weekend, 2014

I was telling Tammy that I can't recall a better Thanksgiving weekend that we've enjoyed together than this past one. It was so nice. Rachel came into town on Wednesday afternoon and didn't leave for her dad's until late in the day on Friday which gave us more time than we usually get with her. She got busy right away in the kitchen baking an apple pie for the next day's feast. She's become quite the chef over the last couple of years.

Rachel was up early Thursday to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while working on a jigsaw puzzle that she and Tammy had started the night before. It wasn't quite the same as last Thanksgiving when she was in NYC and at the parade.

In the last several years we've celebrated Thanksgiving with either Jackie or Keith's family. It's rare that Tammy actually prepares a full dinner like that and I know she's a little intimidated by it but she shouldn't be. She did great! Everything was perfect! Well, almost everything. Just as we were sitting down and giving thanks, our smoke alarms went nuts! "BEEP! BEEP!! WARNING! BEEP! BEEP! CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTED! BEEP! BEEP! WARNING! BEEP! BEEP! CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTED! BEEP! BEEP!" It was so annoying and couldn't have come at a worse time. We opened some windows and doors to try and clear the air (which seemed totally fine already) but it wasn't helping. I ran to the garage and got a ladder to try and fan some fresh air into the detector near the kitchen but that wasn't helping either. This went on for at least 10 minutes which seemed so much longer at the time. Tammy took it all in stride but I felt bad that her perfect timing was being ruined. She passed it off as a memory we can look back and laugh about many Thanksgivings from now. I like that.

We recovered from our turkey dinner tiredness then ventured out to Paragon Odyssey 15 in Burnsville to see Mockingjay, part of The Hunger Games series. Good show! It's only been a couple of years since I read the books but I'd pretty much forgotten much of the plotline for this part of the story which was just as well. Surprise me.

I spent some time over the weekend getting Tammy's Etsy storefront stocked and functioning. She's been steadily working on making her Sami bracelets for the last month or more and now they're available to the masses for purchase, just in time for your holiday shopping! Check them out. I need to do a better job with the photos but this is a start.

I was out Friday morning for a few hours on the mountain bike trails at Lebanon park in Eagan with Hynek. What a fun time! I hadn't ridden them in the snow and was actually pretty much avoiding them thinking they'd be more technical than I'd want. I was so wrong. They're perfect for the snow with my fat bike. I'll be a regular there. Video from my ride.

Our Christmas spirit has been at low tide the last few years and it's shown in the lack of Christmas decor inside our home. Rachel lit a fire under us yesterday afternoon and together we spent a few hours decking out the house. We didn't go all-in the way we used to but it looks nice.

I was putting up our 'forever' tree in the living room and Charlie soon remembered how much he loves to walk underneath it and let it scratch his back. Nut!

Rachel left for her dad's and Tammy and I left for Mall of America and Black Friday crowds. There were lots of people but the mall absorbs them well. We walked around aimlessly for a while taking in all the sights then had some pizza before leaving for home to catch up on some episodes of Survivor. It was a nice end to a full and enjoyable weekend.

Did I mention that I have much to be thankful for? I try to never lose sight of that.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

David Crowder Concert, NWA188 and Photo Review

Image
I got up from laying down after the all-night shift Thursday morning and figured I'd better get a ride in while I could because the forecast wasn't looking so good. The temp was just above 40 with a northeast wind steady at 15 mph under overcast skies. 40 degrees is very reasonable cycling weather but the key is to be somewhat chilled when you start out. Being warm and toasty at the beginning leads to being sweaty, cold and clammy before the ride is over. While putting air in my tires before leaving I could tell that I needed a lighter top layer. I'm glad I made the switch. I loved the ride  ( Strava link ) and would like to have gone further but David Crowder was playing at our church and I didn't want to be late getting in line for some good seats as it was general admission. I considered a quick detour by Hosanna on the way home to get a pic of their tour bus but I figured I should really act my age. The concert was worth every penny and better than any of the o...
Read more

Riding, Retirement and a Home Revisited

Image
I skipped out of work a couple hours early today to take advantage of some mild weather. I took the pups for a walk then headed west on my bike putting my heart, lungs, and quads through some paces. It felt so nice to be out there. I'd have stayed out longer but I had to be back to take Rachel to dance class for 5:00. It's possible that today will be the last time I'll have to take her to class if she passes her road test this Thursday. I'd like to have taken some time to hose down my bike. It's full of road salt and that can't be a good thing. Every large vehicle that went past me had a cloud of salt dust trailing in its wake and settling on me. I'll spend some time cleaning it tomorrow and have it ready for a ride on Wednesday after work. Speaking of work—I've been kicking around the idea of bidding on a staff job. Believe me, it's not something I want to do. It's about self-preservation. I want to work another five years to get Rachel thr...
Read more

My Bicycle Ride to Babbitt

Image
Wow, what a trip. In planning for this ride, I figured I’d have only two weekends this summer when our schedules could come together to give it a go. The first of those two times came and went two weeks ago when a steady north wind kept me grounded. There’s no way I could have gone the distance into the wind, and what I was really hoping for was a stiff southwesterly breeze, but that wasn’t in the cards either. After looking at the wind forecast on Wednesday, I told Tammy that it looked as though we were looking at another no-go. I’d been watching the forecast the previous 5 days, and they consistently said to expect a light wind from the southeast. It wouldn’t be a headwind but wouldn’t be much help either. I came home from work on Thursday morning and looked at the forecast again, but it hadn’t changed. I got a couple hours of sleep, then woke up to work in the yard. Then, I decided I wouldn’t let the lack of a tailwind keep me from going…just so long as it wasn’t a headwind. I tol...
Read more