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| Fran and yammies - a Thanksgiving Classic |
Earlier this year we thought we would have the meal in Grass Valley at Mark's - what were we thinking? As if this year the holiday wasn't going to already be missing such a chunk of our hearts. So only a week or so ago the venue was switched to Rick & Nancy's. Mark, just back from New York State was there when I arrived around 3PM. He looks none the less for wear. Also on hand were the neighbors, Rachelle and uh... damn! I knew I'd forget his name. Diego is home from university and Adan took a much needed break from filling out those infernal, never-ending college applications. And me, and it was a nice manageable Thanksgiving mob.
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| A moment for Being Thankful |
Thanksgiving was, as usual, a triumph. Again, the Thanksgiving miracle occured; a diverse group of friends somehow bringing pot-luck that wound up being a tongue teasing extravganza of flavors and perfection. I mean, YUM. In the past we flirted with salmon, Paella and such, but again we returned to old Tom Turkey (with a side of Tofukey for the honored vegetarians among us). Really, I don't know how we pull it off every year, but every dish was delish and there was plenty there-of. There was the usual embarrasment of pies afterwards - apple, pumpkin, pecan (TX style) all home made (which means pie shells weren't perfect, fillings leaked, flavors blew our socks off.
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| A Contemplative Moment Before Saying Grace |
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| Yeah, that's Hommer peeking over his shoulder... |
After dinner Mark showed us an album of photos from Fran's life. This is our first Thanksgiving with her. It was both difficult and exhilarating to see Fran from a cute chubby baby to the beauty she grew up to be. Mark gave me a disc of Fran photos that just love. Must gift him with some of my photos.
Not long after that is was time for the annual games session. Last year it was 'Bananas', but this year we returned to the tried and true Cranium; a board game that challenges you to do stuff like charades, clay modeling, drawing, spelling, you name it, until midnight.
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| In the Middle of a Game of Cranium |
Whew! I was bad and kept zoning out, casting spells on my iPhone Harry Potter app. We played in pairs, Rick & Mark, Diego & Adan, Nancy & Me. Nancy and I came in last, but winning was never the goal anyway.
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Nancy trying to recover from a laughing fit after
watching me at charades, performing the word 'Waterbed' |
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