Turkey, Fixings, And Football

The Bissells And Their Pets

8:26

Well, mornings have not changed much during our visit to Virginia. Drew is always up around 6:00, followed by me at 7:00, and the girls sleep in. Jill and Evie get up around 9:30, the girls later because of a late night. And that's the way it seems to be going this morning.

Thanksgiving day, once everyone woke, turned out to be a pleasant and easy day. Early, Drew put together the smoker, and we took it outside for later. Once the girls were up, Drew discovered that the smoker didn't take pellets but hardwoods like hickory or oak. So we searched online to find a store that was open on Thanksgiving, and Lowe's, Home Depot, and Walmart were all closed. We almost gave up, but Drew found out that Cabela's was open and had wood for smokers. So off we went to Virginia Commons and found the kindling, walked around the mostly empty store, then headed home. 

Emmy Relaxing

Around 10:00, Drew took the turkey out of the brine, rubbed it with a nice seasoning, then peeled and cut the potatoes, mashed them, and put them in a slow cooker for dinner. Most of the prepping was done, so we were able to take it easy, have some light breakfast, and wait for the first game of the day at 1:00. Just before the game started, we lit the smoker and put the turkey inside, hoping that it would take around three or four hours. Jill put together an appetizer board of various cheeses and salamis, and crackers. Drew and I, and occasionally the gals, watched the Lions lose to the Packers. By 4:00, the turkey was done, so we took it out and covered it until it was time for dinner. 

Ready For Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Feast

By 4:30, we had the turkey carved, the ham sliced, the mashed potatoes, the stuffing, the gravy, and green beans all ready for the six of us to dig in. For the first time, because the Chiefs were playing, we had a TV going during dinner. Everything was great, and we stuffed ourselves, making Thanksgiving proud of us. The combination of turkey and ham was perfect, and now we have the makings for navy bean soup and turkey soup. After dinner, we adjourned to the living room to, unfortunately, watch the Chiefs lose to the Cowboys. 

Go Chiefs

Chiefs Fans, Tom And Mary, In Dallas

Our son Tommy and his wife, Mary, spent the holiday in Dallas and were at the stadium to cheer on the Chiefs, to no avail. We had our dessert during the game, either pumpkin pie or chocolate chess pie, both with whipped cream. We ended the night with a series the kids love, the first episode of The Righteous Gemstones. Once that was over, everyone but Drew and I went up to bed, and we watched, what else, more football. 

Our Grandson Nick, With Our Great Grandson's Rhys And Tommy

Nick's Wife, Aundraya With Her Boys

Morning Sun And Cool

7:08

7:48

It's 7:50, and Drew and I are the only ones up besides the cats. Pickle is sitting next to me on the couch as I write this. Drew has been busy making the rub for the turkey. Once he puts together the smoker, which arrived last night around 7:00, he will smoke the turkey this afternoon. 

Emmy

Coco

Pickle

We had no plans for Wednesday other than a quick trip to  Total Wines and the grocery store to pick up a few things needed for today's meal. No one was in a hurry to get up either, so Evie and Jill weren't up until after 9:00. Halle was up earlier, but Hayden slept in until 10:00. Breakfast was on your own, though Halle went out and bought some biscuits and sausage if anyone wanted. I had my yogurt, blueberries, and granola. The blog was finished by 10:00, and Drew and I drove to Total Wine around 11:30. I stocked up on our favorite box wine because each box is $8 cheaper here in Virginia than in Chautauqua. We stopped at the grocery store in the Virginia Gateway Mall, an accumulation of 120 stores, restaurants, and businesses. Drew and Jill live a couple of miles away and can get almost anything there.

Birthday Girl (21 in two days)

Unfortunately, Evie started to feel sick in the afternoon and spent much of the afternoon upstairs. The rest of us had the leftover chicken and stuffed shells for lunch. The girls had hair appointments at 1:00 so they didn't get back until 2:30. I napped briefly then, and the rest of us just hung out most of the afternoon. Around 5:00, Evie was feeling a bit better and came downstairs around 5:00 while we enjoyed Bloody Marys, and she tried a glass of wine, but it didn't taste good, and eventually went back upstairs. 

Ava And Hayden. Ready To Party

The girls left for Old Town Manassas around 7:30 to meet friends, so it was just the three of us for dinner. We decided to have Indian take out so Drew and I drove to Virginia Gateway Mall and picked up our food. It tasted good, something a little different from our usual burgers or wings.  We watched a disturbing film, A House Of Dynatmite, about the possibility of a worldwide nuclear war. It's not the greatest film I have seen, but it's worth watching because of the possibility of a nuclear war. After the film, Jill went up to bed, but Drew and I stayed up until 10:00 before going up to bed as well. The girls were out until 2:00, taking an Uber home. 

Our KC Family Visiting the Dallas Family

A Wet Virginia Morning

7:39

It's 7:50, and my son-in-law Drew and I are up early, watching ESPN and both are on our computers. I was up at 7:00, Drew probably at 6:00, while the girls slept in. The weather in Virginia is crazy this holiday, with today's high near 70º, but tomorrow's high will be in the 40s.

Morning With Pickles

There's not much to say about yesterday's road trip. We left about 8:45 and arrived at Jill's seven hours later at 3:45. It rained most of the way; at least our windshield wipers seemed to be working the whole time. We have taken this trip many times over the past 15 years. We always stop in Warren, at McDonald's, after an hour for coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Then, we change drivers at Gio's. We switched just before getting on the PA turnpike and drove to Berkley Springs, West Virginia, where we stopped again for lunch at McDonald's. Our last stop was a half hour later, to get gas at Shawnee Springs Market in Winchester, VA, about an hour from Jill's. Once we got on 66, the main route from Washington, DC, we made good time, though there was an accident on 66 West, with cars backed up for at least 10 miles.

Nellie, Hayden's Cat

When we arrived, Drew was just getting home from work, and Jill was still showing a house in the Plains. Halle, our youngest, was also home to greet us and help bring our bags and goodies in. Jill was home by 4:15, and by 5:00, we were happily sitting around the living room, enjoying a glass of wine and the antics of their two new cats. Hayden, our other granddaughter, got stuck in traffic and arrived soon after 5:00, bringing her cat, making it three cats and one dog, Coco.

We got caught up on everyone's lives, and it was fun to talk to Halle, who, like me, is an English major at Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond. She is really enjoying both reading the classics and writing. Hayden and Drew both work for Defense Contractors, and their companies are suffering under Trump's cuts. 

Prepping Dinner

Evie brought dinner, stuffed shells and chicken cutlets, so they went in the oven at 6:15, and we ate at 6:45. Stuffed shells are the girls' favorites, so they were a big hit. We had dessert, Junior's cheesecake for dessert, and watched the first half of Dancing With The Stars, the girls' favorite, until 9:15 when the adults went to bed, and the girls stayed up watching the end of the show. We were tired from our drive and probably had too much wine, so we were happy to go to bed earlier than usual.

With My Granddaughters, Halle And Hayden

Road Trip

7:12

It's not that early, 7:20, but we want to be off to Virginia by 9:00 at the latest. We have a six or seven-hour ride ahead of us to our daughter Jill's house, and it's supposed to rain most of the way. At least it's not supposed to snow or be icy yet. That comes on Wednesday

Monday was a busy day for both of us, but mostly for Evie. Not only did we both have to pack, get organized, and get ready, but I had to do some shopping, and Evie was making dinner for tonight at Jill's. After a forty-minute paddle and finishing the blog, Evie put together a list for me, and I was off to Wegmans by 9:15. I was in and out in 15 minutes and was home by 10:15. The kitchen was a wreck as usual when Evie's cooking two or three things. I volunteered to help, but she was fine.  By noon, she was in the last stages of cooking and volunteered to make me a fried chicken sandwich with cheese and pickles. With a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a sandwich, I was a happy boy until Evie realized that she needed one more thing from the store. So off I went to Tops in Mayville, picked up what she needed as well as a treat, another box of Nutty Buddies. When I returned, I was tired enough to go up and read and take a nap. 

Around 3:00, I helped clean up the kitchen, then Evie finished packing both of our clothes, hoping that we remembered everything we needed. What a relief to have packing done and not have to worry about it. We had our wine at 5:00, and Evie heated up our dinner from Sunday, the pot roast, in the oven. The pot roast and mashed potatoes were just as good as Saturday night, and we watched a couple of episodes of our show before Evie went up to bed earlier than usual, tired from a busy day and wanting to get a good night's sleep before our trip. I stayed up and watched some football before going up to read some and sleep. 

Getting Ready For A Road Trip

Our Son Tom And Great Grandson Tommy

7:03

8:10

I am up early, alas, before 7:00, to a chilly morning. I was out on the water by 7:15 for forty minutes, on a spectacular morning, with clear skies and brilliant sun.  As I paddle south, the sun was rising but hidden behind the trees, so it was not blinding until I turned around and paddled home. 

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising Behind The Trees

Victoria/Woodlawn

Buffleheads

Into The Sun

Yesterday was another football Sunday, even though the Bills didn't play. The day started with lots of gray, but I still got in a good hour paddle and, just as I was coming home, the sun tried to burst through the clouds. Evie was up when I returned home at 9:00, and we sat around for an hour, listening to the radio, on our devices, finishing the blog, and having a light breakfast. We were in no hurry to start our day. Around 10:30, I left Evie the onerous task of packing for a road trip, and I drove to Mayville. I wanted to walk Webb's Trail. It was interesting because I usually ride on the trail, and I kept wanting to hurry up. Finally, I settled down, got used to walking, and enjoyed the trail, the fallen leaves, the landscape on either side of the trees and walked close to two miles. It felt good to be out there, always invigorating. When I returned home, I gassed up the KIA for our trip and cleaned up the inside.

Webb's Trail

Nearing The End

Second Part

Field And Sky

Walking A Dog

I was home around noon, and Evie was in the living room, taking a time out from packing. By 1:00, we were in our usual Sunday spot, the TV room, watching the Chiefs play and enjoying scrambled eggs with tomatoes and cheese and toast. We stayed there for most of the next three hours, as the Chiefs' game went into overtime. Just as they were about to win, the channel changed because we recorded the game and forgot to add extra time. 

We seemed to be stuck in the TV room and ended up watching more football for an hour. By 5:30, Evie was putting together our dinner: squash, sausage, zucchini, and mushrooms, with a tasty sherry sauce. Evie boiled some noodles and let them marinate in the sauce with the squash, sausage and mushrooms. We ate of course, in the TV room and had enough football, so we switched to our series, All Saints, and watched three episodes before Evie went to bed. I then watched my show till 11:00, Unforgotten, and then went to bed after eight or nine hours of watching the boob tube. 

Sunday Of Mostly Gray

7:51

9:26

It's 9:20 and we are both up, listening to Jake Tapper, on a  Sunday morning. I was out for an hour kayaking, and came in just as it started to drizzle. I am still surprised at how few migrating ducks are around, and I only see a few buffleheads, often known as Butterballs.

Kayak Morning

Northern Gray

Wading Canadian Geese

Changing Sky

A Touch Of Blue

Southern Light

A Glimpse Of The Sun

A Male Bufflehead And His Female Court

We had a fairly relaxing Saturday once we had all the trash gathered and the fridge cleaned out. Before that, I had a forty-minute paddle on the usual route, which is getting boring, but I don't want to chance crossing the lake at this time of year. By 10:30, I was on my way to the Transfer Station. After dropping off the trash, I stopped at Ryder's Cup, but it was too crowded, so I skipped coffee and stopped first at Walmart to return the router I bought on Friday, in case we needed it for the Internet. I then went to Wegmans to pick up a prescription for Evie and a few other items, and of course, a jelly donut for Evie!

I was home by noon and was happy to have lunch, chicken soup, and a hot dog while watching my series. How nice to have the Internet back and working. I have not been able to get into my new book, so I started Buckeye, another fairly new novel, and so far, I like it. I did nap briefly but came downstairs, thinking I should get out there and rake the leaves. It's becoming an obsession with me. So I filled another pail with wet leaves and took them up the hill to the woodpile. And that was it for the day as far as work goes.

When I walked in the house, the aroma of a pot roast in the oven filled the kitchen. Evie chopped all the fixings in the morning and seared the roast around 1:00, letting it slow cook for three or four hours.  By 5:00, we were listening to the 'breaking old news' and enjoying a glass or two of wine. Dinner was great, lots of gravy and mashed potatoes, and enough left for another dinner. We watched the usual, All Saints, and after Evie went to bed, I watched a few minutes of the NBA before turning to Unforgotten on Prime.

Light Winds And Partly Cloudy

7:39

8:48

It's 8:55 and I just returned from a 50-minute paddle, down to Sandy Bottom and back. The sky was of interest, since the only waterfowl were mallards and seagulls. Evie's up now, and we are planning our day and our trip to Jill's for Thanksgiving, leaving on Tuesday. 

Kayak Morning

Southern Sky

Taking Flight

Well I am proud to announce we are no longer in Internet Purgatory. This ended yesterday morning around 11:30. After a paddle, we waited anxiously for our Spectrum guy to arrive between 9:00 and 10:00. We started to get nervous when he didn't arrive. Still, he sent a text saying he was behind and would be here around 10:30. Whew! It took him an hour to get things set up. Before he left, he gave us a quick tutorial on how to use the new remote and had to go over it a couple of items. By 11:30, we had Internet and could now listen to our Sonos in the morning as well as watch various TV channels during the afternoon and evening. 

I had the leftover chicken pot pie for lunch and was happy to once more be able to watch my show while I ate my lunch. The rest of the afternoon was typical, enjoying a nap and a book and around 3:30, we both adjourned to the TV room and watched another episode of All Saints. Of course, we had trouble opening up the various channels, hitting all the buttons on the remote before finding the right one. After that, I took a shower and we both got dressed because we were going out to dinner with Linda and Ron.

Great Friday Night Dinner At Brazil's Bar

We picked them up at 5:50 and drove to Westfield, to probably our favorite restaurant, Brazil's on Main. We were lucky to find a parking spot on the street, and we had four seats reserved for us at the great bar. The bartender, Brandon, the owner's son, was great and quickly brought us beers and menus. 

Short Ribs On Mashed Potatoes

We had coconut shrimp for an appetizer, and I ordered short ribs on mashed potatoes, a dish I always order, and the rest had the salmon. It was a fun night sitting at the bar, as everyone was in a good mood.  

We left around 8:00 and were home by 8:20. Evie decided to go up to bed so I was left trying to figure out how to find my shows on the new remote, Eventually I did and watched some NBA games, then I started a new series recommneed by Ron, Unforgoetten, and realized that I had watched a good part of the first seasaon before but I stuck with it since I couldn't remember much of it. 

Westfield Square Christmas Lights