Post Turkey Day, A Good Day for a Visit to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum

Hiking along the Creek

Picnicing

Building cairns

Turkey on the Outdoor Grill

The Cooks

Playing scrabble

A mild, overcast day, with no rain in the forecast till late tonight.  I actually slept in till 7:30 and Marlena and Evie did not get up till 8:00, so we must have been really tired. Yesterday, as usual, was a day of excess, football, food, and sun shine, nothing to complain about for once!  

Post Turkey Blues

Weather wise, it was a  great day too, sunny and warm, a perfect day to be either inside watching football, or outside walking and hiking.  I took Bella for a long walk around 10:00, as Evie and Mary got things ready for the big meal.  Tom put the turkey on about 11:00, as we decided to cook it outside on the grill for the first time.  Evie worked on the sides and Mary made a banana cream pie.  About 1:00, Evie and I took the kids on a hike and picnic along their creek, which has become a regular outing for us.  It's just a couple of hundred yards beyond their house, and we can follow the creek and gorge for 20 minutes.  We decided to mark our path, making a few cairns as we went along.  We stopped for a picnic lunch of peanut butter crackers, grapes and cheese, sitting on the rocks along the creek.  When we returned, Mary's parents and brother were at the house, and we sat and talked with them, had appetizers, and watched Green Bay and Detroit until we ate dinner, about 3:30.

Tom and I watched a video on how to carve a turkey from the NYTimes and it was clear enough so that we were able to follow it to perfection,  taking off the dark meat first, then the breast in two chunks, then carving them into slices.  Easy and efficient.The turkey was moist and tasty(we all felt cooking it outside was the way to go next year) as were the requisite sides, mashed potatoes, rolls, stuffing and green beans. We also had three pies, pumpkin and banana cream, and cheese cake.  The men were, typically, worn out by all the eating and ended up sleeping on the couch while the ladies cleaned up.  Most of the post meal leisure was filled with football though Evie and the kids and Mary and Rose played some scrabble.  Tom and I were so worn out we had to go out for a walk with Bella to wake the heck up.  Typical.  It' strange to have eaten, done the dishes, taken a nap, walked and its only 6:30 though it feels like 10:30, a long night ahead.  Mary's parents and brother left around 8:00, so we decided then to watch a movie, Source Code, with Tom and Mary, a fairly good movie though I think I had seen it before.  Ever watch a movie and realize slowly that you had seen it before.  Both Evie and I felt that way though we could not remember what was going to happen. Pathetic.

Tom and I stayed up and watched the last four minutes of the Texas/ Texas A & M football game, perhaps the most exciting football of the day.  We went to bed full of football and food and happy, a good day for everyone, especially being with the family.

Later today, Tom and Mary go in to the city for a wedding reception and will stay overnight in KC and Evie and I and kids are excited about going to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum about 3:30.