EARLY RISING ON CHAUTAUQUA LAKE

A daily journal of our lives (begun in October 2010), in photos (many taken by my wife, Evie) and words, mostly from our home on Chautauqua Lake, in Western New York, where my wife Evie and I live, after my having retired from teaching English for forty-five years in Hawaii, Turkey, and Ohio. We have three children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandson, as you will notice if you follow my blog, since we often travel to visit them. : Kayak Morning: 10/24/25 at 8:34 AM

Friday, November 28, 2025

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.