I'm just plain sad

The holiday was a good one, but its over and Erica is boarding her plane to England right about now. I'm sad, and I can't help it. It did help that we had a lot of fun these past few days. We built a huge bonfire last night. We roasted hot dogs, and marshmallows, complete with graham crackers and hershey's chocolate bars. Hannia came up with the idea of wrapping bacon around the roasting sticks, and it was all amazingly delicious.

At some point on Wednesday our cats cornered a tiny baby mouse outside. Jeanne rescued it, and believe it or not Casey has taken it as a pet. The mouse (sex undetermined) is now named "Chipmunk", and is living in a fancy mouse palace that Jeanne bought at Petsmart yesterday. I think Chipmunk hit the mouse-lottery. The last time I saw Chipmunk he was happily snoozing in an overflowing food bowl in his new home. He seemed very content for a little mouse that was on the verge of being murdered by a bunch of cats.

Anyway, Jeanne, Calvin and the girls left just before lunchtime today. Bruce took Erica to RDU airport just after that. She did call me to say that there was absolutely NO line to check in, and security was a breeze. She went a little bit early because we were afraid this being Thanksgiving weekend and all that the lines would be ridiculous. Oh well, better to wait at the gate than to be rushing and panicking that you might miss your flight, right?

Right now, Hannia is visiting her brother and parents in Morrisville, Bruce is driving home from Raleigh, Stephen is writing an article for his job, and the house is so ridiculously quiet. I miss Erica already. But she plans to Skype and email and let me know how its going, how the apartment search goes, and how the new job is when she starts there on Thursday. I will let you know.....and speaking of the house being too quiet....Stephen and Hannia will be moving into their own place here in Greenville. Its temporary, until he figures out which school he might be going to (the applications have all been sent), or what job he might take (still applying, while he is doing this freelance work). But they will be about 10 minutes away, so at least I won't feel too sad about it for now. All I can think about is booking a trip to England in the near future. I just feel like I need to wait until she at least has a place to live first. :(

Thanksgiving: The Aftermath

Following the tradition set last year in Danville, we decided to build a bonfire Thanksgiving night. The feast was mass consumed. The kitchen was reasonably cleaned up, and the weather was perfect. It was too dark to be able to gather much in the way of firewood, although our woods offer tons of it. And there was the free-roaming bear to consider, so nobody was eager to venture too far from the confines of the yard. But a smallish fire was made and we had a nice time. It has been decided that it is to be tradition from now on.....bonfires on Thanksgiving night.



We have spent this afternoon cutting up a huge tree that fell during the hurricane. Its way back at the edge of our property, and now we have enough wood to have a huge proper bonfire tonight. The weather is beautiful, and so we will party round the fire. Maybe I should send somebody out for marshmallows???

After the bonfire, we gathered to watch a heartwarming Thanksgiving movie, recommended by Hannia, called "Thankskilling". Its about a killer demonic turkey with a really foul mouth. Seriously, it was so bad, maybe the worst movie I have ever watched. But it made us laugh hysterically. And so the viewing of "Thankskilling" may also be added to the list of our Thanksgiving traditions. Not for under aged children though as there are moments of turkey porn. I'm not even kidding. LOL!! No way to describe it, you really have to see it for yourself. If you find yourself curious, its available for instant view on Netflix right now. How could you let that opportunity pass you by?



We are excited to find out that there is a "Thankskilling 2" in production right now, and will be available by Thanksgiving 2012. We will definitely have to add that to our list of things that absolutely MUST be celebrated.

I attempted a small amount of Black Friday shopping today. Kohls had a couple of things on sale that I kind of wanted to buy. I walked in to the store, and discovered that the line for checkout was so long it was approximately an hour and a half wait. Um, no way. Not happening. I will just wait and pay full price when I can check out in a matter of minutes. There is nothing that I want that badly. I came straight home, because I give up easily that way. Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. So far, its been a hilarious time. I am sure I will be feeling sad when Erica takes off for the airport tomorrow, but at least I know we sent her off with a bang. It really has been fun. I have my doubts that she will be able to come home for Thanksgiving next year....it will be so sad to watch Thankskilling 2 without her. But we will be sure to save it so she can see it at Christmas time. HAHAHA.....

Thanksgiving Eve

We just got back from eating Thai food at Anchalee's tonight. So delicious. There are 2 turkeys in the fridge. One for roasting and Calvin is going to fry one for us.
Stephen is making homemade yeast rolls. He has been practicing his recipe for a couple of weeks now to perfect it. As of this moment, there are something like 5 dozen of those proofing in the oven. He wants extra rolls for turkey sandwiches afterwards.

I just did a huge double batch of sausage balls. And tomorrow will be a flurry of cooking in the kitchen no doubt. Pumpkin spice cake and Flan for dessert. Have I mentioned that flan might be one of my most favorite desserts in the universe? Stephen and Hannia are taking over most of the cooking duties. Of course that makes me really happy. I will do the stuffing and deviled eggs, but everything else is being done by someone else. Jeanne and Calvin brought 12 bottles of fruit wines, so we have punctuated our cooking activities with wine tasting. It makes it seem less of a chore that way.

Anyway, I hope you and yours are someplace safe and warm. And I hope all of you find plenty of things to be thankful for this holiday. Much love!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful to be able to be here at home, ready to celebrate the holiday with my family around me. We did the grocery shopping today, and the cooking will commence shortly. Erica leaves for England on Saturday. Stephen and Hannia will be moving to their own place here in Greenville right after that (pending future plans). And so, for now, I am taking a break from blogging to be with my kids and enjoy them for this celebration. I hope you have a wonderful holiday too.