Thanksgiving Highlights

We ventured to southern WV Thanksgiving morning. DH felt compelled to stop at Krispy Kreme for the road trip. 441 was practically dead at 7am. I knew where everyone in town was. They were either snuggled beneath the covers or busy in the kitchen. The donut stop was a sweet distraction despite the not-so-fresh coffee we got. There is something fun about snacking in the car. What do you like to eat while traveling?

Traffic didn’t begin to pick up until we were somewhere near the I-40/81 split. I fell asleep shortly after getting on I-81 north and woke up right before getting off the interstate. We stopped at our usual place to top off the gas tank. It’s not safe assuming you can get gas later Thanksgiving night.  That’s just too tricky.  If you travel on the holidays, how do you handle tanking up your car? 

It was really good to see my darling in-laws. They are pretty amazing folks considering they are in their late 80s. I can tell you this, they are doing better than many their ages.  I prepared the turkey and ham at my house, which traveled well. I had kept it in the freezer until the time we left and it was still frozen. In addition to the meat, I took in my world-famous homemade buttermilk biscuits and a completely made from scratch pecan pie. I volunteered to pull the entire meal together once we arrived. My MIL has been battling shingles for almost two years and she can’t do as much easily. There is no need for her or my darling FIL to tend to the meal. They have certainly done enough over the years for all of us, so this was a huge pleasure for me to do. Who does the cooking at your place for the Thanksgiving? 

Both DDs and darling SIL could not join us. All three had to work Black Friday and DD#2 had to work on Thanksgiving day. They were definitely missed in the warm circle of family. Other than the in-laws and us, we got to visit with BIL#1, BIL#2 & his wife (SIL), and Uncle JD. We haven’t seen any of them since last Christmas. What a shame our schedule has been this hectic to not afford us an opportunity to visit before now. Have you discovered you have been super busy this year with little time to visit family out-of-town, too?

DH, his brothers, and DS played basketball while SIL and I got dinner ready. Once we were close to having it on the table, we called for the boys to come in.  BIL#2 led us in grace, as we each gave thanks for the bounty placed before us and the other blessings bestowed upon us. My heart always swells just a bit, especially during this time of commemoration to the Lord for all that we have.  My thoughts are often on our forefathers struggles that first winter and their gracious spirits of the first thanksgiving. It’s because of their flight from Europe we are able to enjoy this great, free nation we call home. Where you able to share Thanksgiving with everyone you had hoped to see? 

The meal was tasty, the conversation was lively, and before we knew it the evening went by all too quickly. With a heavy heart, we said our goodbyes to head home. We spotted Christmas lights here and there as we crossed the rural mountains. This is a nice perk for traveling on Thanksgiving night. I encouraged DH to turn Sirius to one of the football games. He likes listening to them when we travel and I like hearing them.  I knew I would more than likely fall asleep at some point. It’s just inevitable when I get into a car that my eyelids quickly become weighted with a case of drowsiness. Sure enough, I nodded straight off. As a passenger, do you get sleepy while traveling by car?

DS worked Black Friday and survived to tell about it. We did some Black Friday shopping online. That’s about as close as we were willing to get to anything resembling shopping. Later Friday night, we learned DD#2 had to go to the ER. Long story short, she has the swine flu and mono on top of that. I’m sure misery isn’t a word suited for what she has dealt with. Her symptoms included: diarrhea, vomiting, aches, & fever.  Yesterday, she reported doing a little better. It goes without saying, she isn’t allowed to go to work till the doctor releases her. I just hope her DH doesn’t come down with it or any of the people she worked with on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Yes, she was very sick those days, too. What Black Friday shopping did you do – retail or by Internet? Would you recommend the flu shot?

Saturday, we decorated our Christmas tree and had our Thanksgiving dinner.  We watched our traditional movie of choice, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but this year for the first time on Blu-ray. Awesome! We also watched Expendables 2, which was great. On Sunday, we wound things up by doing our weekly shopping and got a few Christmas goodies. Okay, it was a little more than a few. That’s all I’m saying on that matter. Is your Christmas tree up? What is your favorite Christmas sweets?

I’m getting a late start with linking up with my friends this morning, so let why not grab a cup of coffee and join me as I hop over to see

 

Have a terrific Tuesday!