Thanksgiving

Terry and I enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving weekend with our nephew Brian and his wife, Vicky. They flew in from Milwaukee on Thursday morning as I was clearing the driveway of the 6-8 inches of snow we got Wednesday night. (They also brought their dog, Sadie--part chihuahua and part rat terrier, all energy--much to the consternation of our four cats!)

In the past, they would either go into NJ and pick up Grandma or Terry would go get her and we'd all meet here at the Aerie for Thanksgiving dinner. Not long after the pies were served, Grandma would have her coat on and be heading out the door dragging Brian and Vicky off to Atlantic City so they could hit the casinos on Friday. This year, with Mom gone, we had them to ourselves for three days.

Thursday was, of course, dominated by The Feast. Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed butternut squash topped with cranberries and walnuts, some asparagus and kernel corn rounded out the main meal. That was followed by pecan pie, pumpkin pie and apple pie. Oh, and there was wine.

Later we had hours of conversation and more wine as we relaxed in the living room. Dinner was left over turkey sandwiches, pie and, yeah, more wine.

Friday we piled into the Jeep Compass and went off to Corning to visit the Corning Museum of Glass and the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. Brian and Vicky had never been to either and really enjoyed it. The Glass museum had a wonderful demonstration of glass blowing and several new displays s well as the history portion. And, in the spirit of Black Friday, the gift shop was having a huge sale. The kids picked up some gifts for Christmas and Terry and I ordered a Frank Loyd Wright/Craftsman style floor lamp...at 75% off ($300 instead of $1200).

The Rockwell has undergone quite a few updates since the last time we were there. They redid the Lodge and renamed it the Remington and Russell Lodge. There were works by both artists. One side room was converted to a display of Mr. Rockwell's antique firearms, some of which predated the Revolutionary War. The special show at this time was of works by Charles M. Russell. Unlike the works on display in the Lodge,the works in the special display were of wildlife and wilderness.

Between museums we had lunch at Anna's just down the block. Great pastrami sandwiches!

After the museums we headed home to let Sadie (the dog) out and relax with a glass of...wine. Our evening meal was left over turkey, stuffing, and what ever else we had remaining...and pie.

More conversation after dinner with wine and bourbon and cheese.

Today the cats woke Terry and I at 4 AM and the six of us (four cats, remember) enjoyed some dog free hours before Brian, Vicky and Sadie got up and joined us. When they did, two cats disappeared into the basement to avoid that vile creature--Dog. We had some conversation over coffee and then had an early lunch before Brian and Vicky (and Sadie) headed out to catch their flight back home.