Thanksgiving 2009

By 8am, we had picked up our youngest son at his apartment and were on the road to Fort Sill. Beautiful drive, and clear skies. A breakfast stop in Decatur, and we arrived at James and Amber's house by 11am. All they requested was yams, but we brought along James' tv, and box of "cool" stuff because now they had plenty of room.

Amber had delicious homemade salsa waiting. Fresh avacadoes made it so good. And delicious hardboiled eggs...kept us filled until the turkey was done. They tried cooking it in a rotisserie machine, but the turkey was too big and kept scorching on the side, and stopped a few times, so we slipped it into the oven, and it was a beautiful color and so moist. Mashed potatoes, corn, biscuits---and delicious pumpkin pie! I like doing Thanksgiving like this!

I am so glad Ben got to see their new place, and all the boxes from the move a couple of weeks ago were gone! wow. I am so glad they are enjoying their new place. We got to see the washer and dryer James installed with just a little help from good old Dad over the phone last Saturday. And we marveled at the rooms. There is a cover in the walls half way down below most light fixtures. I wonder if they used to be gas lights. Electricity was added after the houses were built. And they have a nifty fire extinguisher above the gas stove.

Back on the road before sunset with a huge jar of salsa in our cooler, we made it home by 8pm. And we will go back on Monday for James' promotion.

It was interesting to me to see whatall is open on Thanksgiving Day. Most McDonalds were open for breakfast, but closed this evening. We saw a few Whataburgers open, and a Waffle House next to a Whataburger. Thankfully, gas stations were open, and Walmarts. But, only one open Braums on our route. Not that we were hungry. But, I wondered how folks without families were faring. Did Walmarts stay open last Thanksgiving?? I think they stayed open this year to avoid the crush. One man was killed last year when the unruly crowd pushed a door down over him. Walmart spent lots of money this year on crowd management, according to radio reports.

Every Thanksgiving is different for us. That is our tradition. We have enjoyed Thanksgiving with the grandparents, Thanksgiving with my brothers, (once in Grapevine, and a few times in Irving) and sister in Mississippi, Thanksgiving here, and now we add a Thanksgiving in Fort Sill, letting the next generation cook and carve the turkey! Fun! Fun!

Amber should bottle this salsa to ward off colds! After a snack of salsa and crackers, my lips are on fire and my nose is running.

I gotta remember to tell James and Amber that Ben said James married well.