Gobble, Gobble!

One more day of work and then Thanksgiving is here! Most years we've been invited to a smallish get together at my in-laws' house and we've gone a couple times, but I really enjoy cooking the traditional dinner at my house for my immediate family--and besides that, I LOVE having the leftovers to eat over the following few days while I work on getting the Christmas things out and the house ready for the season. And as far as Thanksgiving goes, I would also love to have a larger gathering at my house, but the house is so small, we can't accommodate more than about six people. Some years it's still so warm outside, if I'd known ahead of time, we could actually set up a couple tables on the patio and host the whole family, but this year is going to be one of the cold ones. The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down for the first time ever in the foothills south east of us today and temperatures in the Sierra Nevadas will get down to zero degrees or below tonight. Brrrrrrrr! Perfect Thanksgiving weather, though, and the ski resorts should have a pretty good amount of snow to start off the season.

How about you? Are you cooking or going to someone else's house? Do you have any particular Thanksgiving traditions that you HAVE to repeat year after year? And what about Black Friday? Are you planning to get up and out early to shop? Personally, I prefer to sleep in and then get busy with Christmas decorations when I get up.

We'll be having our Thanksgiving dinner early in the afternoon this year so Soccer Son and his Lovely Wife to be Someday can have dinner at her mom's house in the evening. I kind of like the earlier dinner but it means prepping a lot of it tomorrow night.

Remember the photos I've shown you of turkeys lurking around my office? Yesterday I was in the kitchen/dining room, which is lined with one wall of windows looking out on a grassy section and then our neighbor's parking lot, and what did I see? A freakin' FLOCK of turkeys! I COUNTED them and there were TEN! I sure wished I'd had my camera with me. With the economy the way it is, I have to wonder how many of the flock will be left come the weekend!

I think I'll be back to post tomorrow night, but if I'm not, just picture me up to my elbows in stuffing, wishing you and your family a happy Thanksgiving.