It's All About Me...

Thanksgiving Long Weekend

We had a dozen friends over on Thursday night for a Thanksgiving potluck. It was the first time we've hosted a Thanksgiving party and it was a success! For the third time in my life, I roasted a turkey and it was pretty yummy, if I may say so myself! I brine the turkey this time but I am not sure how much difference it made since it's been quite a few years since I made my last turkey and it was hard to compare. Nonetheless, the turkey, stuffing and gravy (despite a brief gravy crisis) turned out very well. I also made a couple of pumplin pies and an apple crumble, all of which came out quite satisfactory.

Our guests all brought yummy stuff: cheese plate with fig jam, crackers and bread, prosciutto wraps, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, salad, grilled salmon, roast mixed veggies and macadamia pie. Very tasty indeed! It was great to have everyone together and I sure enjoyed the company! We also found out that Moa (who I row with) and Naomi (who I used to work with) came from the same block in Honolulu and their parents still live in the same place! Small world!

We had quite a bit of leftover, so some people wet home with a bit of everything and I know we will be having leftovers for a few days!

Yesterday morning, I took Gander to Mary's place on Ames Lake to join her, Christie and Banjo for a walk on the trail behind their house. It was so nice! First of all, after a whole day of raining on Thanksgiving Day, it was actually sunny a lot of the time. The network of trails there was amazing and the dogs had a great time chasing each other and exploring the area. Banjo is as tall and lean as Gander is short and stout. It was just so fun watching them! After a 4 to 5-mile walk, we headed back to their house. They also drove me around the lake once so that I could check out the beautiful houses in the area. I found the house that has been for sale for a for a few months which is pretty much Dan and my dream home but can't quite afford. It would be so great one day if we can have a house on the lake there with the trails in the backyard...

Dan has bronchitis, so he opted out for the walk. Just as well, because the dining set we bought last weekend arrived earlier than the original planned delivery time. However, they showed up without the table and the store manager was not able to tell Dan when the table will be available... In the end, after a bit of arguement with the store manager, Dan sent the delivery people away with the chairs and the curio and told the manager to call when she knew when the entire set, including the table can be delivered.

It was a huge let down because we had invited Vincent and Yuka back for dinner to help with the leftover!! So instead of spending the afternoon putting stuff int he curio and admiring our new dining set, Dan, Gander and I all took long naps in the living room.

I finally woke up about an hour or so before Yuka and Vincent arrived and decided to look up recipes for leftover turkey. I ended up making a Turkey Hash very similar to the one in Nigella Lawson's "How to Eat". It was really tasty and it helped take care of half the turkey and most of the stuffing we had leftover. We pumpkin pie and coffee afterwards and just hung out in front of the fire. It was a very pleasnt evening despite the lack of the new dining set!!

This morning, I woke up to snow covering the lawn. It was still barely snowing and it quickly turned into rain just after I got a chance to take a few photos. Gander romped around out there for a while, but he asked to come back in pretty much as the snow turned into freezing rain. Smart pup!

Today will be a day of home renovation. We will get a door from Lowes and we will probably work on sanding and staining the rest of the window sills. I'd better get ready to head out!

posted by Anne-Gigi @ 9:15 AM