Raebert’s done in.
It was a fine day here but tiring. Great food, family members who actually get along with one another, and two kids who are smart, funny, and affectionate. Go figure.
Tougher for Raebert, who is frightened by children. A good moment for a grandson, though, who was unnerved by Raebert’s size and learned that petting the big guy soothed both of them.
Did I mention that Lady Laird put on a feast with all the trimmings? I helped. You should have seen me with my giant list in the supermarket. One guy who was stacking shelves helped me find things four times. Old ladies helped me find the rest. Only one was disapproving. She thought I should have known that chocolate chips were in the baking aisle, not the candy section.
So we were both tired come the weekend. Why I can justify the amount of football and streaming shows we watched from Turkey Day on.
Highlights. The Auburn Miracle. Instantly into legend, of course, as the greatest college football game ever played. Also, probably the greatest ending of an Ohio State-Michigan game ever. (My mother and both her parents were Ohio State alums. You don’t ever get over that affiliation.) Lady Laird’s Ravens beat the Steelers, and my Eagles survived another heart attack comeback by a team they dominated utterly for three quarters. She also had the last laugh over me with respect to Peyton Manning. I’ve been saying he’s done and should retire, which I got really final about when I witnessed his second interception, a wobbly mess of a pass at a particularly inopportune time. I won’t say she chortled when the Broncos subsequently scored 28 unanswered points. But she did.
What else? We watched Red2. Hilarious from beginning to end and better than the movie it was a sequel to, whatever critics say. Pure entertainment, witty and ferociously paced. We also stumbled on Wallander — no, not the weepy BBC Kenneth Branagh slop, but the Swedish version, which is now on Netflix and splendid. There are 13 episodes and three or so in, they’re neither repetitive nor unintelligent.
It was also her birthday yesterday. Which we celebrated very very quietly, with the promise of more to come. I’m taking steps. I guarantee it.
And Raebert will be better, by and by.
One of the best Thankgivings. And great weekend football.
Steps taken. Beautiful flower bouquet.
Happy birthday, Mrs. RL! What a year, eh? Glad you were able to top it off with an excellent Thanksgiving, you earned it.
Our Thanksgiving was eventful. On the way down PA via 287 in NJ, strong winds near Pompton Lakes literally tore our car-top carrier in half. Our main stuff was in our trunk, but all the hand-me-downs, the bread we baked that morning, and our nice winter coats were all thrown out onto the highway. We pulled over, and no one got into an accident because of our stuff, thank God. We gathered scraps of items as the sleet fell, and a very kind state trooper helped us out. My wife’s coat was recovered, but almost everything else was a waste.
My parents’ small house was invaded by our families, each featuring two children at ages 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. Chaotic at times, but everyone stayed happy and the kids did well together. We played a ridiculous game on our phones together, Space Team. The trip home was less eventful but took nearly 8 hours for a variety of reasons.
Sorry to hear about the vehicular mishap and the long trip home. But you can tell the story every Thanksgiving, hopefully with new embellishments each time. Glad the rest of the weekend went well.
Lake, it’s a hilarious coincidence (to me at least) that you played Spaceteam on Thanksgiving. I’ve had the game for months and no one to play it with, since you can’t play it over the Internet, only in the same room. This Thanksgiving I got to play it with my niece and one of my nephews. We laughed our butts off.
As for traditions, I showed up at the folks’ house around 11 am and made a couple pans of sweet-potato crisp. Everyone seems to like it. I can’t fully account for the acclamation, but it probably helps that between the two pans there are six sticks of butter.