Day 7: Thanksgiving

I woke bright eyed and busy tailed. Ready to start cooking and, boy did I. I cranked out most of it before everyone else was awake.

When they got up, I positioned them right infront of the TV for the start of their first Thanksgiving - the Macy's parade. 

Josh talked shit about the parade, a staple of our celebration for the past seven years ... I threatened to withhold his plate. 

I actually let Josh take over some of the cooking later, making his precious cream corn and the all-important gravy (that he won't let me touch because I ruined it five years ago). 

I finished the rest of my dishes and the dressing made from Mom's recipe she uses at the store. It turned out well. I might need to ease up on the broth next time though.

We set our fancy "table" and opened some wine ... hey it's a holiday.

Mom sent the centerpiece with her goody bag. So cute. 

We sampled Dave Matthews' White Blend but opted for red. We had Francis Ford Coppola's Claret, my all-time favorite. We also had a bottle of Mad Housewife. It's a holiday, people.  

 

We Skyped with my parents so they could "meet them." Technology is so cool. And while we were waiting for Josh to finish his kitchen masterpiece, Ine got Byron all ready for the festivities with a bow.

He LOVED them. And Keats did too. But he was always in one of their laps.

  

Right at 12:30 p.m. the feeding frenzy commenced. The menu included: Alabama-fresh black eyed peas and regular field peas, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, mac and cheese, turnips, dressing, cream corn, mashed potatoes, ham, turkey and fried cornbread. 

 

It was spectacular, if I do say so myself. Everyone had two helpings, dogs included. Then as per tradition we vegged and watched the Lions play.   

 

The Bug demonstrated the proper American "food coma" positioning.

 

 

We all basically stayed in PJs all day, watching "The Big Lebowski" and a Harry Potter marathon. We also played the traditional men v. women Spades game. The boys won, and we're certain they cheated.

 

We used our cards from Greece to make it interesting. They show some interesting artwork from ancient days.

 

After we recovered for a bit, Ineke and I made a chocolate pie using her bad ass Belgian chocolate. It wasn't the prettiest pie ever but it was good. 

 

That evening we ATE MORE and popped the bottle of champagne they brought from Paris.  

 

 

We ended the night by watching some of "It's a Wonderful Life."
 

Ineke fell asleep and we called it a day. It was the best Thanksgiving ever.