Happy Thanksgiving - November 23rd, 2006

We can hardly believe it!! Thanksgiving again! Does it seem to you Thanksgiving (and for that matter all the other holidays) seem to come closer together?

Michael and Sylvia invited Rocke and I over to enjoy Thanksgiving with them in their new home. We gladly accepted and had a wonderful time.

Rocke and I drove over Wednesday afternoon, thinking we would avoid some of the heavy traffic. Wrong . . . other people out there were thinking just like us and the roadways were crowded. It took us about an hour to get out of Portland. Once out of the Portland area though, the traffic lightened up and we were on our way to The Dalles.

On Turkey Day, Michael and Sylvia woke up early (5:30 a.m.) to get the turkey on the smoker. Fixing this meal was going to be an all day process for them. First the turkey, then a few hours later they would put the Pork Shank and baked beans in the smoker. Michael, Rocke and whoever else wanted to would keep an eye on the smoker and Sylvia and I would prepare the "inside" food.

Their friends, Becky, Ligh and their little girl, Samantha arrived to join us to celebrate the day. Becky went overboard and fixed three trays of snacks. While waiting for the turkey, ham and beans to smoke, we enjoyed visiting and snacking on the tasty snacks Becky had prepared. Don't worry, we stopped snacking long before the food was ready, so we could enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner.

With the food finally done, we were able to settle down and enjoy a lavish and tasty meal. We had turkey, ham, potatoes, gravy, candied yams, corn, green beans . . . you know, the standard Thanksgiving fare. Boy, was it good!! Too stuffed to have pie right away though, so we all relaxed and visited some more.

Now, who has room for pie? I'm ready, I'm ready!! We had pumpkin, lemon meringue and chocolate cream pies. OK, who said something about diet! We'll start that next week!

It's Friday, and it's Civil War Day! It was a work day for Sylvia. Michael, Rocke and I settled in and watched an exciting football game between Oregon State (Beavers) and University of Oregon (Ducks). During the last minute or so, it looked like the Ducks were going to win . . . then out came Oregon State's kicker, Alexis Serna to kick a field goal from 40 yards. It was the game-winner for Oregon State's 30-28 Civil War victory against Oregon. The Beavers started out the season weak but finished strong. GO BEAVS!! Both teams did a great job this year and are Bowl eligible! The Oregon State Beavers officially accepted an invitation to play in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on December 29th. University of Oregon Ducks will play Dec. 21 in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl. We'll be cheering both teams on to victory.

On Saturday morning, Rocke and I returned home ending the Thanksgiving Weekend to relax around the house before the busy work week..