Some More Thanksgiving Pics

The Morning After

For some odd reason on Friday morning we are all hungry again and gather at my house for breakfast and more raucous laughter. As people leave to return to their homes we all go out on the porch and sing "So Long, Farewell" from "The Sound of Music. We sing this very loudly and often very off key.

To say the least, this is my very favorite holiday because we all get together as a family and just enjoy ourselves. Everyone pitches in bringing food, prepping, and cleaning up.

The BeVard Thanksgiving is just what Thanksgiving is supposed to be.

Each year Karen brings a gingerbread house for the young ones to put together. We have had some in the past with swimming pools, etc. etc., always very creative. This year I noticed that the builders of the house were aware of the current economic conditions.

We Gather Together......

We all gather at Shellie's on Thursday (43 of us this year) to catch up, enjoy each others company, and devour two turkeys, two hams, and all of the trimmings. The eldest 10 family members get to eat in the dining room with china, silver, and crystal. The rest eat on paper and plastic wherever they can find a place.

Aaron was the youngest there and got most of the attention.

Peter enjoyed getting his tummy rubbed

Off to the Dietrich Theater

After dinner we gather for a group photo, which is always interesting as we can never get everyone in the picture as someone has to take the picture. Then it is off to the movies - some of us were a little disappointed at the choices this year. The teens were happy because "Twilight" was one of the films showing. The other was "Four Christmases" that not a lot of people were interested in seeing. Those that saw it did not give rave reviews.

Sixteen Candles

This afternoon Hannah called and wanted to walk down to use my wii fit. After she was here for a while Shellie called to ask me if I would drive Hannah to church at 5:00 for a new youth group that was forming. While Shellie and I were having a perfectly normal conversation Hannah started yelling, "I am not going"! As I was innocent and had no idea what just transpired I told Shellie I would be glad to drive her.

When it started to get close to 5:00 I reminded Hannah that I was taking her to church. She informed me that she didn't know anyone there and did not have to go and it was "gay". (Mind you, she has been attending this church for several years) At any rate I made her get in the car and I drove her to church. Now, I don't know how many of you have seen "Sixteen Candles", but I swear I was living the scene where te parents have to push the kid into the school dance. We sat in front of the church watching the kids walk in (presumably voluntarily) and she was refusing to get out of the car. I finally told her I was dragging her in and I got out of the car. She quickly exited the car and I followed her into the church where she cheerily greeted her friends. The only difference between us and the movie was that while all of the screaming and yelling was going on we were both laughing.

Now here is the wisdom of Shellie. Had Shellie driven her they would not be laughing.

"You'll Never Know Deer........."

We always have six or eight deer in our neighborhood that travel together all year long. As I was driving down to Walmart to buy a ladder this afternoon (my smoke alarm in the garage has been beeping for two days and I can't reach it - it was either buy a ladder or go stark raving mad) six deer crossed the road in front of me. They are always so beautiful and I never mind stopping to let them pass. All at once I was overwhelmed with sadness - Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving are Buck Day and Doe Day in these here parts. As I choked up I wished them luck and bid them farewell, hoping that I see them again in a couple of weeks. Since taking the job with Wyalusing Schools which celebrate those two days by making them a holiday I have felt guilty about enjoying my two days off and extending my Thanksgiving holiday by two days. Oh well, after this year that won't be a problem for me.

The Mary Day - July 1981

Planning this cruise has brought some memories to light of cruises I have been on in the past. My first cruise was a barefoot cruise in Penobscot Bay off the coast of Maine. I was living in Arizona at the time and Herb and I flew to Maine to go on the cruise. It was one of the best vacations I have ever had and very different from the one I am about to embark on. There were 28 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The boat had no engine and we sailed every day to some remote island or port to enjoy the outdoors.

The Mary Day still sails and I was able to download current pictures, which prove that not much has changed with the Mary Day in 27 years. There were two toilets on board and no bath or shower. As you can see by the pictures our accommodations were less than luxurious. We were given a plastic bowl that we took up to the deck and filled with wash water from a barrel. The food was cooked on a wood stove and the "formal" dinner of the cruise was on a deserted island and consisted of lobster, corn, and rhubarb pie. The corn and lobster were cooked in wash tubs. Herb won the prize for eating the most lobster and I took honors for eating the most rhubarb pie.

We all ate in the galley that you see in the picture and helped with both the cooking and/or the clean up if we chose to. I still remember sitting on deck in the evening and listening to music played by our captain on his concertina and some members of the Rochester Symphony who were on the cruise. We had a different kind of homemade pie every evening and I would rush down to breakfast the next morning because the left over pie was always out on the counter. What great memories!!!

How Does Your Garden Grow

Lynn came to visit this weekend and brought me some pansies to plant in my front yard. Now, anyone who knows me knows that any work that has been done in my yard has not been done by me. She asked me for a trowel; now what would I be doing with a trowel. I gave her a cheese cutter, which worked just as well. Erin and Lynn planted the pansies while I watched. When we got up this morning and went outside we found that several of the plants had been unplanted, which to me just confirms the fact that it is useless to do yard work. The animals are way ahead of us on that one

When we planned this weekend several weeks ago to celebrate both of our birthdays we decided that after the election we would either be celebrating or drinking ourselves into a stupor. We did not have a need to drink ourselves into a stupor.

Lynn and I spent most of Saturday online or reading the cruise book to research things we would see and do on the cruise. Many of the shore excursions sound like a lot of fun. Joanne at the travel agency suggests beginning to book the shore excursions later in the spring. There are so many to choose from and they all sound interesting and fun. One stop - Dubrovnik - is known for wine and oysters and offers a tour that includes not just wine and oysters, but also a scenic drive. Lynn is going to call Joanne and begin her fact finding mission on joining the 70th birthday celebration. I am excited that she is considering joining me.