Thanksgiving

Our day began with a delicious breakfast, courtesy of my wife Susan: cheesy-and-hammy scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, gigantic juicy grapes, orange juice, and blueberry/cream cheese butter braid (a breadloaf-length filled pastry, baked and then sliced). I read the newspaper over breakfast--that is, after pulling out the pounds of advertising flyers meant to entice people into venturing forth tomorrow for Christmas shopping!

(And on that topic: there are homes in our neighborhood that have had outdoor Christmas lights and indoor Christmas trees lit up for a couple weeks now. What up?! Let Thanksgiving pass before you move on to Christmas, people!)

Then we drove to Fargo, ND to my sister-in-law Cassie's apartment. There we met her fiance Nick's brother Louie for the first time. A while later Susan and Cassie's brother Jerrett from Mandan, ND and dad Roger from Dickinson, ND arrived. Then we all departed for Nick and Louie's parents' lake cabin outside of Detroit Lakes, MN. Their parents Tim and Kathy had invited us there for Thanksgiving in order to meet us and start getting to know Cassie's family now that she and Nick are engaged to be married next May.

The drive to the cabin was very scenic. Once we got off the interstate, we drove on winding roads through rolling hills covered with trees and separated by lakes both big and small. Although it's the end of November, we have no snow yet, so we saw the variegated colors of autumn grasses and of evergreen trees mixed among the leafless ones. The sun was bright, and the sky was clear, so all in all, it was a great day for a drive through unfamiliar territory. (The girls made a game of counting lakes [Cassie reminded them that MN is the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"], but they couldn't come to an agreement on the count at any point during the game.)

Tim and Kathy have a nice little home on the waterfront. The woodstove and candles were burning when we arrived, making the house smell like a country craft store. Before we ate, Kathy led us in a sweet, sincere prayer of thanks for family and of anticipation for the upcoming wedding. Then Nick gave a toast, and we enjoyed some wine before the meal. Cassie had made a vegetable salad, and Kathy served turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, baked cinnamon apples, biscuits, and lefse. For dessert Susan had baked three pies: apple, pumpkin, and chocolate (like French silk pie), each served with homemade whipped cream.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in front of the woodstove, some playing Scrabble, others playing the card game Hearts, and others watching football. The girls played Connect Four and drew pictures and played with some toys that Kathy had gathered ahead of time for them. At one point in the darkness of evening, we saw fireworks exploding in the sky over the lake, so we stepped onto the deck outside in the brisk air and watched a lake neighbor celebrating Thanksgiving the Independence Day way.

Susan and Cassie discussed wedding plans (for Cassie and Nick) as we drove back to Fargo, and Susan and I listened to MN Public Radio ("Fresh Air" with Terry Gross) while the girls slept as we drove from Fargo back to East Grand Forks. We had some warmed-up turkey, potatoes, and gravy before tucking the girls into bed. Susan is planning to do some Christmas shopping tomorrow. I've got some dissertation writing to do myself!

It was a nice holiday. We traveled someplace unfamiliar, we met new people, we spent the day with family, we ate well, and we are spending the night in our own beds. Perfect!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, too.