Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thanksgiving Festivities

Originally, we had planned to trek out to Northern VA for Thanksgiving, but in light of Heath's upcoming exams and my trip to NYC, it seemed best to hang loose here in Chicago and spend the day with our friends, John, Susan and Micah, at the Decostanza's place in South Shore.

John and Susan took care of the turkey, stuffing and this phenomenal sweet potato side. We brought green bean casserole, cherry salad and rolls (including dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls). John did a fantastic job with the turkey...it had been brined for 48 hours, which led to a very tender, juicy, delicious meat.

[turkey stages]





[making dinner happen]




While John was carving the turkey, Violet started eating some of the little pieces that fell off the counter. Then, turkey juice started dripping on her head a bit. Rather than move out of the way, she basked in it—literally. Our little pup's head was drenched in turkey juice and she couldn't have been happier. During dinner, we had to distract her with a treat and after dinner, Susan gave her a mini-bath.

[violet gets juiced]



Everything was delicious, the company and conversation were excellent, and a rousing game of Settlers of Cattan rounded out the evening. We are thankful for so many things this year including our friends around the country, our community in Chicago, our families, our work and one another. It's been a rough year at points, but God has been good to us and we are grateful.

[other shots from the day]