Awake: 7:04am Temp 48 sleep 6+35 sunny overnight @ Holt, FL.
We call Kevin & Melissa & wish them “Happy Thanksgiving” & talk about other subjects. They plan on having “Thanksgiving” dinner with Don & Josie & a few others in Ebensburg, PA.
Katrina calls: we exchange Thanksgiving wishes & then she talks with Kathy about some cooking ideas. Katrina will join a few of her friends today who are having a Thanksgiving dinner & she will be bringing a homemade apple pie + sweet potatoes.
Call Nick & family in Seattle; Jerry is keeping Nick busy playing with cars, trucks, trains, etc. I took the hint & made my call short.
We leave @ 12:20pm & drive to Ted & Jane’s home for Thanksgiving visiting & dinner. En route we call Zack, who may be in Michigan & wish him & KT a “Happy Thanksgiving.”
When we arrived @ 1:10pm, the party had already started; the living room coffee table was loaded with all sorts of goodies & drinks were offered. I kind of goofed this morning by eating my regular large breakfast so I graciously declined their gentle offerings.
Ed & Ted were busy discussing fine whiskies, bourbons & other Irish produced liquors. Having Irish blood, Ted has focused & studied on this subject for yrs so we all now consider him to be an honorary connoisseur &, as a result, treat him with the utmost admiration & respect. No one, not even Jane, will challenge his memory or taste on how the best scotch, bourbon, whiskey, etc are made & aged.
Not to give anyone the idea that this was our only topic of the day….not quite; Ted & I reviewed our knowledge of photography & methods of selecting a winning shot by angles, light source, shadows, etc. It’s just another humble talent that Ted tries to hide, but the pictures he brings out to show us & scrutinize, tell the truth; he’s very, very good at this.
As I casually watch Ted interact with his father-in-law, his wife Jane, & us too, it’s obvious that he is determined to do his best in everything he does, be it work, hobby or flying the big jets again. Ed is very impressed with Ted & commented often, “if anything is going to be done right, Ted will do it!” His determination, his drive, persistence, spirit, stubbornness, etc, will get him to where he wants to go.
Jane, by the way, is no slouch either. She is also very humble & one has to prod a bit to get her to show some of her artistic work: faux painted & marbleized walls in their home; sewing projects; mural painting for family & friends (hope she’ll be available when we build our house!). Jane teaches art at a Christian elementary school & involves her students in many projects. When living in AK she had her own jewelry making business, but now only answers special requests.
Thanksgiving dinner started out with a prayer by Jane & then some picture taking. As far as I know, Jane did all the cooking: turkey breast roll, mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, & rolls…delicious! Joanne made the dessert; pecan & pumpkin pies…yummy!
While the women cleaned up the dishes, Ted gave me a tour of his garage…unbelievable.
The 2 car garage is one big area surrounded by floor to ceiling cabinets; no tools, lawn mower, oil…nothing is visible. But behind those cabinet doors…an organized life of drills, air compressor tools, oil, paint, lawn mower, lawn chairs…everything a garage should have except a mess! WOW! The one visible item is a “beer-erator,” a refrigerator with (2) tap spigots attached to cold beer inside.
In the early evening, the women went shopping @ Michaels for some craft supplies that Jane wanted, returning in a little over an hour. We guys return to our chairs & sofa for some more talking + a few sips of “this & that” along the way.
The afternoon went quickly as did the evening; we say our goodbyes to Ed & Joanne as they leave & they invite us to visit them next winter & experience a so called: “Bacon Roast” @ their place. “We most definitely will consider that,” we tell them.
Our time here has been an absolutely wonderful eye opener: Jane & Ted have whisked around the house catering to us; no mention of pain, misery, discouragement, or whatever. We admire them for their perseverance & strength in a long, very complicated & painful recovery. They certainly did not dwell on that matter, but willingly responded to any of our questions or comments. We will do our best to keep in touch with them.
Back to our coach @ 10:35pm, we watch ½ of the DVR movie: “Bonjour Tristesse.”
Lights out: 12:31am
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