Thanksgiving 2013

[Most of these photos were taken by Fen, who was kind enough to share them. Thanks, Fen!]

It's about time I mentioned Thanksgiving, isn't it?

Well, this year since we decided to hang around the Seattle area rather than going to visit family, we didn't have any firm plans for Thanksgiving. Happily, the always-gracious Fen and Mitch took the initiative and invited us to their feast.

Behold their stately new digs (and a bonus piece of our car)!

We wandered in with a couple of vegetable side dishes in tow, greeted our hosts, met their friend Shane and proceeded to gab incessantly until dinner was ready.

The table was set (no festive table would be complete without R2-D2, ne?)...

...and then came the spread! Clockwise from back left: turkey dressing, Not Just Ordinary Carrots, Fen's family fruit salad, turkey and ham gravy, Shane's candied yams, turkey, ham, green bean casserole, homestyle mashed potatoes. Their culinary kung fu is strong.

We gathered around the table, had a prayer and promptly fell to. And great was the oming and noming thereof, and lo, many bottles of Martinelli's were emptied upon this day.

"But where is the pie? You can't have Thanksgiving without pie!" I hear you cry.

Ha.

For when the groaning board was cleared away, lo! the pies were made manifest. From left to right, pumpkin pie, "eggnog pie" and apple crumb pie.

I, uh, might have had a little sliver of the apple pie. Yeah, I know it's not good for diabetics to have sugary treats, but it's only once a year, people.

After having ingested an inconceivable amount of food, we cleared everything away and played a quick round of Something Different (it's like a cross between Fluxx and Uno, highly recommended) before CM and I decided not to overstay our welcome. So it was that we took our leave and wandered home again, jiggity jig.

As I've mentioned elsewhere on social media, we have many reasons to be thankful -- but I tend to be most thankful for my friends. I'm not particularly skillful at making or keeping friends, and I appreciate the people who have made the extra effort to get past my socially awkward exterior and figure out whether there was someone worth knowing underneath. My close friends, including Fen and Mitch, continually make life brighter and more interesting and I'm grateful for the way they've changed me for the better.

Thanks again for a lovely evening, guys.