Thanksgiving Day Delish, or, Jellin' in the Jeep

So I got of work last night about 1:30am and crawled into bed about 2am.  Slept till about 9:45 when Alene woke me up with a wonderful cup of coffee.  I still say there is no better morning drink in the world.  Tea drinkers, don't even try.  3 billion Starbucks stores worldwide and about 16 tea-huts, and all of them on mainland China.

Nuff said.


Its Thanksgiving Day, ya'll!


Alene, her daughter Liz, and I drove down to Lodi to see Alene's grandmother, Marie.  Now, Marie lives in an assisted living place, also known as a 4-star hotel.  I mean, I'd like to live there.  The place is absolutely gorgeous, with big staircases, separate apartments, and a staff to assist with any need.  It's not a bad life to roll out of your front door to sit down at a 4-star restaurant.  But I envy digress.

We drove down for Thanksgiving dinner, and a short visit.  Marie is somewhere around 96-98 years old, depending on which documents or who's memory you want to believe.  Suffice to say, she's earned her stay at the hotel.  She's still sharp as a tack, though, so don't try to pull any fast one's on her.  She'll put you on your heels in no time.

Anyway, we arrived a little bit before dinner was served.  Alene's father, Roy, was in talking to Marie, so we all sat down and exchanged pleasantries for a while until it was time for dinner, which prompted me to look for the public restroom, a search during which I got lost and wound up exploring the entire 1st floor before I discovered the restrooms that I'd walked  past when my search began.

We all sat down to a nice turkey or ham dinner, complete with salad, stuffing, carrots, bread, coffee, cranberry sauce, and apple or pumpkin pie for dessert.  The food was very good, my compliments to the chef and the bottle washer, because eating a good Thanksgiving dinner and not doing dishes is, like, I dunno, awesome!

After dinner we went back to Marie's place and visited for a few more minutes. I had to leave by about 2:30pm to get to work on time, and the plan was for Alene to drop me off.  But long about 2pm, Roy (The Dad) announces that he has to get going, and that he will give me a ride to work.

Now, I'm cool with this.  Roy is an OK guy, even if he is a little gruff sometimes. I get him, and we seem to get along alright.  But a side-long glance at Alene showed her to be a little less certain that Roy taking me to work was a good idea. I think she actually gulped.

So Roy and I take off for the hour drive from Lodi to downtown Sacramento, and you know what? We had a fine time.  He's actually very interesting, and has lived a somewhat colorful life, from time in the military, working several business, and owning his own business for the past 25+years.  He seemed to enjoy me asking about his family, telling me about his daughter (yes, my Alene), and trips he took the kids on.

I think Alene feared the "father-son-in-law-to-be" talk, but naw..... it was just a couple of guys talking.  Nice time.

So here I am at work, eating the food delivered by a caterer, and getting way too full.  My co-workers seem to be in a great mood, people laughing and sharing about their day with families.  My own kids are at their mom's eating way too much food as well, I'm sure.  All is as it should be, and I'm a happy guy.

God Bless you all, and remember to give thanks to God, the creator, and giver of all good things.