Evidently I took a little vacation/hiatus. It was unplanned, but probably good for everyone involved (me because I got a break and you because nothing was happening so it would have been a series of really boring entries). We didn't even get up to see Leonids. I'm starting with Thanksgiving (this one) and posting some back entries for the holiday weekend.

The Scientist and I went to the Twin Cities for Thanksgiving and had a lovely time. The drive there on Wednesday night was incident free (lots of traffic, but it kept moving) and we continued our tradition of eating at Cafe Latte as soon as we arrive in town. We swung by The Bibelot Shop (I knew they'd be open) so I could buy some black tights and managed to pick up a hostess/thank-you gift for my mom, a candle (for me), and some little decorations for The Scientist's parents. Then over to A & T's where we had a quiet evening with them, my brother JR, and eventually my uncle and aunt, S & J, and my grandma (once they all arrived from Iowa).

Thanksgiving itself was also low-key and lovely. We had to eat early because S & J needed to go back to Iowa (S. had to work on Friday). There was turkey and the usual assortment of Midwestern hot dishes. Our contribution was two pumpkin pies that I made and two pies (sour cream apple and pecan sweet potato) that I bought from a local bake sale fundraiser in our neighborhood.

Thursday afternoon was spent napping and reading. I got started on my book club book, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Earle Stegner, and finished Elvenborn (Halfblood Chronicles, Book 3) by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey.

My brother JR is a freshman in college this year and invited several Venezuelans over for Thanksgiving. They are in the same dorm as he is and were alone for the holiday (not that they celebrate Thanksgiving, but the dorm was almost completely empty and food service was closed, as well as all the restaurants in the surrounding campus area). Only one, L., ended up coming for dinner, but another, H., joined us later. The Scientist and I took them (and JR) over to our friend P's house Thursday night. We thought they would get along well since P. has a weekly world music radio show and also DJs for a world music night. Of course, the Venezuelans liked techno and Linkin Park and had never heard of the stuff P. was asking about. It was a good time--we had some beers and played dominoes. Just the way to relax after a hard day of eating.

It was funny because although my brother brought the Venezuelans over, they were actually between JR and us in age--about the same age as my middle brother JK. Even though JK wasn't there (he lives in Seattle), it was one of the first times I could envision all of us hanging out with a blended group of friends and having a good time. Always before we were too far apart in age to have our friends really mesh well (or at all). The social gap between 18, 24, and 27 isn't so much as it was when we were younger. It made me start looking forward to our trip to the Far North at Christmas for new reasons. (Did I mention we decided to spend Christmas with my family up North? Well, we did, and now both brothers will be there, plus JK's girlfriend, and of course The Scientist and my parents.)