After The After Party*

I spent this Black Friday cleaning the house. When I reached several hours in and was (almost) done with 2 rooms, I decided to call it quits for the day. Hopefully my enthusiasm for a clean house will continue tomorrow. If not, I'll live in these two rooms for the next few days.

b left early this morning to do a brief stint in a neighboring state. He works in retail and is always busy Black Friday but this year his efforts were needed elsewhere and he won't be home until Monday afternoon. Angel went back this afternoon. He works in hospitality so he worked on Thanksgiving (until 3 pm) and had a shift that started at 5 pm tonight. So I am alone in the house for three days and pretty much caught up at work. In addition to the cleaning and cooking that I have planned for the weekend, I can actually get a little ahead on my research and perhaps even begin pulling the syllabus together for my Spring class.

So yesterday was Turkey Day, for us and the rest of America. We kept up our tradition of a camping Thanksgiving. b, Pupzilla, and I headed to the campsite Wednesday evening and spent a quiet evening and morning by ourselves. I think that may be my favorite part--the calm before the storm and a little alone time with my hubby. Pumpkin and BB showed up at 11 am, as b was preparing us a late breakfast. We were joined this year by a friend of Pumpkin's who has become a favorite of ours: HungryGirl. HungryGirl is a rail-thin model, aspiring archeologist, and GRE tutor who is brilliant, beautiful and funny. She absolutely adores b's cobbler and is always hungry...hence the name.

As usual, b spent the entire day cooking and this year he added a new dish: mac & cheese. There was a lot of fire poking, a little bit of dancing and some card playing. At one point I left the crowd and took Pupzilla for a small hike around the park. The campground was quiet (except for us) and it was a lovely day.

Angel arrived around 5:30 just as dinner was ready. Fortunately/unfortunately his place of business fed the entire staff a huge (and yummy sounding) lunch so he wasn't hungry. The rest of us put a dent in the feast without him. Shortly after he arrived it began to rain. We were safe and dry under the tarp b had erected but it literally put a damper on the sitting around the fire with hot cocoa, cobbler and a reading of A Christmas Carol.

Pumpkin and BB had planned to spend the night but Pumpkin bailed because of the rain. HungryGirl is not a camper and had always intended on going home. Angel, for a number of boring but complicated reasons, had also decided to stay at our house instead of camp. Due to the rain, everyone left far sooner than we originally anticipated. b and I spent a warm, dry and comfy night in the tent (Pupzilla went home with Angel) hearing the rain patter. b read me a bit of Dickens and I fell asleep.

While it was a nice day, it was sad to have everyone break up so soon and it seemed wrong to spend so little time with Angel, especially since he had to go back today. If everything remains the same next year, I think I would prefer a more traditional Thanksgiving at home. Angel and I did have a nice breakfast this morning at our favorite diner and he hung out with me until the last possible moment, which was great.

Here are some highlights:

The Fire

Early Cooking

The Stuffing

The Three-Legged Turkey

Eating Buffet Style

*The title of a favorite song written by one of my favorite people