Reflections on Thanksgiving Weekend

-FYI. If you're ever in the Chicago area for Thanksgiving, don't worry if you need to do last minute grocery shopping the day of. There's plenty of places open. If you're looking for pie, however, make sure you want it. You'll spend four times the amount of time searching for it as getting everything else. Who's up for another pie-quest next year? Me. Oh yes, it IS good pie. Not Jessica-pie, but cherry and pumpkin pies from Whole Foods will do in a pinch. :)

-Reruns of old movies never get old. Unless it's an endless loop of The Phantom Menace.

-Football on Thanksgiving is a must. Green Bay-Detroit ended up being a good game this year...until the second half, when the Packers put up an old-fashioned whuppin' on the luckless Lions.

-Broccoli-cheese-rice casserole. Good stuff. Not too fond of all the chopping onions and celery, but next year I WILL have the vegetable slicer with me. Turkey breast? Even better. Moist...yummm. Dinner rolls with butter are wonderful. And fantastic California wine to top it off. There's still some left for New Year's!

-http://www.christkindlmarket.com/ Go here. It's totally worth the atmosphere. Downtown lit up is, as ever, a great walking experience, too. Friday was a great day for strolling, too. Not too cold, but just brisk enough to get into the mood...

-CJ had been here before. I had not. It was perfect for a late afternoon/early evening meal. He had shepherd's pie, I had fish and chips.  http://www.elephantcastle.com/chicago_adams We left just as an extended family party was seating themselves in several tables around us. I lost count of how many kids there were. I got a mental picture of an E family gathering in about five years. Those kids will be better behaved, of course. :)

-Saturday was cold and rainy, rainy, rainy. Perfect for a day in writing, broken up by lunch at http://www.noodles.com/. R, I almost got their macaroni and cheese. It looked scrumptious. Whether you want Italian, Asian or good American noodles, you can find it here. This was following by a quick trip to the bookstore where I made a tiny dent in Christmas shopping.

-Sunday: late service, where CJ read the first two lessons. Isaiah and Corinthians. Ah, Advent! Probably my favorite season of the church year - the hymns give it the edge.
Then we picked up lunch at Culver's (link not needed), watched some more football, then I headed off with the other half of America to go home. I-55, you are NOT my friend. But we've put up with one another for over a year now, so a little longer should be tolerable. Please try to be nice this year during winter. I won't mention last December.

-Hope all of you had an enjoyable and blessed weekend!