A SoWal Thanksgiving

Getting to and getting through Thanksgiving took over most of our week. As of this writing, all that remains of the feast is one piece of pumpkin pie and a turkey carcass in the freezer. The Martone/Pappas clan arrived with several bottles of the Nouveau Beaujolais, a lovely salad, and some scrummy pumpkin rolls. S & E whomped up a turkey, dressing, smashed potatoes and, of course, 1 orange + 1 cup of sugar + 1 bag of cranberries relish. We had fun celebrating Obama's victory, getting caught up on doings in Tuscaloosa, and eating eating eating.


Our company (Sam's eyes open, barely, Theresa's not).


Our company (Sam's eyes shut, Theresa's open). Will S EVER learn to work her camera?


In other news, S won one and a half bingos and met her new cardiologist, who said, "you're 55 and already had a heart attack: fantastic." We added three new herbs to our little kitchen garden: thyme, sage and mint join the rosemary. We know the rosemary will go great guns in this location, for we had some nearby a few years ago (before a renovation project did it in), but not sure how the rest will fare. Stay tuned.



We attempted to attend two holiday festivals, one of which turned out to be nothing but a bunch of empty chairs in a wet yard, and another, in Seaside, which was slowly coming to life just as we were ready to head back home. E did purchase three Satsuma oranges, or, that is, she wanted three but had to buy four because the purveyor didn't have any change....



We finally located FlipFlops, which is supposed to serve up an excellent hamburger (and beignets for breakfast!), but haven't tried it yet. We also each had a cup of Amavida coffee, roasted locally, all Fair Trade, etc., and liked it a lot. So much, in fact, that we're going to see if we can wean ourselves from Peets! S tried the "pick up a quick lunch" thing, bringing home Cuban sandwiches from El Mercadito. Not the right thing to order there, probably, but live and learn.


Squeak continues to amaze us with her brazen wandering into all the neighbors' yards, and to amuse us with her strategies for getting back into the house.


The stare in the screen and squawk method.

The too too cute shadow-play method.


This morning, after breakfast at Don Pedro's (an old standard) and our Sunday romp thru Publix, we had the pleasure of a phone call with Francesca and Martin, congratulating them on their marriage yesterday. Sounds as if the whole thing came off beautifully (with just one boring speech). And both seem in excellent spirits: huzzah!

This early evening we're invited for wine and cheese at Daryn & John's on the corner. We're taking a nice apple-smoked cheddar of which we've become very fond. Looking forward to seeing the interior of D & J's place, because Daryn is the boldest and wittiest seasonal decorator in Sunrise Beach.