Thankful for a Recap

 I've got an official hard boil egg peeler these days!  Isn't he a cute one?  And he peeled them all...

He was especially proud of one of them and after I let him cut a few himself, he claimed one will NOT have paprika or the other junk I was mixing with the mayo.  Just mayo please...  

And that's fine.  He actually had it on his plate for Thanksgiving dinner, but not sure if he actually ate it. He's a picky one.

Here is our freaky pilgrim people this year.  I found some child sized sunglasses, so by next year, we'll have some on the Mrs also so they won't freak people out.  It's the eyes...

Here is my pickle/olive relish tray fixings.  Not a carrot in sight!  I'll have a veggie tray for next year.

A pumpkin pie made from pumpkins I bought at Halloween.  I'd cooked them in the IP and then pureed and drained them.  I actually have another pumpkin draining now for future use.

And ummm Sweet Potato soufle.  OOh - that was good!

Robb smoked a turkey that morning and the house smelled divine. 

A college friend of ours, Dave, came for Thanksgiving dinner!  Meri, Shub, Ryan and Leon were here too.  It was a very nice time and we played some games afterwards until Leon went to his mom's that evening.  While Dave and Robb took him there, I pulled the livingroom all apart and got the tree mostly up.  I was wondering where a bruise on my arm came from and I just remembered those stupidly heavy tree pieces had gotten me...  Ugg, they can be heavy...

I just had the top pieces to go and then Robb and Dave got back.  Robb went out to the car and brought me his "not very well hidden" early Christmas gift!  I got a Little Giant ladder!  It helped me get the rest of the tree done but is still too short to change the lights in the ceiling fixture...  shoot.  

I came up with lots of unsafe ways to put the ladder so I could reach it and we ultimately decided to borrow one from our church.  That's probably the best thing to do... OR borrow one from his brother.  

On Friday, the girls and I decorated our own trees in our own homes, but together via DUO.  

Meri had some Christmas music going and we enjoyed some girl time together.  We're planning a craft day next weekend, I hope!  I've got some Swedish Christmas stars to make!

I saved a bag of ornaments for Leon to put on the tree and he mostly played with the ladder when he got back the next morning.

For which he is very thankful.

Also that morning, Meri, with our help, threw Shub a surprise graduation party at our house! 

We had found a cap and gown for him so his family could see him all dolled up for graduation!  He wore it proudly. 

His family and friends were all on either WhatsApp or Duo to wish him well.  I got to KIND of meet his mom and sister!

What a fun graduation party! The "guests" didn't stay on long, but they visited as much as they could before they hung up.

   We had cake and ice cream and then lots of Indian food for a brunch.  

He is a college graduate now! and the party was a total hit as a surprise.

We made Butter Chicken and carrot pudding, his favorite dishes.  Not sure how WELL I made them, but I guess I could pass as a weak Indian chef if needed.  The recipe helped...  And he was very complimentary.

We all played board games and even had Maddy and Matthew join in remotely via DUO for a good game of Dungeon Mayhem, our latest favorite game.  Leon is really good at it too, but he opted to play on the computer instead. We tried to get a game of Clue going, also a favorite of Leon's, but when you play with more than 2 players, the rules change slightly and that's when we realized how low on sleep he was.  Hmmm... maybe he needs a nap, do you suppose?  However he did not nap...  And Meri and Shub took that as their cue to leave.

I visited with my MIL at the nursing home and then visited with Ada around the bend for a while too.  MIL is getting settled in a recuperating room, after being at the hospital for 3 weeks.  It's awkward to get things to her and especially now since she can't talk.  Not sure what's causing that, but she seems to be getting stronger.  Also not sure when she'll be coming home.

So, it was a whirlwind of dirty dishes all weekend.  By Saturday afternoon, I'd forgotten what day it was.  4 days off from work will do that to you.

But I would so do it again!