Holiday Shenanigans

Not only did Dad host Thanksgiving at his house this year, but he also did almost all of the cooking! In true Southern style, he used the grill for most of the dishes and even tapped into the Paula Dean cookbook to make coconut crusted sweet potato balls. The only thing that gave him any trouble was the stuffing (which was probably a blessing in disguise for my waistline as I tend to eat stuffing for breakfast, lunch and dinner until it's gone!).


I did have to step in and voice my opinion on one topic: Dad was content to just pick up a store-bought apple pie. I can bend on a lot of things, but store bought apple pie is not one of them! Unfortunately, the only apples we had were Gala and Rome, so the pies didn't come out as well as I would have liked. Dad and Joy said they were still good, so who am I to complain?

Thanksgiving morning I was feeling very keyed up after my Pilates workout and Joy teased me about my energy level. Her teasing quickly turned to pleas for mercy when I proved my strength by giving her a piggy-back ride around the house (note the look of terror on her face: priceless).
I took Monday off to recover from the weekend and get my house decorated. Since I'm planning on having Dad and Joy at the apartment for Christmas, it seemed like the right thing to do. This is the first year that I have ever decorated for the holidays (as opposed to decorating just for a holiday party), so I had to recruit some help. Jessie stopped by and assisted with tree ornament logistics and encouraged my attempts at holiday cheer. Harley couldn't care less and once Jessie stopped petting her she laid down and slept through the whole effort.
Being of the mind that less is more, I took it fairly easy and went for a minimal approach. A tree with only red and green ornaments (and just white lights) and a few strands of garland, bells and stockings for the mantels was the extent of the decorations. But the smell of fresh pine and the perky colors are a welcome addition for the coming month.