MN Saturday Lunch

After skating lessons, our group is hungry, even though only two of us actually skated. Our choice is authentic Mexican food from El Mercado in the Hispanic area of West St. Paul. We look for prepared food and shop at the deli. The posted menu tempts us to go through the cafeteria line or visit their restaurant or select from well-stocked grocery shelves, but we stick to our original plan of takeout items. We notice a cheat sheet for making tamales but opt to buy three kinds made by the market. At home we snack on their freshly made chips, two salsas, and chorizo cheese dip while tamales warm in the oven. Yummy!

MN Saturday Skate

Morning temperature is a bit brisk but no reason for granddaughters to skip skating lessons. They glide easily into turns and spins, pleased to demonstrate improvements since last year. Putting on and taking off their equipment is a family project.

MN Starry Success

The final touch is always the star, and this year's placement is the turn of the older granddaughter, with a little assistance from her dad.

Ready for gifts tomorrow!
Hosts can relax!

MN Tree Time

Our tradition prompts us to decorate the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, so decorate we do. First, the lights! Then the ornaments! Save the wrapping to reuse! Remember to decorate the back of the tree, too! Finished?

MN Snowy Farewell to Fall

Last night snow begins to fall soon after seven o'clock, part of a sudden but expected switch from days of shorts and baseball games. Impulsively, we of the feminine gender decide to experience shopping mania and drive to Walmart to witness the eight o'clock frenzy. With no list and no needs, both daughters, both granddaughters, and I go dashing through the snow and laughing all the way. Inside the store we circle through the commotion, notice the behavior extremes, keep the five of us pressed together, and spread cheer and good manners to all, especially the workers. Avoiding any purchases, we bypass registers and security officers to exit the store, locate our car parked in an adjacent lot, and return home. Our plan has always been to wait for a saner tomorrow.

By this morning, snow thinly covers the ground and turkeys return. Shopping for a couple of hours is much more leisurely, even though temperature is twenty degrees and wind chill is six.

When we return home for lunch, Thanksgiving is officially over as the Christmas tree takes center stage. Pawpaw looks a bit reluctant to move into the next holiday season, but one granddaughter uses a hat and the other a hug to help with the transition.

MN Turkey Dinner

The table awaits the feast much more patiently than we do, but the ETE (estimated time eat) of 2:00 finally arrives. SIL carves while granddaughters observe, younger one with camera snapping in the same manner as yours truly. The kitchen is a busy and popular place for all of us to hang out.

We take time to give thanks individually and pose for a picture. Loading our plates is easy when we take some of everything. Ahhh, Thanksgiving dinner!

MN Turkey Morning

Don't these birds know what day it is? First in front, then strolling to the back, they are lucky our turkey is already in the oven.

Our response to the mild weather is a hike that takes us away from the tantalizing kitchen aromas. We walk across the street and head down the bluffs of Pickerel Lake just this side of the Mississippi River. With trees missing their leaves, we appreciate the bones of the forest and the carpet crackling beneath our feet.

MN Togetherness

When granddaughters arrived home from school Tuesday, we were there to greet them with hugs and kisses. Soon older daughter left work, picked up younger daughter at airport, and joined us. All together!

Wednesday weather was mild enough to allow outdoor activities and gave us travelers opportunities to work out some stiffness. We shopped with younger daughter and both granddaughters, had lunch out, and shopped some more. The afternoon filled with hikes down by the river and backyard baseball.

After dark we warmed at the fire and made a few s'mores before dinner. With appetites intact, we managed the salmon, salad, and roasted asparagus easily. We told ourselves we were eating light before the big day.

At the end of the evening, WII Just Dance kept all the girls in motion testing their dance moves in competitions. Burning off some calories the day before Thanksgiving has to be a good thing. And the music played on!