Oakland Thanksgiving

 

We thought we would be hosting the other Bay Area members of the McDonald family, but there were issues with booster shots not happening in time and so on--we were setting up outside but Anwyl's sibs still didn't feel comfortable with a group gathering. So the day before we found out it would just be us and my collaborator Dawn who we'd also invited. We had already shopped for the larger crew so we have beaucoup leftovers! Here we are just starting to dig in...Dawn's brother Sasha, who lives with her, is carving a stuffed squash. Fancy crackers, herbed goat cheese and olive hors d'oeuvres, sweet potato peanut curry, green beans, mashed potatoes, salad with beets, cranberry sauce. Pecan and apple pies, and crustless pumpkin pie. My Christmas cactus, which reliably makes beautiful red blooms this time of year, is the table decoration in the background. It turned out to be a record long event for us -- we started at 1:00 and wrapped it up around 7:00 -- retreating into the kitchen after sundown. I was disappointed to miss the family Duo call but I will try to get a practice call in before the next opportunity so I understand it better. I keep thinking it will be simple but....apparently I am simpler yet. In any case am enjoying the holiday reports!