Let it snow, let it snow...
Thursday, November 24, 2005
cortneyandjon in family, holidays, life, traditions

Thanksgiving dinner has come and gone making it time to celebrate Christmas in our household!  Actually, we cheated because we started last night.  We couldn't help ourselves.  It was snowing and cold and it looked like the holidays!  Since we had put the lights up several weeks ago while it was still warm they were all ready to go and there was nothing to keep us from turning the timers on, so we did, and we don't regret it.  We actually got several inches of snow through yesterday and today.  Last night we kicked off our holidays with Christmas music, a movie and a fire.  And what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving morning than with pancakes and Ghostbusters.  We made sure that we each got on the treadmill this morning, too, so that we would be able to eat more at dinner, and it was a good thing.  We did dinner at Cortney's parents' house with all the usual trimmings.  Her dad did the turkey on the smoker (really there is no better way!), and there was stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry salad, waldorf salad, squash, wine, apple pie, pumpkin pie, and various coffees.  New and different this year was the addition of Patty, Curtis' fiance, and her family.  We had a wonderful time sharing the holiday with them, and the excellent desserts they brought, too.  Patty's father evidently has a sweet-tooth from which all the rest of us benefited.  In addition to the pies we had Death by Chocolate cake and riced pudding.  They also brought a traditional Peruvian drink called Chicha (I think) that is made by boiling purple corn to extract the joice, and then adding sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and apple pieces.  The drink has a relaxing and calming affect, yet is non-alcoholic.  We enjoyed it, and we had a wonderful time learning more about their traditions and their family.  Now, again, we are relaxing off the effects of a tryptophan dinner with a fire and a movie. 

Happy snow, happy holidays! 

Article originally appeared on Cortney and Jon Ophoff's Family Site (http://www.theophoffs.com/).
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