Shopping then pancakes in Chicago, tree hunting back at home, Christmas cards, pajamas, and advent calendar oh my, and adorable birds in the first snowfall of the year, which happened to come on December 1st.
365_2010 I don't start our Christmas countdown until the 12th, but these guys were so cute hanging out on our snow covered deck this morning that I thought I'd better share.
One final band rehearsal for the season, and a final tailgate, more reading (love), making turkey place cards, our dog getting his head stuck in an empty treat box, and Thanksgiving in Chicago, that was our week.
365_2010 I cannot remember a single Thanksgiving that was not spent by my family in the state of Michigan. In my earlier years Thanksgiving was spent at my grandparent's house in Pleasant Ridge, and later at their home in Brighton. As the years went by Thanksgiving moved to my house, my parent's house, and then I moved out and was again a guest for that holiday. Changes really get away from you from you at that point and in no time I was bringing my own family to my childhood home for that celebration. But through all those years Thanksgiving was always spent in Michigan, so this was a very special Thanksgiving indeed that saw the three of us and my parents pile into our van and head to Chicago to spend the holiday with Curtis and Julie and her family. The traffic was light (we left early Wednesday morning to be assured of that) and the weather was congenial until we got there (when it turned to a mix of snow, ice, and rain).
Just like being at the kids' table again, all the parents stayed at a nearby hotel while all us kids stayed at Curtis's place. We visited a liquor store the size of a small local Kroger, smoked turkey on the roof of Curtis's building, roasted marshmallows, watched parades and football, and shopped Michigan Ave on Black Friday. We even ate dinner and played pool on the same furniture we enjoyed at my grandparents' house in Brighton, and enjoyed the family recipes from both our past and from Julie's. It was a great trip.
Turkey on the roof...
Taking the train town for shopping...
Bloomingdales in downtown Chicago is in the old Medina Temple, and the new owners have a done a wonderful job of integrating, or at least protecting, the original architecture. Best stop of the day, excepting maybe our browse through Room and Board.
Sitting on a million dollars of carpets in Bloomingdales. Really, a million dollars worth at least—the top carpet alone was $35,000.
It was a good trip.
family, holidays, traditions, travel 
A few extra days of sun, a turkey visiting the library, a full moon, learning to read, practicing for swim class in the bathtub, a bird on our feeder, and family game night returns wtih the chilly weather, these are the things that made up our week.
365_2010