Thanksgiving again, USA

 A very special year this year, with TWO Thanksgivings, one here in Germany, one there at our US home.  

After our spring visit, Michelle and Lee asked, When are you coming back? I said, maybe November, and they said, Thanksgiving??

Well, why not? What a great time to get together. Michelle, Joey, Hunter, Hannah, Harrison were all invited to Orlando. Harrison's parents and his brother! All of Crissy's local family! We're talking 23 at the table. Or was it 25? I forget.

The night before, Michelle, Joey, Lee, assorted Orlando folk met up at Drive Shack where you can whack golf balls and eat food while watching folks whack golf balls. 

Next day, the Big Feast. Of course lots of prep had been done the day before, but there was still plenty to keep us busy till the crowd arrived.

Table setting.

Prepping the turkeys.

And the food before the feast.

The fried turkey.

All the amazing side dishes that family brought. It's not Thanksgiving without corn things and sweet potato things and cornbread dressing. Soooo good.

What was best was my kids and their kids all together at one table. Heaven. That was a first.

And the weather was just perfect. Mid-70s, plenty of sunshine.  Werner took a nap - not sure if this was before or after the feast!

Off to THE GAME

But there was no relaxing the next day as we had to hoof it up to Tallahassee and the FSU-Florida game. It had been years and years since Werner and I had actually watched a game, but his was a no-miss-event.  The tail-gate was a bit less elaborate given the feast the day before, but it was still something to envy.  Neighbors and friends joined us and then it was time for THE GAME.

It's cool that Lee's and Michelle's seats are now so close together we can be with everyone all at once. What fun for us.

University of Florida was not having a good year and FSU was confident (and better!!) and we were playing at home and it all came together and what a win!!  Afterwards, fans stormed the field but so happily! Great game!!

Then off to PC for a week. We were late getting in, of course, though not nearly as late as Lee and Crissy. I think we may have slept till well into mid-morning the next day. OK. Everything is cool in PC.

Michelle had a couple of little jobs for us, thank goodness. Werner was tasked with refurbishing one of the outdoor decorations. Done!

 I had to work on a present for Hannah - embroidered sneakers. It took most of the week, but I got it done.

The tree was bought and brought home and after Joey installed a bajillion lights, the decorations started going up.  Hannah and Hunter by tradition put their own ornaments on the tree. 

The kids both thought the tree was "too small" this year! What?? It was a great tree.

The pups were not really impressed.

We went to the History Class and had some local beer and local eats.

We had  tacos and all the fixings at Hannah and Harrison's place. So much fun to be invited to dinner at your granddaughter's house!! 

We tooled around and looked at all the house decorations in the Country Club and beyond. I really enjoy that and marvel at it a bit. Decorations in Germany are a bit more reserved (to say the least!) and this year even more so with the worries that come with the war in Ukraine.

Michelle and Joey put up lights and decorations aplenty, but some folks really go whole hog. 

Maybe the biggie in PC was handing over the 12 Days of Christmas ornaments to Michelle. She'd fussed and worried about how best to display them and of course came up with the ideal solution: a perfect pendant to Mary Etta's wall hanging from so many (40+ for sure) years ago. 

I have to say, that was a project, but a fun one. I've done a couple of odd pieces for others in the meantime and will certainly do more. It's a great pattern.

Sorta in between, I set up two massage sessions for my neck that was so stiff!  The angel who did the work deserves her halo. But I mustn't forget the steaks, grilled to perfection, and the oysters, and the World Cup matches! 

Then it was time to leave for Atlanta. Or not. We don't know exactly why, but Werner and I (and Joey) got awful sick on the Saturday before we were to fly on the Sunday.  NO WAY to get on a plane with our tummies and hinter parts in turmoil!! Canceled the flight and then tried to rebook but the airline wanted to up the price X3 - that was a bit much. So we stayed in PC for two more days and recuperated a bit. We were so sad to miss time with my sisters, but so it was. Plan B - a rental car to Orlando and an overnight in Cedar Key.

We have such a soft spot in our hearts for Cedar Key.  We stayed there, Werner and I, on our very first trip together in 1987. Such a special place - an old wooden hotel with deep porches and swings and noisy locals at the bar.  

Every day a wonderful sunset. 

It was so fantastic -- until I got sick again! What a mess! Sadly, they didn't have grits on the breakfast menu to calm down my tummy, but the owner apologized and said there just wasn't enough demand.  That's a shame!! I can only imagine there are too many non-Southerners staying at this most Southern hotel. Regardless, we loved our little visit there and will absolutely go again, given the chance.

Back to Orlando. The locals (Lee and Crissy) were generous as always, adjusting their plans to our needs. There was another pair of shoes to stitch for a Christmas gift, this time with astronomical motifs (my fingers are done in).

We took walks with Hayden every day. If you tell him a time and say you're doing it, he will show up. It is so sweet. We hold hands, the three of us, and I love this time so much. The last day, we learned how to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and then sang it for mom and dad when we got home. 

And then, time to go home to Bremen.  But that was a nightmare!!!  First a delay in Orlando of 2 1/2 hours, a rebooking of the Frankfurt-Bremen flight which was cancelled and then rebooked and the rebooked flight cancelled and a night in the Frankfurt Airport with no support from any staff anywhere, and a later, delayed rebooked flight to Bremen where we arrived about 36 hours from the beginning of our trip and about 48 hours since we'd had any real sleep and then -- no luggage in Bremen. Wow!

Airport overnight accommodations:

All that said, we were home, we had our stuff and spare toothbrushes and  our bed and our pillows and it was all good.

And I have only good memories of this trip! Except for missing my dear sisters, we had so much just ordinary, regular, everyday sort of time with our family. Can't wait to see you all again. 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓