The Haul

Do my parents know me or what?

I spent a great evening with my parents, Kevin, Sarah and their families last night. It sucks that Jason is still in California, but that's life. I arrived at the family estate just before 6 pm, and we all had a big dinner, with a choice of roast beef, turkey, various vegetables & salad, a few types of bread, and gravy for both meats. I had turkey, stuffing, gravy and buttered Italian bread. Coffee and a few cookies for dessert, and then it was gift time!

The kids all loved what I got them, and the adults were appreciative of the "Dinner with KJ" coupons. I received the following:

• J & Stacie - A gift card (gc) from Target that came with a small Lego set (the Target dog).
• Sarah & Jon - $25 for JC Penney (winter hat & scarf here I come).
• Kevin & Holly - Two framed vintage menu parts from the Union Oyster House, from 1945. He's had them hanging in his house for years, and I've long admired them. Kevin was going to make me a set, but figured I should have them now, and he could replace them for himself at his leisure. Very cool. Plus they gave me current school photos of the three kids :)
• Dad & Ma - Wow, where do I begin? They still bestow gifts upon us at Christmas as if we four were all still little kids. I received $25 gc's from Barnes & Noble, Michael's and Mobil/Exxon, plus a $40 gc from my local comic shop, That's Entertainment. Also, they got me the first "Flight" compilation, the hardcover graphic novelization of Stephen King's "The Gunslinger Born", and "Starbucked" by Taylor Clark. Ma got me a 6-pack of tube socks (over the calf, of course!), and a 3-pack of black dress socks. I have the "Mad Men" Season 4 dvd collection coming in March (it had to be pre-ordered), and I received the SNL "Saturday TV Funhouse" dvd as a 'placeholder' (funny, Ma!). I usually get some kind of coffee for Christmas, and this year was no different. I got a 2-pound bag of Starbuck's House Blend (whole bean), and a humongous 5-pound bag of Sumatra Mandheling beans from Coffee Bean Direct - SWEET! Plus I received replacement blades for my Norelco razor, and a big jar of M&M's. What can I say besides 'thank you', except 'my parents rock'!

Okemo Thanksgiving

I spent the evening of my birthday driving up to Ludlow, VT to spend several days, including the Thanksgiving holiday, with my parents, and my sister & her family. What a fun time.

The drive up was enjoyable, and amazingly traffic-free. I went Route 2 West to 91 North, to VT 103 North, and after a quick drive down 100, I was at the entrance to Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, VT. In order not to get lost, I called my sister, and she came down the hill so I could follow her to the 5-bedroom/4-bath house we were all staying at. Dad & Ma had been there since early afternoon with my sister and 2 of the kids, I arrived at 6 pm sharp, and Jon got there after work around 9 pm. Ma got me a pepperoni, mushroom & anchovy pizza from a local place for supper, and for my birthday gift she & Dad gave me a candle, a 5-pound bag of coffee, and the latest issue of Sky & Telescope magazine. I'd brought my Lego blocks in case the kids needed something to do (they were thrilled), so Georgia, Hayden, Dad & I messed around with them for a few hours. Everyone was in bed by midnight. The moon was full, and there were so many stars in the sky, that I stared out the skylight at Orion (and many other constellations) for a good ten minutes before turning in. Then I read "Time Wants a Skeleton" by Ross Rocklynne until I finished it and fell asleep, while listening to Mojave 3, Nick Drake, and Pale Saints on my iPod.

Day 2: The kids were up at the crack of dawn playing hide & seek, and they burst into my room at 7:30. I finally got out of bed at 8, and had coffee & cold pizza for breakfast. I read Mark Kurlansky's "The Big Oyster" all morning while Sarah made pies and Ma cooked the turkey and other main meal stuff. Then it was the Patriots-Lions game at noon. We had a fantastic dinner, the Patriots and Saints both won their games, I read a big chunk of the book, and we all just took it easy all day, having pie and coffee later, watching tv and the girls perform (sing, dance, etc...) at various times. I was in bed by 11 pm (!), and fell asleep reading more of "TBO", and listening to Slowdive and Telefon Tel Aviv. Another great day.

Day 3: I got up at 8 again, and had coffee and a chocolate chip brownie while reading. Ma made scrambled eggs & bacon for everyone, which was cool, and we all just lounged around all morning. I showered at ten, packed up my car (after scraping last night's ice off of it), was on the road by 11 am, and proceeded to enjoy a leisurely sunny drive home (2 hours door to door), down through the sunny Vermont mountains, and the beautiful western Massachusetts woods. What a great way to start off this new year of my life, out of town with my family!