Thanksgiving Eve

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I will be cooking my very first turkey. Michael and I are having his Mom and Sister (Loren) and her Family over for Thanksgiving Dinner. Our modest dining room will hold 5 adults and 2 children. I have done extensive online research on turkey roasting. I chose a recipe from the Food Network website. For the main seasoning, I acquired 'Herbes de Provence' from the Albany Co-Op. Mike will be making the mashed potatoes and I will be preparing the frozen corn and Pillsbury crescent rolls (whoopty-do). I keep worrying that our turkey will turn out like the one in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Oh dear.I'm sure it will turn out fine. Just in case, I have plenty of beer and wine to numb the void. At least there will be Rice Krispies Treats for dessert (my fav!). Mike is very excited at the thought of leftover turkey and all the things we can make from it. For that reason, we got a large, 16 lb. bird. Good luck to everyone out there who is cooking - may your turkeys be moist and your families sane!

Hide Your Children

No, I don't have any children, but a friend of mine does... muh-ha-ha-ha! Luckily my good friend Lydia (or BFF for short) has no misgivings in my interaction with her children. I always have fun with them and I think they have fun too. A couple of weekends ago, Lydia and her daughter Adelaide came over for part 2 of our Anne of Green Gables marathon. We watched 'Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel' on DVD. Lydia and I shared tears by the end of the movie. Adelaide sat in between us and gazed up at each of us wondering why we were crying. We ate chips, pizza, and ice-cream and all slept in the living room. It was a blast!

Adelaide and Me

Here is a photo of Filo and me at the 6th Annual Fall Camping Trip in October at Lake Taghkanic State Park. [What a great influence I am.]

Me and Filo

Interview with the Photographer(s)

Even though I'm not done with the the caterer vendor selection, I'm ready to start the next vendor selection - photographer(s)! There are so many to choose from! Luckily I have recommendations from friends and the photographers' creative websites to browse through. My former roommate, Nicole, got married a couple of months ago and absolutely loved her photographers. They were Paul Grupp & Brenda Tompkins of Upstate Photographers. I met them last night at a local Starbucks and discussed with them my vision and plans and options and budget. They told me a little bit about themselves and their philosophy. I find their work beautiful and perfectly aligned with my vision. I love how they photograph all the wonderful details of the day.

Tonight I will meet Kiera Lemonis of Kiera Lemonis Photography at a local Panera Bread. Her website is very creative and fun and the work she has done so far looks great! I do not know anybody she's worked for but I'm sure she can provide references if I ask. stay tuned.