More November, a Birthday and Thanksgiving Day

November 19 - this day Caleb is turned 9. Sarah is excellent in planing lovely birthdays for everybody. Caleb wanted to play laser tag with his friends and Sarah had booked a time at Mission Laser RVA. James and I went but did not go into the maize and play. We know our limits. The boys seemed to have fun. To me it was a bit of a mystery. There was a big screen outside were we could watch the maize going ons. There was also a screen which showed the results of the "battle".

After that we went to their house for pizza and birthday cookie. 

And of course HERE is a VIDEO     (0:38 minutes)

Caleb obviously had fun. I admired his parents because we left when the slumber party started. How many boys stayed the night? Ha-ha. Next morning Sarah didn't sound much worn though. I guess age makes a difference.

November 20: Our second opera tickets of the season. The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. We were not disappointed and thoroughly enjoyed it. We seem to be very busy right now. Have a lot of "5 minute jobs" and this was just "what the Dr should have ordered. 

And now ... Thanksgiving time!

On Wednesday November 23 the alarm clock rang early. James and I went on the road at 6:30 am. Surprisingly the traffic was not as bad as we expected it to be the day before the important day. The weather was quite nice too and we enjoyed it as much as you can a long drive. Our goal had been to arrive at the cabin (airbnb) on Center Hill Lake at daylight because it was in a very VERY remote area. 

This stretch of highway (Knoxville) was the only place were the traffic was very slow creeping along.

After arrival some photos because Sarah and Helen wanted to know how it is. The coffee station was really nice. The host had stocked up well with everything. She had also left a basket with a sweet note and a selection of sweet treats.

Thanksgiving Day, Thursday morning, James and I felt like taking a walk and we went down to the lake. Very nice indeed. 

Helen and William arrived first which was good because I had forgotten to bring a pie dish and there was none in the kitchen. I had prepared things and quickly put the apple pie (Sarah's recipe) into the oven.

Helen had hoped I would make one.

She had prepared several dishes. Ben had volunteered to make a roast. He arrived having it already sliced and it was most delicious. Dawn (friend/neighbor of Helen) also had brought a dish. Our meal was a joint effort and super excellent. 

There was no dining room table but the weather was so lovely that we decided to eat in the screened porch. We had a very nice time. 

Helen and William were spending two nights with us in the cabin. On Friday the four of us went to Cookeville. It was a nice outing. Helen taught me how to use a new app. Adventure Lab which is connected to geo caching. We had done one when they had visited us in Virginia but this time I had downloaded the app too. It was really fun.

William played twice "our" card game with us which also was a lot of fun. He is good. Papa and William enjoyed a hot chocolate Helen had fixed for them. Much better than Omi's.

Saturday afternoon Helen and William left again too. William still had a report to write. Helen needed to do preparations for the coming week. James and I walked down to the lake again.

We watched two anglers put a boat in the water and telling a little boy what not to do. We had a nice little 

chat with them. I enjoyed looking at things on the shore. Doesn't this look like somebody lost a toupee? Something growing on a stone when the water is higher. It was quite low.

On another note ... as it was the 26th of November ... 47 years ago we tied the knot at City Hall Manhattan. And blessed times ever since. Thanks to the Lord.

Sunday. It wasn't raining any more so we thought we would like to go to church. We found that St. Matthew's Episcopal Church was in McMinnville. That was not too far away. And not a problem when you have a GPS in this area. 

The first Sunday of Advent. I was surprised that there was no Advent greenery anywhere. But it was a very nice service and this day they had special music. I don't know how many guitars (or other instruments like it) and a large choir leading in uplifting hymns. 

Several people did talk with us and we even went into the basement having been told that there was a wreath workshop. James and I were happy to see the many children and young people. 

Almost back at the cabin we had to pass a restaurant which we had seen before and decided to try it out for lunch. The Twisted Oaks was quite a large place but with several rooms and very nice country decor. The food was simple homecoming type but nice. We were near the "sports bar" but unfortunately only American football and not world soccer cup.

Back at the cabin we tried to find the soccer game but the only one we could find was a Portuguese team playing Uruguay. The commentary was in Portuguese.

I took a few photos of some things which I thought were a bit special. The room William slept in was the Hibernation Station. 

Lots of rain was forecasted. Not ideal for hiking. We are not sports fanatics but it would have been nice to follow "our" teams plays. So we decided to pack up and left a day early. James is locking up.

Again we were surprised about the traffic, or, the lack of it. With this long and special weekend we had expected more. Of course we were happy. The sun was shining too. We had a late lunch in Lexington, VA. We only wanted a salad from a Wendy's. After finding the place we found it closed. But across the parking was an Italian place "Frank's Pizza & Subs". What a surprise that place was. Nice people and awesome food for a very reasonable price. If we would have known the size of it, we could have shared. But we didn't and we ended eating up anyway, ha-ha. So delicious. 

Good thing we came a day earlier. So much to do. On Tuesday I managed to visit our friend Julie in the evening. Ha-ha, I teased her. I helped put her tree up before I ever started with ours. 

I love the time of Advent. Such a special time. It was time to make a plan: what, when and how.