Floridaland 2

After the last incredible post, I'm sure many people are muttering "How can John top that?!"

Thanksgiving was pleasant. My mother (who was sick, by the way!) spent the first half of the day in the kitchen, preparing a great meal. Turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce (straight from the can, yum!), and dinner rolls. Desert was a pumpkin pie with pecans. After dinner we demanded Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on cable. About half way through the movie, however, my brother called from Raleigh, North Carolina, and, after a 20-minute conversation with three people on our end and four people on the NC end, we returned to the movie only to discover that the on-demand service was no longer working. My Dad called the cable company, but after half an hour the service still didn't work. The second half of the movie has still been unwatched.

Several games of pinochle were also played during the day.

Today, Friday, we didn't go to any stores. The local news stations mentioned the phrase "Black Friday" so often that by the end of the day I wished the American economy would collapse in order to prevent that phrase from ever being uttered again. I awoke shortly before 10 AM, and when I stumbled out to the living room, my Mom had decided that today was the day to go to a local sandwich shop and get Cuban sandwiches. So, after a morning spent with mugs of coffee, sudoku puzzles, and quiet lounging by the pool, we headed out for lunch... only to discover that the restaurant was closed for the holidays. So, instead, we went to a small BBQ joint for pulled pork sandwiches.

My Dad had some chores to take care of at my parents' church so he was out most of the afternoon. My Mom fell asleep right away. (She was feeling worse than yesterday.) So, I hit the on-demand service, discovered it to be working today, and watched the latest Hulk movie. I know I'm going to catch a lot of flack for this, but I like the previous Hulk movie a little better than this one. This one is very entertaining, but there's not much Hulk in it. I like the fact that the Edward Norton Bruce Banner is a lot like the Bill Bixby Bruce Banner, but I was never a fan of the TV show. It gets a thumbs up from me, but- hold on to your socks!- I liked Iron Man more than this movie.

More pinochle and other card games after my Dad returned.

Dinner was pizza at Guido's, the local pizza joint. By 'local', I mean 25 miles away. Did I mention that my parents live in a fairly remote subdivision? The nearest market/store, is 3 or 4 miles away. We were joined by my Uncle Richard and Aunt Dot, who live a few streets away, and their daughter Sheila and her family. Sheila and family are visiting for the holidays. It's always a delight to see my cousin Sheila. Age-wise, she is between my brother and I, who are otherwise the youngest amongst the cousins on my Mom's side of the family.

More pinochle after we returned home.

Are you seeing the pattern yet? Tomorrow we may go out and do something other than eat and play pinochle. I suppose it depends on how my Mom feels. There is also talk of going to see the shuttle land at Cape Canaveral on Sunday afternoon. That plan is completely up in the air, though, as thunderstorms are predicted for Sunday.

Thanks for the comments you've been leaving. I enjoy them all. Excuse me for not having responded to any individually yet.

"As a child, my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it." - Buddy Hackett