Being Thankful, Part 1

It had been at least 2 years since we'd last celebrated Thanksgiving in The Dalles with Michael's family, so our plans were to head through the Gorge on Wednesday night, weather permitting, spend Thursday with his family and return that night so I could work the next day. We were also playing it by ear a bit since there had been some snow and ice in Portland earlier in the week, and there was the possibility of pretty bad weather through the Gorge.

We thought I might get done early at work because of the upcoming holiday, but it was fairly busy and I didn't leave until my regular time of 6:30pm. I got home and got a few things together to take to The Dalles but by that time it was 8:00pm and we still needed to eat dinner. We'd heard there was ice through the Gorge and of course the regular pre-Thanksgiving traffic so taking all of that into consideration, we decided to settle in for the night and leave early the next morning. We were both so glad we did!

Thursday morning traffic was a breeze and we sailed through the Gorge, enjoying the snowy landscape. Multnomah Falls was particularly beautiful. It looked like a cascading sheet of ice with just a small river of water flowing through its middle. Breathtaking. I wished I'd had the camera out, as neither Michael nor I remember ever seeing it look so icy. I was able to get some nice pictures of the hills as we passed through Rowena though, and as we came into the The Dalles from the west.

Michael's parents were watching for us and met us at the door. Their house was cozy warm and smelled deliciously of roasting turkey--what a great place to spend Thanksgiving! Donna and I busied ourselves with fixing side and "snack" dishes, while Michael and his dad headed out to check on some apartments that his dad helps maintain.

Soon they were back and with them came Michael's aunt Linda. She was soon joined by her daughter Shawn and Shawn's kids, Cage, Vicky & Abby. Soon after came Linda's other daughter, Melissa and Melissa's daughter, Kyla. At this point everyone who was scheduled to arrive had arrived and we all nibbled at pumpkin hummus & sundried tomato hummus (thanks, Melissa!), quinoa salad w/corn chips and lentil & potato crunchy curls.

It was a lovely afternoon spent visiting and catching up on each other's lives. Michael and I had missed the Hoffman family reunion this past summer and so had not seen everyone for at least a year. The kids had all grown taller and made those of us who went to high school together (Michael, Shawn, Melissa and me) feel more than a little old and wonder where the years had gone. :)

The turkey was very good, as was the new recipe I tried out on Michael's family: sweet potato fries. They turned out, surprisingly, like the old-style krinkle-cut fries that I have always loved. They were also very easy to make! We used salt & pepper, some olive oil and thyme and nutmeg although I think many different kinds of seasoning could be used and they'd still be delicious. I was glad that Michael liked them, since they will be a painless way to get some veggies into him that aren't McMenimen's tater tots . . . we have become used to having them on the evenings when we go out to play pool. Sweet potato fries before we go will be a much healthier alternative. :)

All too soon it was time for us to head back to Portland . . . there was talk of freezing rain hitting the Gorge sometime Thursday evening, and we wanted to stay ahead of it. Although a short trip, it was fun to see everyone, and to spend time together being thankful for what we have.

A few pictures of Michael and me, and his parents, Ted & Donna: