Just a Little Blue Today

Today was, as expected, a somewhat bluer day. Not really depressing, just marked with a little sadness. I do miss my family and friends, especially on these special days. I had a lot of good phone conversations though. And I didn’t miss the snow back in PA.

A friend from CycleFish told me of a Florida State Park near here and I drove over there to check it out. The promise of lower rates was alluring.

The lower rates must not be a secret; the park was packed. Almost every site (about 150 of them) was full. There were many RVs and hundreds of children, all noisily having fun. If I were traveling with children it would be perfect, but Riley and I prefer a little quieter location. We’ll stick with our current location for a few more days. I never realized so many people do this on Thanksgiving.

Ok, now to the Thanksgiving meal. When I opened the drumstick package I was pleasantly surprised to see there were three of them. Wow, leftovers tomorrow. We had roast turkey legs, mashed potatoes, peas, stuffing and, of course, gravy. All were homemade except for the stuffing. I had to cheat a bit there, it came out of a box.

Timing was the biggest challenge, as all you great cooks know, getting it all to be ready together. I must say I did quite well. Roz’s oven worked perfectly, and I discovered it works VERY well as a house heater. Note to self: Design a good exhaust fan for Roz.

 Mike's Thanksgiving meal, mine lasted a bit longer than Riley's.

 

When the holiday feast was ready I made a bowl for Riley. I loaded his bowl with the meat from one drumstick, a scoop of potatoes, a few peas, a tiny bit of stuffing and some gravy over it all. He must have known there was something special, for he was really underfoot as I prepped his bowl. When I set it down for him, there was no hesitation. He devoured it, and before I had time to fill my plate he was back underfoot looking for more. 

 Riley's dinner that stayed in the bowl all of 30 seconds.

I looked over and saw his bowl was clean, not even a gravy stain. Licked totally clean.

I asked him if he liked it and his reply was a loud dog burp, so I guess he did. The meal was very good. Not the best Thanksgiving dinner I have had but definitely the best one I made so far on this trip. Apple pie is being saved for later.

WOOF! (Translated that means “Hi.”)

Riley here. Now that’s what I’m barking about, people food, is sooooo good. I especially liked the turkey and gravy. Dad, ya did good! But next time keep the peas. It was too much work to remove them. So what is it about turkey dinner that makes me sleepy, I am gonna nap soon. Oh and dad tell everyone about those cats.

Hey dad, do I get more tomorrow? Huh!!??

OK Mike here again.

Cats, yeah they are something. There must be about half a dozen or so semi-feral cats in this park. Remember the night visitors that woke Riley the other day? Well, they have figured out that if they show themselves to my boy he gets all excited and runs to the end of his leash and gets a rude snap back. (Don’t worry; he is on a chest harness, not a collar.) They sit at a safe distance and stare him down; all the while he is excited and prancing around. I tried telling him to ease up but he just replies, “Dad I am a dog. This is what we do.”

That’s all for today. I hope all had a happy and filling Thanksgiving. We did!