A Beastly Feast

For me, Thanksgiving is generally a happy holiday. Growing up, Thanksgiving Day was a big affair in my family. Mom always made a feast fit for a beast, and sometimes we'd spend it with friends or my grandparents. Yessir, I do love me some turkey (fuck you, J.D. Vance), as well as most of the associated dinner trappings. Above all things, I consider Thanksgiving a time for friends and family (not to mention eating well). Since I am the last of my original family, Ms. B. and I always try to host the folks from my "second" family whenever they can make it. Dick & Martha Wickliffe were my parents' best friends since not long after I was born, and my brother and I grew up alongside their kids, Gretchen, Todd, and Scott. Martha died some years ago, but Dick is still around, and today, he, Gretchen, and Todd came over to feast on some dead bird with us.

We fixed ourselves a pretty good pile of food—a big honking turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, cranberry relish, rolls, and cheesecake (all homemade, of course), and the Wickliffes brought a green bean casserole. All this was accompanied by a couple of bottles of a decent Pinot Noir. So, no, we did not starve, and we followed dinner with a couple of hours of solid family time.

Afterward, the tryptofans set in. Brugger napped, and I kicked back in the recliner and spent about an hour and a half writing this short little blog.

It's gonna be a mellow night.

An Early Midland Christmas (or a Late Midland Thanksgiving)

Most every year, Ms. Brugger and I head to her folks' place in Midland, Michigan, sometime in the late fall or early winter for a dual celebration of Thanksgiving & Christmas. This week was it.

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Thursday, November 30, 2023: Hurry Up and Wait
Getting a decent price on flights out of Greensboro usually means taking an ass-crack-of-dawn flight, and now that we're an hour (rather than 15 minutes) from Piedmont Triad International Airport, our pre-dawn wakey-wakey time has become pre-pre-dawn wakey-wakey time. Our United flight — Greensboro to Saginaw by way of Chicago — was scheduled to depart at 6:45 a.m., which meant getting to PTI about 5:30 a.m., which meant leaving Martinsville at 4:30 a.m., which meant getting up at 3:45 a.m. Both Brugger and I had gone to bed relatively early on Wednesday night, but thanks to a houseful of restless cats, neither of us bagged much sleep — less than two hours for the old dude, I fear.

We arrived at the airport with just enough time to get through security (already busy at an early hour) and visit Starbucks for coffee and a light breakfast. Boarding began right on time. As soon as we settled in our seats, some alarm on the plane started chiming nonstop, and there we sat for twenty minutes waiting for the crew to figure out what the hell. Eventually, the captain informed us that the issue required maintenance, and they would be there in about five or ten minutes (which, in airline lingo, means no less than half an hour).

Half an hour later—right on time!—the maintenance crew arrived, and after another twenty minutes, the captain called the all-clear. So, off we taxied to the runway, number one for departure... only to sit in place for another twenty minutes, probably waiting for an open window to Chicago. We had only a 45-minute layover at O'Hare, so to say things looked dicey for making our connection is fairly polite.

But our pilot hauled ass. The flight typically takes an hour and a half; this one lasted barely over an hour. There was no circling or holding around O'Hare — we barreled straight on in and were parked at the gate no more than ten minutes after touchdown (twenty-to-thirty-minute taxis in Chicago are far more common). Our connecting flight was at a relatively nearby gate, so Ms. B. and I made haste, this time without plowing over anyone (which might have happened on a hairy Chicago connection a couple of years ago). We arrived at our gate with a few minutes to spare before boarding. Whew!

Anyhoo... our flight to MBS was quick and easy, although a couple of bumps in the air raised a few wary murmurs onboard. No worries, though. Kimberly's parents, Del & Fern, were waiting for us at arrivals, and we made the easy drive back to their place in under twenty minutes. Still... wakey-wakey time to darkening their doorstep was a good six-plus-hour endeavor, and on less than two hours of sleep the previous night, Old Mark was a zombie for the rest of the day and evening. Regardless, come sunset, Ms. B. and I headed out for dinner at Molasses, a nice BBQ joint in downtown Midland, and the brisket sandwich mostly rocked (the meat was a tad dry, alas, but the flavor was still incredible).

Our typical evening with the Brugger folks consists of relaxing in the family room watching news and/or cooking shows. This evening's edition was slightly abridged, but all things considered, all's well that ends well.

The old dude finally got a good night's sleep.

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Friday, December 1, 2023: And So It Begins...

It's rare to be in Michigan at this time of year and see no snow. There was none on the ground when we arrived, but shortly after we were up and at 'em, the white stuff started coming down in earnest...

Del & Fern regularly recruit Kimberly and me to play chef for at least one, usually several dinners on our trips here. I always enjoy this opportunity, and since the folks are particularly fond of my spicy meatloaf, I volunteered to provide today's midday dinner. I don't do the spice for the parents-in-law at the level I otherwise would, but it still has a wee kick via the chipotle ketchup and black pepper that I hit it pretty hard with.

You know what? I love this stuff! And Ms. B.'s roasted veggies rocked.

After lunch, the rest of the crew sought and found treasures at local shopping areas. I busied myself blogging, promoting Deathrealm: Spirits, and otherwise spilling words into the pixel realm. For our evening drinks and vittles, Ms. B. and I headed to Three Bridges Distilleries & Taproom, which we've enjoyed in the past. It's loud as hell (it's that open industrial architecture that has not one sound buffer, which will no doubt result in total deafness for anyone spending more than two hours at a time there, particularly when they have live music, as they did tonight) but the interior is attractive and otherwise welcoming. A Rye Old Fashioned for me (decent), a red blend for Ms. B. (okay, I'm told), and smoked mixed nuts for the both of us (not bad).

From there, we wandered next door to Grape Beginnings Winery, another traditional Midland stop for us. Kim had a local shiraz, which she really liked, and I tried a spicy, pepper-infused white that, perhaps surprisingly, I loved. It was a blend of jalapeno, habanero, and ghost pepper in a sweet white, and the spice knocked out the sweetness that I otherwise would have poo-pooed. As an accompaniment, we had a bruschetta app that was, sadly, kind of meh.

For dessert, we wandered another door over, to Aviator Cookie Company and picked up an assortment of their homemade cookies to take back and share with Del & Fern. My favorite was this big honking cranberry-white chocolate monstrosity that made me holler for help to get out of my chair.

And we finished up the night with our traditional family time and episodes of Guy Fieri's Drive-Ins, Diners, & Dives to keep us hungry.

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Saturday, December 2, 2023: Godzilla and Other Goodies

I preceded Ms. B. out of bed by an hour or so this morning (as I usually do!), had a lovely waffle & sausage breakfast, and wrote some words in my current horror tale. Once both of us were feeling lively, we hit the road for Live Oak Coffeehouse, another of our traditional happy stops, and caffeined ourselves. I'm cooking up yet more dinners over the next couple of days, so we hit the nearby Meijer to pick up the necessities. A quick geocache. Then back to home base for a brief spell before the day's big highlight: heading over to Saginaw for Godzilla Minus One, which has been on the highest priority list since the day I first heard it was going to be A Thing.

The show was at 3:05 at the Quality Ten Powered by Emagine Theater in Saginaw. I'd purchased tickets well in advance, just in case. Ms. B. and I left a bit early so I could grab a few geocaches on the way. Done and done. For Ms. B., the theater held some special personal significance because she and her old gang used to frequent the place (in an earlier incarnation) when they were wild and crazy young mutants.

I'll write a separate review of Godzilla Minus One (which is now here), so suffice it to say that I enjoyed it muchly. I've heard it from many quarters that it's the best Godzilla ever. I wouldn't go that far, but it was certainly a no-nonsense good flick, and it'll occupy an honorable spot in my personal Godzilla collection as soon as it's available.

Another geocache, and then dinner — at Veedu Indian Restaurant in Midland. Veedu used to be Whine, our favorite wine destination in this area, and damn, we were sorry to see Whine close down. However, Veedu serves excellent Indian fare, and the bar is still a lovely place. I had a super-spicy Biryani with goat meat (fantastic!), and Brugger had a Channa Masala (also fantastic!).

And then home for family time. Ms. B. and I traditionally watch A Christmas Story on Christmas Eve, but we have plans for Christmas Eve, and it was on TV this evening, so we watched it. Needless to say, Godzilla made my day. Not to mention the caching, the food, the drink, the company, the place... all these things.

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Sunday, December 3, 2023: Christmas (or Thanksgiving) Piccata and the Lovecraft eZine Podcast

I spent most of the morning working on my fairly comprehensive Godzilla Minus One review (right here: Godzilla Minus One). I cooked again for the family, this time our "Christmas" (or "Thanksgiving") feast — Chicken Piccata — so I got that going a little before noon.

Damn if it didn't turn out merrily, monstrously good.

We were just finishing up our midday dinner when I received a shout from Mike Davis, the proprietor of Lovecraft eZine, letting me know they'd be talking about Godzilla Minus One on today's podcast, and would I care to join in? Why... sure! So, for the next couple of hours, the podcast gang and I carried on about monsters and such, and it was fun. (Link here: Lovecraft eZine Podcast 12/3/2023).

I wrote for the rest of the afternoon and early evening. Along with A Christmas Story, Ms. B. and I traditionally watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on Christmas Eve, but we have plans for Christmas Eve, and it was on TV this evening, so we watched it. Then some cooking stuff, including Beat Bobby Flay, for which I have developed a fondness.

The weather has not been conducive to outdoor walking, and I miss it. A lot. I'll be cooking again tomorrow, but it might be a better day for walking and geocaching. Here's hoping.

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Monday, December 4, 2023: Geocaching at Last!
Since the weather has not exactly been conducive to outdoor activities, I have only managed to snag a handful of caches since we've been here, usually while going or coming from someplace or another. Some snow came down overnight, but it was little more than a dusting that coated the layer that already covered the ground. This morning, the temps weren't bad, so it looked promising for those outdoor activities.

I had promised Del & Fern that I'd clean their gutters while we were here, and today was the first day since we arrived that this was even a conceivable project. So, bright and early (or, more like kinda dim and early), I bundled up, hauled out Del's ladder, and set to work. The leaves in the gutters were mostly coated with ice, so I found a crowbar and kind of scraped the gutters free of obstructions. My gloves are pretty heavy, but my fingers turned frigid nonetheless.

Then, since I'm cooking another family meal, I got a nice big pork shoulder going in the crockpot for BBQ tonight. I think it'll be good.

Del & Fern are kind enough to allow me to use the car when I go geocaching, so out I went. There were only a handful of caches near the inlaws' place that I hadn't already claimed, so I set my sights on these. Happily, three of the five were on trails through the woods, so I got a fair amount of walking in. It was still pretty chilly out, but by the time I was done, I'd worked up a fair sweat. Fun caches. Finally. Yay!

Ms. B. had to work her day job, so I spent the afternoon making progress on my latest horror tale.

For dinner, I believe I ate the best BBQ pork butt I've ever fixed. And believe me, I've fixed a lot of butt. The rest of the family went at it whole hog, so I think the cookin' for this trip was a big success.

Afterward, Ms. B. and I went out to have a couple of drinks at Whichcraft, which serves all Michigan-made spirits. I tried a rye and a bourbon, and, rather like the Michigan wine we've sampled, it was pretty damned good. Color me surprised. Kimberly ran into an old friend she hadn't seen in something like twenty years, so she enjoyed the opportunity to catch up.

On the way back to Casa di Brugger, we drove through some of the nearby neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights. They do Christmas up big time here, and I really enjoy the spectacle. Kinda gets the spirit flowing, don't you know.

Then there was the hanging out with the folks in the family room. We leave tomorrow morning — thankfully, not too early. Hopefully, the pilot will drive carefully, and y'all will hear from me again. Till then.

Happy Big Bird Day!

About sunrise this morning, I hopped (read hobbled groggily) out of bed, grabbed a quick cup of coffee at the nearby Valero Station, and hit the road for a geocaching breakfast event at friends Tom & Linda's place in Browns Summit, back in the direction of our old homeplace in Greensboro. A number of local cachers showed up, and — as will happen at such events — many geocaching discussions ensued. Tom & Linda provided eggs, sausages, biscuits, coffees, and juices, but I fortified myself only a little, since, back in Martinsville, a massive feast awaited us, courtesy of Ms. B., who stayed home rather than venture out to mingle with a bunch of mad cachers.

We had planned on old family friends, Gretchen & Dick, to join us for the Big Feast, but sadly, illness had struck their household, and they had to bow out. My daughter, Allison, at least, graced us with her presence, so we still ended up with a lovely, compact family gathering. We enjoyed a massive, MASSIVE feast featuring turkey, stuffing, smashed taters, green bean casserole, cranberry relish, maple bars, and vino. Since we had calculated on additional bodies at our table, we had more leftovers than the law otter allow, so, after we were done, I drove up to the hill to Gretchen & Dick's place and delivered a big ol' care package of fixins.

Allison wanted to watch Child's Play, which neither of us had seen in about a century, so we settled in for an afternoon horror flick. I'd like to say I enjoyed it, but... Well, the experience was as fun as could be. The movie, not really.

Ms. B. had suffered a morning migraine, so as the day drew toward sunset, she retired to her chambers for a power nap. I set out walking around the neighborhood, which I do most every day, and put in about two and a half miles à pied. I probably worked off at least a few bites of dead bird.

The fall and winter holidays have always been a special time in my family, and now that I am the last of them, I treasure days like this. No, things aren't the same as in those wonderful old days, not by a long shot, but I love these times no less, and in some ways, maybe more than ever.

Whatever you and your loved ones celebrate, may it be happy, meaningful, and lasting for you.

Casa di Rodan

The view from the hill

At Lake Lanier, just down the street

The view toward home

A Merry Michigan Thanksgiving

It’s only been a couple of months since Ms. B. and I visited Michigan to see her parents and ramble about the Upper Peninsula (“Clusterfuckin’ Our Way to Michigan”), but with the holidays coming and Del & Fern no longer able to travel long distances, we decided to head northward to celebrate both Thanksgiving and an early Christmas with them. And rather than pay the exorbitant price of airline tickets for this time of year, we opted to motor up in the Ol’ Rodan mobile. We’ve made the trip in one swell foop before, but it’s at least a 12-hour drive, and we didn’t much care to do that again. So, we split up both the outbound and inbound trips by stopping overnight in Ripley, WV.

Friday, November 18–Saturday, November 19, 2022

Friday, after Kimberly got off work, we mounted up and hit the road. Once we put some distance between ourselves and NC’s Piedmont Triad, the usual highway insanity petered out, and we made it all the way to Ripley with only light traffic and nary a swear word from the driver (me). The temperature dropped steadily as we drove farther north, but we had excellent driving weather overall.

Saturday, we headed out fairly early. I snagged a token few geocaches, but we focused mainly on making steady forward progress. Just north of Toledo, OH, snow began to fall. At first, it was only scattered flurries, but as we drew nearer to Midland, the stuff began falling in earnest. The last 30 miles were slow and oftentimes slippery, but we made it to Casa di Brugger without mishap, the temperature at 22°F, the wind chill at or around –273°C. Yep.

Sunday, November 20, 2022

No more snowfall today, though several prior days of it have left a good three to four inches on the ground. This meant no going geocaching on the bicycle today — or probably this entire week. Sad. I spent most of the day working on a new editing project, the details of which will be forthcoming fairly soon. It’s safe to say it’s on the big side.

After lunch, Kimberly’s cousin, Chris, and his wife, Bonnie, whom we’d met on our trip here in September, popped by for a visit. Afterward, Ms. B. and I went downtown and hunted some serious dead critter for dinner, which we found at Molasses Smokehouse & Bar. A slab of brisket for me, some brisket tacos for the lady. They know how to smoke some critter at Molasses, and the portions are not wee. I brought some of that cow back in a box.

Afterward, we hustled a half a block through the bluster to Whichcraft Taproom, which offers exclusively Michigan-made spirits. Ms. B. had a glass of Gewürztraminer (pretty good, I’m told), and I tried a red called Left-Foot Charley Bluefrankenfish. Er... Blaufrankish. For local wines, these were satisfying. Then I found a geocache. Happy me! Finally, we made the usual pilgrimage to Meijer to acquire supplies. We had much to buy, for I am cooking the Thanksgiving dinner — distinctly non-traditional, at Del & Fern’s request: Chicken Marsala, which I’ve cooked for them before. And Kimberly is cooking braised beef sandwiches for tomorrow’s dinner.

We concluded a pleasant, mellow day with our much-cherish family time, mostly watching cooking shows. Unfortunately, both Del & Fern have developed fairly severe coughs. Lord knows whether it’s something contagious. Kinda hoping not...

It was a dry red, one-footed, flying blue frankenfish — sure looks strange to me.

Monday, November 21, 2022

Ms. B. is on her regular remote work schedule, so she got up relatively early and commenced working remotely. I had plenty of work to do on my latest editing project, so I got up relatively early and commenced working on my latest editing project. Mid-morning, Kimberly started a lovely flank steak cooking in the crockpot for our dinner of braised beef sandwiches.

It’s unusual for me to forego lunch, especially after a light breakfast; however, for whatever reason, I never got hungry midday, so I pulled myself together and went geocaching. Over our many trips here, I’ve found the majority of the existing geocaches in Midland, at least those that are fairly close to home base — especially after today. I picked up 19 (ten of which were stages of a pair of Adventure Lab caches). It wasn’t exactly warm outside, but it wasn’t bitterly cold or windy either, so the weather proved perfect for getting out and about. A few of the caches got me out in the woods, and one Adventure Lab offered a tour of Midland Municipal Cemetery, which I found especially attractive under a layer of snow.

Ms. B.’s dinner turned out excellent.

Old fellow near the toboggan run at Midland City Forest

Midland Municipal Cemetery

Frozen stream running through one of Midland's wooded neighborhoods

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

A lovely morning it turned out to be for hitting the geocaching trail: temps in the upper 30s, only a light breeze, and plenty of sunshine. After a couple of waffles and a bucket of coffee for breakfast (plus taking care of some pressing editorial business), out the door, I went. This morning’s target was the expansive Chippewa Nature Center, a short distance southwest of Midland proper, where I hoped to find an Adventure Lab cache and several traditional hides. Since I started geocaching in early 2008, I have averaged about 1,000 finds per year, and to keep up that streak, I need to reach 14,000 total finds by year’s end. For a while, achieving that goal appeared iffy, but over the past couple of months, I’ve managed to close steadily on it. With this trip, I think I’ve sewed it up. At the end of today’s outing, my total find count stood at 13,990, so all I need to find now is ten more. I may well manage that before we leave here on Friday.

I put in about three miles on the trail. Snow still coated the ground, but it didn’t impede hiking at all. Well... I did cross a fairly small, hard-frozen pond, only to have a section of ice collapse under my feet — but it was less than a foot deep, and my boots are sufficiently waterproof to keep my feet bone-dry. I consider this fortunate because, although the temperature was above freezing, soaked feet still would have made for some mighty ugly hiking. And it is well that I did not attempt to cross an expanse of clearly deeper water (which I actually thought about), for my epitaph would have read “It was a stupid way to go.”

Back at home base, Del & Fern had picked up some Chinese food for lunch, which wasn’t shabby.

Late in the afternoon, Ms. B. and I ventured downtown to run errands and engage in tomfoolery. Errands done, we sought interesting spirit concoctions, which we found at Three Bridges Distillery. I tried a smoked Rye Old Fashioned — pleasing enough, dramatically presented (see photo below) — and Ms. B. had a raspberry hibiscus lemonade vodka thingummy, which she found delightful. We did settle for only one drink each because we wanted to sample a couple of vintages at Grape Beginnings winery, just next door. Those vintages struck us as very good... very good indeed. And, as it turned out, Kimberly shared some Midland history with the owners of the establishment, and lively conversation ensued.

And, once done with our spirit outing, we returned to home base for our customary, very lovely family time. So far, neither Kimberly nor I have succumbed to the old folks’ cough bug. I hope our good fortune holds out, though I am not holding my breath...

Observation deck overlooking the Meron and Muskrat Marshes at Chippewa Nature Center

Meron Marsh — a little icy! — viewed from the tower

The "Sugar Shack"

Log cabin at the Chippewa Nature Center

An entertaining cache at one of the overlooks along the trail

The smoky vault of rye at Three Bridges Distillery in downtown Midland

Spirit Quest

Midland's Christmas decorations — up in full force

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Again, I was out the door not long after the eyelids creaked open. A perusal of the geocaching map showed me what looked like a good route to snag the caches I needed to reach the 14,000-find milestone. I knocked out a nice, compact Adventure Lab cache in Sanford, just a few miles west of Midland, grabbed a few stand-alone caches, and then set my sights on a specific cache in Sanford, which I hoped to make my 14,000th find.

But... horrors!... I was unable to turn up the little fellow. Based on photos posted on the cache page, I’m quite certain it’s missing. Finding a good alternate hide took a couple of attempts, but... at last! Find #14,000, thus assuring my annual find average. At the end of the day, I had put in four miles of hiking.

Back at the barn, Del & Fern needed their gutters cleaned, so I offered my services. Their house is larger than ours, but it’s single-story, so it wasn’t a difficult job (plus they don’t have as many trees in close proximity to dump leaves directly on the house).

Afterward, Ms. B. and I made ourselves reasonably presentable and went downtown to Maru Sushi & Grill, which we’ve enjoyed on previous visits. I had the bulgogi donburi bowl, which was right good, but I was disappointed to find that their menu, particularly for sushi, has dwindled to bare bones. I suspect that supply issues and inflation have forced their hand here, but it seems a shame that this more upscale restaurant offers such a limited selection compared to their local, lower-priced competitors. Afterward, we headed over to the bar at nearby Gratzi Italian Restaurant and had a glass of wine each (a fantastic San Polo Tuscan for me, a Valpolicella Ripasso for the nice lady).

Still, Ms. B. and I are enjoying good health, though Del & Fern’s chronic coughing makes them sound like dueling Gaboras from Godzilla’s Revenge. Crossing fingers...

A recreated "village" at Sanford's Historical Museum

Old railroad cars in the village at the Sanford Historical Museum

Covered bridge at the museum. The horizontal sign to the right of the entrance marks the water level from the 2020 flooding following the collapse of two Tittabawassee River dams. Ms. B. and I were here at the time of the collapse.

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Old dude on the trail in Stratford Woods

As I mentioned above, geocaching in Midland is becoming more challenging simply because I’ve found almost all the caches in close proximity to Casa di Brugger. However, a few newer nearby hides still showed on my map, so this morning I went out to see if I could knock them off of it. One offered me a very nice walk through Stratford Woods, just a couple of miles down the road. I’ve cached there many times over the years, and today I found that, since my last trip there, at least some of the trails have been upgraded and there’s a new parking area at the trailhead. All good stuff. It was a pleasant hike, and the cache was a quick and easy find.

A couple of other caches lurked nearby, both a little more challenging, which I quite appreciated. My car might have been less happy about this, as it returned to home base considerably muddier than when it left.

As I mentioned somewhere in narrative above, Del & Fern had asked me to prepare something non-traditional for Thanksgiving, so I decided on Chicken Marsala over pasta. Once back from geocaching, I set right to work. Ms. B. served as sous-chef, and, between us, we whipped out one helluva good feast. We figure we’ll have turkey at Christmas, since we both quite enjoy our dead big bird.

After dinner, we exchanged early Christmas presents. Very generous goodies from the folks, and I hope they enjoy their offerings from us.

It’s our last full day for this Midland sojoun, and the plan as of now is to chill here with the family. I’m actually a little sore from several days of consistently rigorous exercise (I surely did need it). So far... both Kimberly and I show no sign of having caught the elder Bruggers’ bugs. They tested negative for the covidz, but I foresee doctor visits in the near future.

Anyhoo, I hope all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving enjoy the most wonderful feasting, fellowshipping, and funking out, in whatever way makes you happy.

View from the trail at Stratford Woods Park

Do you see the cache?

On the way to "I'm Not THAT Sadistic" (GC5T42F)

In the works: our non-traditional Thanksgiving feast

Chicken Marsala, plated and ready for the ravenous

Angel’s Envy, Turkey Day, Christmas Trees, and Cinderella

I don't always drink Angel’s Envy, but when I do, it’s
because some awesome friends are awesome.

For Ms. B. and me, the Thanksgiving weekend kicked off on Wednesday afternoon, as work let out at lunchtime. This worked out great for us because we had company — friends Stephen Provost & Samaire Wynne — coming over for drinks and dinner early in the evening. We ended up having a lovely visit, with Marco’s Pizza and some excellent Italian wine on the menu. To top things off, they brought over a bottle of Angel’s Envy bourbon, which turned out to be delightful. A fine spirit, it is, with silky undertones and a long finish that gets mellower and mellower. I loved it. And a thousand thanks to Stephen & Samaire. Awesome friends indeed!

On Thursday — Thanksgiving Day — morning, Brugger and I rose pretty early and headed out to Browns Summit, the headquarters of friends Tom (a.k.a. Skyhawk63) & Linda (a.k.a. Punkins19) for a geocaching breakfast event. Tom served homemade biscuits with lots of fixings, not to mention coffee aplenty. A decent-size crowd showed up, and that really got the day off to a perfect start.

From there, Ms. B. and I headed back home and started prepping the feast. I had gotten us a big ol’ turkey breast, which I seasoned and got cooking straightaway. We smashed some potatoes, cooked up some gravy, Brugger made a batch of savory mushroom & gruyere tarts, and we topped that off with large green salads. I was a little afeared I might have overcooked the dead bird when I checked the meat thermometer, but no... it was delicious and done just right — as was everything. As far as Thanksgiving Day dinners go, this one could hardly have been better (although, at the end of it, I was too full to partake of the cheesecake we had for afters; I’ll enjoy that later).

I had decided a while back, with Ms. B.’s blessing, that I would spend Thanksgiving night as well as some extra time at Pleasant Hill, the old homestead. So, after dinner settled a bit, I hit the road and headed first to Oak Ridge, just northwest of Greensboro, to snag a newish geocache. Upon giving the map a look, I noticed there was another cache over in Walnut Cove, a few miles farther northwest. So, I decided to go check that one out as well. I was pleased to see it was located at a graveyard, since graveyard caches are typically among my favorite. It turned out to be a fun cache indeed. That little side trip done, I continued on to Martinsville.

Many of my readers no doubt know that, against every conceivable expectation, I am the last of the family I grew up with. I lost my dad to complications from diabetes two decades ago. Last year, I lost my mom to COVID-19. Earlier this year, my younger brother passed away of leukemia. Now and again, these losses still overwhelm me. While my family was alive, Christmas was a momentous holiday. Mom always loved having a Christmas tree, and she collected a prodigious number of ornaments over her lifetime, most having some special significance. For those several years that she was debilitated with dementia, I kept that tree going up every Christmas. And now that she is gone... that they’re all gone... I treasure putting up the tree. So, on this night, at the house where I grew up... the place my mom loved most... I put up the tree and decorated it. An emotionally tough yet heartwarming undertaking.  I did this to honor my family that was. I imagine I will do this for as long as I physically can.

Kimberly and I will spend our holidays celebrating the family that is. My daughter, Allison, is remote, but close in heart, I know. So this is how I’m starting my Christmas season. It does hurt, but there is also a wonderful refuge in so many memories of perfect times — particularly during the holiday season — with my old family.

That done — and you can roll your eyes all you want to — for some reason, I felt drawn to put on the 1965 Rodgers & Hammerstein production of Cinderella, starring Lesley Ann Warren and Stuart Damon. I hadn’t seen it, or even really thought about it, since I was a kid. Something about last night’s onslaught of childhood memories, I suppose. Anyway, I went ahead and watched it on YouTube. Was it any good? Well, I dunno; it was pretty much Cinderella as we all know the story. Since I still have something of a soft spot for old musicals, I found a couple of the songs pretty good. A handful of lines made me crack a smile. So I guess you could say I enjoyed it. I am certain it is not going into the regular holiday video rotation.

This morning, I found breakfast at The Ground Floor, a relatively new coffee shop uptown, and then headed out on a geocache maintenance run, first to Philpott Dam, then to a couple around Martinsville. The hiking did me a world of good. On the way back, I grabbed a nice lunch at Hugo’s, also uptown. And this afternoon, now I’ve gotten this blog composed, I have a bunch of writing to do for upcoming projects. And thus I shall.

I’ll be back.

Philpott Dam

Happy Fogsgiving

I think it’s safe to say I have never seen — or at least driven in — fog as thick as what’s out there tonight. I damn near got lost in my own neighborhood. I mean, I couldn’t even see my own driveway as I drove up to it. A fog advisory came in on my phone earlier this evening, and it was apparently no joke.

While Thanksgiving Day was mellow and relaxing, it wouldn’t have been any different for Brugger and me even if there were no pandemic. After several years of gatherings with Mom in the grip of dementia, which made for some measure of stress during the holidays, Ms. B. and I were all about enjoying some special time for the two of us. Last year at this time, we had just moved Mom into a nursing home, so it was the first Thanksgiving in several years that we were able to truly relax. And now, with Mom gone, it’s actually easier to feel some of the warmth we all shared during happier times in the past.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday tend to offer up geocaching opportunities, and today was no exception. A couple of newer hides on the university campus over in Elon awaited my attention, so I headed out mid-morning to see what I might make of them. One was a find, the other was not, which surprised me not at all, as the coordinates are apparently some distance off-target, and after having been live for over a week, no one has yet found it. I did enjoy the hunt, though, especially as the campus was deserted and I could search unimpeded in what would have otherwise been a very busy location.

Brugger and I shared dinner prep duties, augmented with some exceptionally good mulled wine she concocted. Dinner was the very traditional turkey, stuffing, smashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and Toblerone cheesecake. I fixed up some killer deviled eggs for starters. It were a damn fine feast, that’s what it were!

For the afternoon and evening, we entertained ourselves with a triple-feature film festival: 1917, The Hidden, and Return of the Living Dead. A fine progression it turned out to be — from serious brilliance to silly alien shoot-’em-up action to hysterically funny fluff. Believe you me, I will take it.

I hope your Thanksgiving Day proved as satisfying. I know many are struggling with the inability to enjoy traditional holiday gatherings with friends and family. But if you are, please know you are doing the right thing for yourselves and others. I know too many people who have suffered from the effects of COVID-19, either themselves or their loved ones. You must know I lost my mom to COVID-19. I personally know many health professionals who are on the front lines. My daughter is a medical researcher at Columbia University Medical Center in NYC. The people who understand this threat best, who are putting themselves out there to get us through it, deserve to be respected. To be honored. Do the right things. Protect yourselves and your neighbors. Please.

Happy Thanksgiving.

T-Minus Turkey Day and Counting

For the first time in over thirty years, I'm not celebrating Thanksgiving Day in the company of my full family, such as it is. Sadly, in all likelihood, my mom has spent her last holiday at home, and my brother is unable to leave his place today. So Kimberly and I are dug in at Casa di Brugger, with enough food and drink in the works to feed the Biblical multitude. (Fortunately, we have a houseful of cats to help us take care of the mass quantities.) I'd have to say I feel a certain melancholy, as this arrangement will likely be permanent; on the other hand, having some much-needed down time with just Ms. B. is just the ticket for today. Since before our trip to Europe, when the world went careening off the rails, life has been a whirlwind of ups and downs, with far too many downs in the mix.

For me, Thanksgiving has always been about sharing time with loved ones. From my youngest days, my mom, dad, brother, and I always had a big Thanksgiving dinner, oftentimes in the company of grandparents, close friends, or both; in later years, with my wife and daughter as well. Over the decades, life changes and mortality have whittled family and those old friends down to a distressingly small number.

That said, it's safe to say I've never been a happier soul than with Kimberly, and at this moment, sharing the world with her is all the joy I can manage.

Typically, Black Friday is a day to avoid as much of humanity as possible by way of geocaching, and continuing that tradition looks to be in tomorrow's cards — as is sharing time with some of our bestest friends later in the day. So, yeah, things in my little corner of the world may be way, way different this year, but I reckon I'll be taking things as they come. It's not as if we have much choice in such matters, really.

So, to you and yours, a damned fine Thanksgiving. Eat and drink to your heart's content. Then try to figure out how you're gonna work it all off. I expect tomorrow's geocaching might at least burn off a wee smidgen of stuffing.