Dateline Van Merc Hill: I’m safely ensconced in my room at Emily and Joe’s house, the Stately Van Merc Hill. Hey it’s in a state, fine, be that way, it’s a commonwealth, commonwealthy Van Merc Hill.
My train arrived a little early, that does not happen with the bus, it’s always a question of how late it will be. Joe arrived just minutes later and whisked me home. I chose a good year to come up on Thanksgiving Day, we ate later than usual. Instead of the usual throng, it was just Joe, Emily, the kids, and Katie who flew in from San Francisco, boy were her arms tired. She arrived in the early evening so we waited to eat till then. We had two turkeys. They tried something new, smoking one. They had never done this before. Smoking is a bit of a challenge when the outside temperature is in the teens. We weren’t sure if it would come out or when it would be ready so there was a backup turkey. We experimented with that too., it was wrapped in bacon.
When I went outside to bring in firewood I checked the smoker. It was cold, the fire had gone out. So much for the smoked turkey. We just left it on the grill to freeze. We brought it in today to thaw and will finish cooking it in the oven tomorrow for Second Thanksgiving. As for the indoor turkey, it was the best turkey I ever had. I love thanksgiving but I’m not a fan of Thanksgiving food, I especially don’t like turkey. This was actually good. For the first time ever I had seconds. I can’t recommend bacon-wrapped turkey enough. It comes out tasty and juicy. I had seconds of everything.
After the dinner the girls and Joe put on their highlights of Hamilton. The girls are obsessed with the show and have it memorized. Joe found karaoke versions of the songs and they sing to those. My plan is to cash in on this. Hamilton is cast colorblind. Why be so restrictive? I’m going to put it on gender and age blind starring the girls, Maggie, Cate, and Elie. Little G is not yet three and not in the cast. The others range in age from 12 to 8. If you went to Falcon Ridge you saw them on stage with the Kennedys during the gospel morning wakeup rendition of Stand. Joe wants to make it very clear that he is not Joe Jackson or Murray Wilson. I had to add that so that Carey will read this.
We spent the rest of the night talking and watching videos on YouTube. It started with me sharing the glory that is Jean Rohe. We also watched Jean Claude Van Dam dancing. We have eclectic tastes. Friday night is movie night, we’ll be watching The Muppets. For some reason at dinner I said, “I’m more a Muppet than a man and it put everyone in the mood.
Joe, Katie, and I stayed up later than Emily. It was like Falcon Ridge or NERFA. I finally went to bed at 2:40 but they were still at it. I didn’t feel bad about sleeping late. I can even say it wasn’t late as I woke up before the coffee was brewed. What usually happens is everyone else goes to bed and I stay up another couple of hours doing things on the computer, so I don’t wake up till the smells of breakfast waft into my room. I always write about food but it’s always especially important when I’m here. This is a friendship sealed in bacon and chocolate. When the coffee was ready I had some with cream. Emily was putting the finishing touches are the specialty of the house, Homemade chocolate Irish Crème. I hardly ever drink but this is the exception. My second cup of coffee was alcoholic. It was also incredibly good. I decided I should say it’s the only reason I come here. The only reason I go to Falcon Ridge is Taste Budd’s chocolate. I’m a man of simple tastes.
Now I’m going to shower and rejoin the throng, friends and their kids who are also friends, and dogs. There’s even a guest dog, Katie’s. Why did I almost write Betsy for Katie? I must need more coffee or more Irish Crème. I know, I need more coffee with Irish Crème.
Wise Madness 