Thanksgiving Day, November 26

November 21-28, 2020

Mark arrived about 11:30 and got immediately put to work towing two guys down the street that were delivering mulch to Sean in Nettie White's old house and got stuck. With a tow strap, he pulled them out quickly. It gave an opportunity for Jeff and Mark to meet Sean. He's next door to Marty, so Marty knows him pretty well already.

Meanwhile, back at the house, all the ladies were busy with preparations for Thanksgiving dinner. Jordan and Ashleigh get down our traditional Thanksgiving turkey plates.

About noon, we were gathered around the kitchen island visiting while the ladies worked.

Marty had cooked the turkey at his house last night and brought it up for heating and final dressing.

By 1pm Jordan and Ashleigh had the dining room table beautifully set, but we were still just relaxing. Everyone had been snacking, so we weren't in a big hurry for dinner.

Mark had made up a target for knife and hatchet throwing, so he and Jordan try it out before dinner. Jordan has nailed it in the head with a hatchet throw.

Jordan is our ace hatchet thrower. Mark shows that she has nailed the target on the chin.

Meanwhile, Ashleigh and Jeff were finishing carving the turkey that Marty cooked.

Ashleigh and Elyse put the final layer of bacon bits on the seven layer salad.

Darla, Ashleigh, Jordan and Elyse put the final touches on today's feast.

They put the food on the island buffet style this year. Thanks to the ladies for a beautiful and tasty layout!

It was about 2pm when we finally sat down at the dining room table for our Thanksgiving dinner. We were truly grateful for getting the family together in this strange year. Marty was able to join us, even though he had to go to work afterward. Brenda, Jeff, Darla, Marty, Jordan, Elyse, Ashleigh, Mark.

I had to swing to the right to get Mark in the shot. He had been working hard on construction for a TV series and we were pleased that he could be off to join us.

I had scheduled a Zoom meeting for 3pm, which worked out well because we were just finished with dinner. We got to talk with Sherry in Woodstock and Wes in Cimarron, New Mexico where he is camped. They were particularly pleased to hear from Ashleigh, Jordan and Elyse and we had a good sharing time.

At about 5pm, Darla, Ashleigh, Jordan and Elyse have another go at knife-throwing with Mark's target.

Ashleigh concentrates on her knife throw and Jordan stands by with the throwing hatchets.

Darla joins the knife throwing.

Jordan makes a hatchet throw. By the fact that they are wearing shorts tells you that we had a very mild, clear Thanksgiving day.

Poor target! It's not easy hitting it with a knife throw, but with lots of throws, he was in a sorry state! Mark had bought artificial blood from Amazon and made pockets of it at the heart, neck, chin and eyes.

Mark joined the knife throwing and Brenda and Rod were spectators.

It had been a relaxing day of food and fellowship. At about 10pm, Darla sat down with Elyse and Jordan for a game with Marty's abundant supply of dice.

Friday, November 27

We enjoyed breakfast and most of the morning with Jeff, Darla and Elyse before they had to head back toward home. We had prayer together and sent them on their way in late morning.

Ashleigh and Jordan had studying to do, so they settled at the dining room table with their laptops to read and study. Mark came out an joined us for lunch, and got the girls occupied with knife throwing in the back yard again.

Jordan's hatchet throw finally took the head off the target, so they declared victory. They had certainly beaten up the target with knife and hatchet throws.

Jordan holds the head of the target figure. In two days time they had bombarded it with knives and throwing hatchets.

Mark's effort in forming this detailed target with fake blood in pouches at critical points had provided a lot of entertainment for the family. The girls really got into it.

You never know what will provide an entertaining activity, and Mark's effort with the knives and hatchets and the carefully crafted target provided a lot of activity and conversation together. Mark loaded the pitiful remains of the target in his pickup to think about how he might craft one in the future.

Saturday, November 28

Ashleigh and Jordan were up and ready for their journey by about 9am. We enjoyed fellowship with them at breakfast and with hugs and prayer put them on the road to Louisiana. They had a beautiful sunny day for travel.