Thanksgiving ’08. That’s what.

Colleen and Chuck (my mom and step-dad) drove up from Medford to kick-off our holiday. They arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday we went downtown to see the new Seattle Public Library (it opened in ’04, so we were playing catch up). There’s a lot to see in this library, it’s an architectural wonder. There is an interior viewpoint on the tenth floor. I think it was specifically designed to give people vertigo. After our tour and a fantastic burrito at Qdoba, we headed home for a little more R and R. Kevin joined us for dinner and we capped the evening with a lively game of Pictionary.

This is where the equation Medford + Bothell + Edmonds +Woodinville = Thanksgiving ’08 adds up, then falls apart. Bothell (Barb, Mike and I) took our Medford guests to Woodinville (Nate, Laurie, Kyri, Kali and Dolly) where we were joined by Edmonds (Claude and Jackie, my dad and step-mom), Josh and his sons Anthony and Ethan (hmm, where do you live Josh?) Karen (Shoreline) and Kevin (Bellevue) and Kia (Arizona). The math doesn’t really work, but it made a great headline. Let’s move on.

Nate and Laurie hosted our Thanksgiving gathering. We had a marvelous time. Everything was perfect. There was great food, great conversations, and great fun (Texas Hold ‘em and Apples to Apples). One of my favorite memories is Kyri’s debut as a vocalist singing Mad World accompanied by her dad on piano. It was beautiful. All n’ all, it was a day full of thanksgiving and good family warmth.

Black Friday, we went to Pike Place Market to have our picture taken with a bronze pig. Almost everyone from the day before met us there to see the opening night of Unexpected Productions, An Improvised Christmas Carol. This was our second time. The play was perfect fun. Some of our contributions included, “my face is on fire” (something you wouldn’t expect to hear from your boss) and, “hold your breath and sneeze” (general advice you might give to a friend). Our cast deftly performed the play with Scrooge as an FBI agent who lived in an igloo. His hobby as a sub-prime lender got a number of laughs as did Tiny Tim with Tourrette’s syndrome when he said, “Be all you can #!@#! be!” (the Army recruiting slogan). Of course, no trip to the Market Theater is complete without a couple photos by the gum wall. We capped the evening with another photo by the pig.

Sunday we found ourselves wandering the shops at Country Village (Bothell) where Nate treated everyone to tea at Madame Fifi’s. It was the best cup of tea I have ever tasted. Ever. See the photo (below) documenting the 100% pure tea satisfaction displayed on my face.

That’s Kyri on the left (above) modeling a cool veil she found in the Turkish wares shop.

Cheers!