Where did I leave you?

Oh yeah, last Sunday I was driving down from the UP back to South Bend. We made it home in time to put Jackson to bed and that was directly where I went as well.

Monday morning, Erika and Jackson took me to Chicago to see the Field Museum. I have read about their many trips here before and asked to tag along. Jackson is a fountain of information when it comes to the dinosaur exhibits. He is 4 years old and was pronouncing names of these beasts without a care in the world. He informed me that he knew them and wasn’t just reading the sign because he “can’t read yet but he is learning”. At one point he was discovering bones that were surreptitiously buried in the play area. When an employee asked J if he could identify the bone, he knew right away that it was a tooth from a T-Rex because T-Rex is a meat eater and it has big teeth, but the plant eaters have little teeth so it couldn’t be one of those. DUH! The employee was sufficiently impressed. A little boy – about 8ish – came over to play and said to no one “I wonder what bone this is?” Jackson answered him. The kid looked at the employee and said “No, really, what is it?” The employee backed J up 100%. Dinner at McD in the basement of the Museum (those smart people). And then back onto snowy icy roads for the 2 hour drive back to Indiana.

Tuesday was a relax at home day for me. I lazed around, did some laundry and shopped for the dinner I was making for the Zynda’s and their friends on Thursday. During all of this, I met Erika and her co-worker Sue (she may be a Cubbies fan but we like her anyways) at the Mainstreet Grille for lunch for the Casino debriefing. While making dinner I also cooked the stew for Thursday so it would have a couple of days to marinate.

Wednesday was back to work with Erika to finish up the project she had assigned to me. Time to put up the Christmas tree! I did nothing but watch as Erika and Jackson did all the work. It is a little wonky but still very cute.

Thursday brings the dinner party. There is not much more that I enjoy than cooking a big meal for a bunch of appreciative people. I made Irish Beef Stew and served it in Bread Bowls along with a side salad. If I can judge by the number of times people went back to serve themselves more, then I would proclaim it quite a success. (the recipe will be tomorrow’s post) Some of the friends of the Zynda family I had met before and some I had just lived in their house for a few weeks. But good times were shared by all and it was a very enjoyable evening.

Friday was back to work this time to screw up Erika’s Holiday cards (LOL). Unfortunately E was without a car most of the day and needed me for that part as well (well not really, but I like to feel needed so let’s just go with that ok?). In the evening I was set to babysit J while Erika and Lyle went to dinner and a movie. As you can see by Erika’s post we made cupcakes (to which J said “What’s a cupcake?”). They were (and still are) a big hit and the pictorial she has shows that if you organize it right baking with kids can be fun.

Friday

No Black Friday for us. It was time to hit the road. Not quite the butt crack of dawn, but close enough.

It is downright cold out and we head off on what we hope to be an uneventful ride up to the U.P. and the Sault (pronounced Soo), when we encounter a blinding snowstorm. Not rain, nor sleet nor snow or hail shall keep us from our casino trip, so we forged on. Along the way we saw more than one unfortunate car that had found its way onto the side of the road. At those points we all echoed thank goodness for the age of cell phones.

The most harrowing part of the trip (for me of course) was another damn bridge. Why does it seem like everywhere I go there is a damn bridge involved? I really need to find a new travel agent. The crossing of the Mackinac (the last c is pronounced as a W for those non-Michiganders) bridge was hard, I don’t like the outside lane and the inside lane is grated, so the tires, don’t give you a smooth ride. At the end of the bridge as you enter the U.P. there is the deer count on the toll booth (this is the tail end of the rifle season for deer). They keep a count of how many deer have crossed the bridge so far throughout the entire bow, rifle and musket season as compared to last. When we went up the count was down 2% from last year. On our way back down on Sunday it was now up 6%. I have an opinion on deer hunting and hunting in general but will save that for another post.

We arrive at our first stop inside the UP, St. Ignace, which is the Southern affiliate of the Kewadin casinos. Fun is had by all and small deposits are made, and the on the road again to head to the hotel in the Sault. Check in, gamble, gamble, relax, find dinner, yep that’s pretty much how the rest of the day went. However, when going to find dinner we (I) had my first encounter with a car covered in snow in a long time. Thick wet big snowflakes, beautiful to see falling but heavy to sweep off the car.

The best part of travelling with family is that you all pretty much have the same needs and wants. And those that are different are taken in stride. Some like the butt crack of dawn, some like to sleep in, a compromise is usually had. This Thanksgiving trip is one that Erika and Gretchen have taken with mom for many many years. I more recently joined in a few years ago, and think I have passed my probationary status to a permanent fixture. I still don’t get to join in all old the memories but every year we make and remember more.

Black Friday

My goal for Black Friday is to not shop but to gamble my way from the red into the black.

Wish me luck!