Thanksgiving Week, November 23-28, 2009 We enjoyed wonderful week of Thanksgiving filled with food, family and friends. Monday, November 23rd, we drove down to Melbourne Florida to visit Margy's sister and family, returning home the same evening. The next day we drove up to Atlanta, to spend the rest of the week with Artie's cousin plus additional family and friends. While in Atlanta, we also saw a couple of old friends, did shopping on "Black Friday," and relaxed together. It sure was a great week!

Above: Margy, Artie, Griffin, Peter, Dawn, Peter, Anne Fay and Mary. We all had a fun family afternoon together.

		We headed to Anne Fay and Peter's favorite diner for a hearty meal.

Dining, chatting, and then hanging-out at the house provided a nice way to catch up on family events before heading north.

Next stop: Atlanta Georgia, home of Noel and Selma (left). Above, 90-year-old cousin, Minnie (right), presents cousin Selma (middle) with beautiful flowers, as Minnie's daughter, Arlene (above left), joins the photo (she ordered the flowers).

Before we all got involved in the Thanksgiving events, we drove to visit nearby friends. First stop was a lunch at Moe's Grill where we caught-up with Louise. Louise used to do volunteer "baby cuddling" with Margy at the Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas, when we lived there in the late 1990s.

It seems all we do is eat. This was our warm-up for Thanksgiving!

		Then, an after-lunch pet of Selma and Noel's dog, Sophie.

Another visit, this time to the home of Fred and Betty. Artie and Fred first worked together in Solvay NY in the 1970s, and then again in Niagara Falls NY in the early 1990s. It was nice to see Betty and Fred again, to enjoy their wholesome values and uplifting optimism.

Betty had the cutest table setting for Thanksgiving, with this pineapple turkey!

Back with Selma, we enjoyed taking Sophie for a brisk morning walk, through their beautiful Dacula GA neighborhood.

		Selma made her list, and checked it twice - everything was turning out tasty and nice.

Selma thought of every detail, including this unique butter spreader. We brought the Chilean-made pine cone Turkey to decorate the table.

		As Selma organized the various dishes, prepared in advance and cooked that day, Noel put the finishing touches on the turkey while Sophie dreamed about her next meal!

Arlene contributed to the "team effort," getting everything ready for the big meal.

Getting the "buffet line" established.

		Noel's brother, Cliff (left), joined the party, as did Grace (sitting on Minnie's knee), and her folks, Chris and Erik (at table below).

Grace, Chris and Erik are next-door neighbors to Selma and Noel. Chris is a successful salesperson for a company which offers leadership training, and Eric ("Dr. E") is a psychologist, author, and hopefully soon to be syndicated talk-show personality.

Cliff entertained Grace (and all of us) with his playful antics at the table.

Arlene enjoys a restful moment.

During a break in the activities, Artie conducted a video interview of Minnie to capture recollections of the family, her youth, and what it was like to live in Brooklyn NY in the early 1900s, without electricity, telephones at home, or money. Minnie was great, with lots of specific details that will be enjoyed by all the family.

		Serious and fun memories of life as a child, courting her husband Harry, and more.

What a joy to share quality time with this vibrant and entertaining senior. We should all have such spirit at 90!

On "Black Friday," the biggest shopping day in the USA, we hit a few stores for fun. Unbelievable!

Friday noon, Selma and Noel had yet another group lunch! Pictured above are (left to right): Ron, Noel, GiGi (dog), Marty, Blanche, Ingrid, Margy, Cliff, Minnie, Arlene, Selma and Marlene. We had lots of fun chatting, laughing and eating.

Blanche with GiGi		Marty with Tessie

		Part of our family and friends time was spent seeing old photos from Selma's mother's 90th birthday party (left), and watching the newly created video of Minnie (above). We also watched several hours of old 8 mm movies (turned into DVDs) from when we were all kids.

Another fun activity was searching in Noel's coin jar for 4 specific quarters to complete a set of them that our Chilean friend, Mauricio, was lacking.

		Not only did we find the four missing quarters Mauricio wanted, but Margy decided to start her own collection!

		Packing up Sophie for a ride to Charlotte NC, to bring Arlene and Minnie to Arlene's daughter and family. After five wonderful days together, it was time to say farewell, and capture just a few more parting photos of the family.

Noel, Minnie, Artie, Margy and Arlene		Noel, Minnie, Arlene, Selma and Margy

Our ride home took about 8 hours, enjoying beautiful rivers, tidal estuaries and great blue skies along the way.

We have so much to be thankful for, with family, friends and the beauty of nature reinforcing the meaning of Thanksgiving.

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