The Reifschlagers Go to Virginia for Thanksgiving

If two years in a row make for tradition, then we carried on with our family tradition of spending Thanksgiving with our daughter Shani in whatever locale she happens to be living. (Actually this was our third Thanksgiving with her, just not consecutive!) Shani lives in a lovely neighborhood in Great Falls, Virginia, where she shares a house with a family.

We flew out early Wednesday morning and landed on time without incident in Baltimore. We picked up our rental car and I navigated and Ken drove as we headed into D.C. to meet Shani for some sightseeing. First, we headed over to the Lexington Market in Baltimore to grab those famous Faidley's crabcakes! Then we met Shani at the National Mall, which surprised Ken and Reid to find out that the mall was not a shopping area but a National Park between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol. Having only about two hours before the parking meters expired, we selected the National Gallery of Art to browse for a short while. Not that any of us are that interested in art but the architexture is lovely and the museum is full of art treasures that one has surely heard of and ought to view if one has the opportunity. The tour provided some quirky photo ops for us plus we were inspired merely by looking at something that was so very old and so well preserved. Next we took a quick trip inside the Museum of Natural History to view the giant squid and, of course, the Hope Diamond. Then it was time to head back to those parking meters.

We also discovered that the District of Columbia is absolutely serious about having your car off certain streets by 4:00 p.m. so that the throughfare is clear for commuting traffic. No worries. Our cars were not towed but several unlucky folks were to begin their holiday searching for their cars in the city tow lots. There was clearly no mercy.

We headed on to Shani's house where we settled in to visit and cook! Shani and I baked the pumpkin pie and Shani's roommate Marie had already done much of the prep work for the rest of the meal. Then we bundled up and headed out to eat at the mall and see the lasted Bond flick. (Check out my other blog for the movie review.) After the flick, back to the house to visit and to bed to rest for a busy holiday.

Thursday morning, we began cooking the feast. We decided to have our meal in the evening to accomodate Marie's daughters who had their first Thanksgiving meal at noon. We prepared the bird using the Chef on a Shoestring recipe which worked successfully for us last year. Then came stuffing, hashbrown casserole, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, corn casserole, baked artichokes, homemade cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie and carrot cake. Yes, a little heavy on the casseroles but everything turned out well. After dinner, Shani performed EKGs on everyone, and Adrianne, a medical student, checked blood pressures, and John did card tricks for us. A very good time was enjoyed by all.

Friday morning was a chance to visit with Shani a little more. We went to the mall (this time, a shopping mall!) to see her Coach store - as if she isn't busy enough, she's working at Coach for the holiday season! Those discounts are just too hard to pass up! Then it was time to head to the airport. It was sad to leave Shani and it was such a quick trip but it has been a busy season for us all. And it was a good reminder of how much we have to be thankful for.

Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

I remember when
I remember
I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that face
Even your emotions had an echo
In so much space . . .

Where has the last month gone?

I've been busy working two jobs. And of course, with the market volatility, and the election suspense, I suppose I was otherwise occupied. That and the painter started on the house repairs. So everything has been moved from two rooms to the rest of the house. And we are painting the outside of the house which has been a family project. And I've been helping my son with his math homework. Math is not his favorite subject. School is not his favorite subject, but that's another blog. Later.

Another version of the hurricane story

Well, Ike got us. On Thursday 9-11, we woke up to news that our zip code was a mandatory evac area. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to go. It means that if you stay, and it gets bad, you will be on your own – no guarantee of rescue or services. We had planned to stay. But with that news, we packed up quickly, battened down, and left by 2:00. We go west near San Antonio to Ken’s sister’s house.

We watched the storm approach with two laptops and cable TV tuned to the weather channels and news.

We had neighbors stay so after the storm cleared, we had reports of lost shingles on our roof in about a 10 x 10 area.

We went shopping for supplies and returned home Sunday. Yep, we’d lost some shingles. The yard was littered with all kinds of debris. Reid’s bedroom and the guest bedroom got enough water in through the missing shingles that the ceiling caved in and there was drywall and insulation everywhere. And wet carpet. And, in Reid’s room because he wouldn’t clean up, wet dirty clothes. And it rained so hard, it was like the paint was sandblasted off the house. So we’ve been painting the house.

We got busy cleaning up the drywall, hauling out insulation, and ripping up carpet. As time passes, we realized water got in pretty much everywhere in the attic. Although the ceilings have not crashed, there are water spots in most rooms on the ceiling.

We were able to get first in line and got the roof replaced within a couple of weeks. Fortunately, it did not rain for about a month after the storm. Just this week, the drywaller arrived to repair the ceilings. I hope to have carpet within a couple of weeks. In the meantime, the house is chaos with stuff from the damaged rooms spread over the rest of the house. We also got our power back by Monday. Many, many folks did not get power for weeks. I did have to throw everything out of the freezer and the frig.

Still, we were very fortunate. We think a twister skipped through our neighborhood as the damage appeared to have a random path. Some houses were severely damaged. And then of course, in Galveston, the Bolivar Peninsula, places northeast, like Bridge City and Sabine pass, and Orange, there are places just wiped out. Here’s a link to the mission group if you know anyone interested in a mission trip.

Also, it was unbelievable the tree damage throughout the area. Most houses had limbs and branches piled up 5 feet tall in their front. Oh, and fences – hardly anyone had a fence left standing.

http://www.hilltoprescue.org/

My Absence

Well, I haven't been here in awhile. But then no one else has either. As I suspected, my readership is not high yet. Still there is hope.