Fall Favorites

Okay, it's been so long since I've posted on here, I think instead of trying to catch up, I will just start over from now.
We have truly been enjoying real fall weather here in East Texas, at least over the last few days. I don't remember in past years the leaves turning as pretty as they have this year. I remember today to get out and snap a picture. This tree is right next to our driveway. I'm thinking of going out in a while on the scooter and try to catch some other colors around the neighborhood.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were expecting to just stay at home and cook a small turkey breast for just the two of us - but it turned out sooo much better than that! Alicia and Chuck called to say they would come up just for one night, since they were planning to go to Louisiana on Friday. That seemed like a lot of driving for them, so we offered to go down there instead. I would make the side dishes, so Chuck wouldn't have to do so much work. They agreed.
Then, just a few days before the big day, we got an email from Kerri saying she would be close to us and could she please come for her cranberry salad fix. John II is deployed to parts unknown until next May, so she's on her own for a while. Of course we said absolutely come, but that we were driving to Houston for the day and she could go with us. The kicker was - we didn't tell Alicia she was coming. We kept teasing her that we were going to pick up a homeless person to bring to dinner. She said, "Yeah, right! HarHar!" It was so fun to see the look on her face when she saw her favorite sister-in-law! Oh yeah, Chuck cooked an amazing dinner and of course, he added his own sides and outdid himself as usual, but the highlight of the dinner was the scrumptious deep-fried turkey! So crispy and tasty on the outside and so juicy and delicious on the inside. I really do like it done that way, even if it doesn't leave you any pan drippings for gravy.
All for now. I'll try to add more later.
SMILES