I Have Returned ...

(Source)

... from New Hampshire that is. (Nothing nearly as dramatic as MacArthur's return to the Philippines, I'd be back in one of the landing craft, probably searching for the general's corncob pipe, ya know how those ossifers rely on us enlisted swine to keep 'em organized.)

It was a good holiday, rather on a smaller scale than past years, five of us as opposed to a baker's dozen or so. Some of the tribe was up in Maine with the new babies which qualified the Olde Vermonter and Mrs. Old Vermonter to claim the title of grandparent. Twins, a boy and a girl born to my niece City Girl and her man, a fellow who needs a call sign I suppose at some point.

Anyhoo, we want out to an inn in the wee town of Chester, Vermont, where they did a rather nice buffet in past years. But this year, due to the Wu Flu I suppose, the meals were ordered off a menu, a number of Thanksgiving choices being available, though to my surprise, no ham. Oh well, it was turkey I was after anyway.

Meal was really, really good. Breast of turkey done to perfection, mashed taters, whole berry cranberry sauce, and a potpourri of root vegetables which went perfectly with everything else. For dessert there was a choice of pumpkin pie, apple crisp, and chocolate mousse. Yes, I know what you're asking, could you get all three?

No.

And more's the pity, but we did have a pumpkin pie, which The Missus Herself and Your Humble Scribe had hauled up from Little Rhody, back at Mom's house. Which we had sampled the evening before (and which I sampled again during the Buffalo-New Orleans game).

Well sated we were.

What? What did I drink? The non-traditional Von Trapp Bohemian Pilsner was my choice of beverage. A bit hoppy for a pilsner but it went down well. (What, you didn't know that the Familie von Trapp emigrated to Vermont after the filming of The Sound of Music before World War II? Well, now you know.)

The trip to the Fullerton Inn is a new tradition in the family, no one wants to do all that cooking on Thanksgiving, and I don't blame 'em. This is the third time we've been there for Turkey Day. It has been, and remains, a neat thing to do. No doubt we'll continue doing this as long as the matriarch still lives. I hope for many more years, but at 91 she's starting to slow down. Not sure how much longer this new tradition will last.

Time moves along, whether we want it to or not.

You may note that I have been pretty absent over the past three days. No internet at Mom's house, damn weak cell phone signal as well. It's kinda nice in some ways, but I did feel rather disconnected. Some of you like that, I don't. I need to be in touch with the far flung enterprise which is my family. We literally stretch from sea to shining sea.

But I'm back and looking forward to Christmas, a trip to Maryland is in the cards once more. The new grandson is quite a prospering young fellow, talking up a storm and curious as the day is long. Can't wait to interact with the little guy in person again.

I shall keep you posted.

It's good to be home.