Etherington Christgiving

The crew met in Bellingham for their version of the holidays before the snow bird, Kathleen, headed to New Zealand. I had the opportunity to meet Tim and Charlie for the first time after a gruelling holiday traffic infested drive from Portland. I had only heard about them from Ej and Kathleen and I was greeted warmly at the door by the doggies and soon to be uncles. We chatted over dinner and broke any tension that would have existed. I am extremely proud of myself for venturing outside of my comfort zone and surrounding myself with Ej's family for my favorite holiday. And thankful to Kathleen, Tim and Charlie for welcoming me. :)

Tim, EJ, Kathleen and I compiled wonderful holiday dishes, complimenting each other on our cooking prowess. Ej exercised his sweet tooth with sugary deserts, Tim prepared turkey and veggies and also allowed me to make my stuffing and cranberry sauce. Kathleen contributed a family tradition platter and we had a colorful feast. Charlie took charge of the dishes, the noblest of contributions to clean up after messy cooks. I, for one, can destroy a kitchen, let alone four of us in one kitchen in shifts..

I spoke for the first time with Leah over the phone, as she could not make the gathering. She sounds like a sweetheart! She commented on Tim's ability to turn over the kitchen to me and I quickly realized that we had several control freaks cooking. Good thing my stuffing and sauce turned out. I could have been banned from the kitchen for eternity!

My favorite Thanksgiving weekend activity had to be the drunken Apples to Apples tournament Friday night! Of course, the reigning queen of that game would be Kathleen in her sparkly crown and sceptor of wrapping paper! Had we taken out the camera once to capture any pictures, we would have been blinded by the glare of her enormous crown.

After several games and one polished off bottle of fine liquor between them, we started to retire. It was well passed midnight and I had fallen asleep in conversation with the boys.

Ej had already left for a boating adventure, Charlie was leaving in the morning. Tim, Kathleen and I ate a wonderful breakfast before I moseyed back home.

Kathleen, thank you again for the gifts, Tim for the haircut, Charlie for the laughs. I'm happy to have spent the holiday with the Etheringtons and Ratte.