Bergstrom Babble: Feeling Thankful

I’m glad to get this post in just under the November wire…it’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already over and we’re heading full steam into the Christmas holidays. We enjoyed a great trip to Cape Cod to see the Bergstrom clan for Turkey Day. Although the weather didn’t cooperate, we managed to have a fun time nonetheless (and we somehow managed to avoid any travel delays, which is always a bonus!).

Beverly’s kitchen was blazing the entire trip – afire with cooking, baking, mashing and stewing. Anna and I got in on the action and helped Grammy with her stuffing, a job Anna took very seriously (I also pitched in on some other dishes, I didn’t rest on my laurels too much…).

We had all of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes with some New England flair mixed in thanks to a slew of littleneck clams Fa Fa dug up himself. They were excellent appetizers, especially when combined with the bottle of Pinot-Chardonnay which Fa Fa home-brewed over 10 years ago. Jason found the wine in the basement and bravely opened the bottle, tasted it, and didn’t keel over. We were all impressed by the wine and told Paul he missed his calling as a vintner.

Anna relished playing with her cousins and this time she could (pretty much) keep up with them. She and Lars bonded over Tom & Jerry and skateboarding.

And, she and Ty logged a good amount of time playing with Jason’s old Star Wars action figures. Anna went straight for Princess Leia and Han Solo and steered pretty clear of the more mutant-looking toys, proclaiming them “disgusting” (pronounced dizguting). She did like Yoda and R2D2. Aunt Kirsten’s old dolls and doll clothes also were a hit, both with Anna and the adults – we got some good laughs out of the 70s-styles outfits Anna’s baby donned. Like the leisure suit below – awesome.

On Thanksgiving we took advantage of a minor break in the rain and snuck out to an awesome playground for some fresh air. This was our second playground attempt of the week – a few days earlier Beverly and I took Anna to a seaside playground, an outing which lasted approximately 3 minutes due to the whipping wind, drizzle and 35 degree temperature. Anna looked at us like we were crazy when we urged her to run around and play…the Thanksgiving day outing was much more successful.

Freezing at the playground

During our Thanksgiving meal we did the standard go around the table and say what you are thankful for – our responses ranged from serious to silly and made for some good laughs. I won’t connect names, but you can probably discern who said what (note – the youngest two, Ty and Anna, could not be coaxed into giving an answer…). Here’s what the Bergstroms are thankful for this year:

* Being healthy and lucky enough to be with family for the holidays

* My family and the world

* Family being together

* A winning, albeit not great, Patriots season (so far…)

* Wine

* Horses & ponies

* Being with family. And TV.

I do consider us lucky that we get to be with both sides of our family several times a year even though we live in different states. Each visit is always way too short, but I feel we maintain a close relationship and can pick up right where we left off each time we get together. I am truly thankful for that. And TV…

The Good Playground Outing