National day of digestion

With the family spread among the four corners of the country (and the world), thanksgiving was a simple affair. Aurelia, Sylvia, Ian, and I sat down to our feast of turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes and pecan (pronounced p'cahn, not pee-can) pie. Instead of baking the turkey we decided to grill the bird. This actually turned out easier than expected and had the added benefit of placing the turkey at an easy height for basting and inspection. Below, Aurelia prepared the bird for action.






Then the chef de la cuisine prepared the onions of the stuffing. Dried cherries and more pecans joined the party soon after.










As every internet article insists, we waited 15-25 minutes before slicing the bird. This allows the scent to fill the room and heightens the appetite. Whether it has the purposed benefit of the letting the juices within the turkey to come to rest is debatable. I believe this custom was invented by puritans who believe waiting is good for you. Sylvia and Papa pick at the resting bird in non-puritanical anticipation.











Aurelia and Ian have suggested that the image below shows Sylvia looking on dubiously as her father mangles the golden carcass. I disagree and see a doting child looking with awe upon her papa as he carves the holiday beast. (And as blogmaster I get the last word).








The day after thanksgiving is a national day of digestion. We worked off the pecan pie by walking through the Oregon Zoo. Sylvia enjoyed watching the dangerous critters that ran through the zoo, clutching plastic dinosaurs and coloring books. And she liked watching the caged animals too. Below we find my ladies gazing at the Oregon coast exhibit.






The Oregon Zoo, built in the 1950's on a former golf course, is the home of Packy, the first elephant born in captivity. He's now 66 and the father of two. It is also the home of numerous bears who are much larger than yours truly and the noodle.





Not everything was larger than Sylvia. Here we find her making friends with a tolerant bronze squirrel.





Due to Sylvia's ability to maintain her composure for about an hour and a half, we only managed to see a small part of the zoo. That means we will be enjoying our membership for a long time to come.

Avuncular Adventures

Sylvia can place another stamp in her family book this week with the visit of her uncle Chris.






Continuing his longstanding tradition of providing crustaceans with the opportunity to hit the skies, Chris brought along a box of beautiful blue crabs from New Orleans. After a refreshing swim in our cooler the crabs made for an aromatic and enjoyable evening.

To the bipedal and warmblooded go the spoils.

The next day uncle and niece enjoyed the early morning sun.

As mentioned before, Aurelia and I find our many guests draw us into new and interesting Portland adventures. This time the gang, including the noodle, attended a tour of a local brewery.

Beer well protected from thirsty Portlanders. (Probably empty kegs but just imagine all that beer).

Sylvia found her uncle more interesting than the tour.

A very clean brewery.

Vast conditioning tanks ready to launch if the President needs to initiate a world party.

Dos Locos

Come back soon uncle Chris!