Thanksgiving and the holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It was an interesting first Thanksgiving for Mr. Man. We had lunch time meal at Cracker Barrel, and there was a little bit of a blow-up which cut our party from 15 to 10 and begat a whole lot of unneeded grief. Unfortunately some family members (well, one) doesn't know when to shut up. Spencer was cranky from lack of nap and teething issues, everyone was cranky from the previously blow-up, and the food was really so-so. It was good to see everyone though -- we really shouldn't wait so long between visits. We all live in Tampa, for goodness sakes.

For the second meal, we trekked out to Zephyrhills bearing wine, rolls and apple dumplings (they're good, but I'll be, I'm actually getting a little tired of them since we seem to bring them to every gathering). Spencer had still not had a nap but he finally fell asleep part way there and got 45 minutes in before playing with cousin Avery (11 months) and Dylan (not exactly sure who Dylan is, but he's 3 and his fam was there too ...). He ate a lot of dinner off my plate instead of eating his jarred stuff and he really liked it. Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, olives (he loves black olives), rolls, turkey and part of a pickle. Also he got a little ice cream for dessert!

Next year it's been discussed by both sides of Christen's fam that Thanksgiving might be at our house. I personally would welcome it. I love doing the cooking, and miss it. It's been years since I was able to do any of that. Visions of turkey brines and stuffing and cranberry sauces dance in my head ...

Sirius started playing Christmas music last week, and I've been a faithful listener. It's awesome! Not much repeats, beautiful music ... My absolute favorite is Greg Lake's I Believe in Father Christmas. There are a lot of great songs out there. Baby, it's Cold Outside, the Bells song from Home Alone, and really anything that puts you in the mood for Christmas. What's your favorite holiday song?