I haven’t taken enough photos of the main floor at the chateau. On walking in, it’s a long, massive area that houses a living room area, an enormous banquet table, and a full kitchen.
Our car (me, Liz, and Audrey) arrived first. And we got really lucky with our parking (it was incredibly hectic, and most folks parked several blocks away and walked in on foot).
Someone pulled out not two blocks from one of the entrances, and we were in the right place at the right time.
While the others were on route, we explored a little bit of the market.
A slow start to the day. I hopped in the car with Kirt, Anne, and Jackson… and we just drove around for a good while, getting lost along some of the roads near the chateau.
Everywhere you look, there’s a winery. Which I guess makes sense, since we’re in Bordeaux.
But as far as the eyes can see, there are rows of grape vines. The roads are small and narrow, and everything is charming. There’s a stillness everywhere.
The Holders were away on a travel vacation over Christmas proper, but flew back in to Chicago yesterday. And so we made plans to hang out, and to have a late birthday dinner/celebration for Kirt.
After showing folks around our house (and our newly updated floors)… we decided on something for our afternoon: mini-golf.
Turkey-vision.
Anne, taking a photo of Jackson with some Lafayette College swag. Which, apparently, is all the rage and the thing to do in terms of social media posts.
For dinner, we met up at Tirami Sú. A lot of great food, and some great conversations. My only regret was that we were on the other end of the table, and didn’t have much time to chat with Jackson, his girlfriend Angel, and Grace all that much.
I have to say – the kitchen was a scene of utter chaos. And I absolutely loved it. People moving around, jostling, yelling for space and help. A bustle of activity and collisions and it was just so glorious to witness.
You may gauge the holidays on the meals that are served. But for me, the pleasure and measure of it is in the preparation. A house is full of love when its kitchen is full with motion.
Back at the house, Sandy’s cozied up in the living room.
Group photo, with a lot of lovely lights in the background.
Kirt, with the turkey out of the oven. Here, he’s removing a layer of salt that was placed on the turkey, which formed a kind of outer coating/shield during the cooking process.
Slow day today. We got up a bit early, and several of us headed out to Musekgon to visit the Muskegon Farmers Market.
We arrived at the show separately, and offered to drive everyone back to the hotel. We had to scrunch, but were able to pack everyone in. Jackson took the hit, and agreed to hop into the trunk – with the rest of us ignoring this clear act of child endangerment.
In a slight twist this year, Liz’s dad’s family is visiting us in Chicago for the holidays. Talking, Liz and I decided that an outing with just Grace and Jackson would be a fun time (and would allow Kirt and Anne a bit of alone time).
Group photo, from the last day at the lakehouse before everyone departs for home. L to R it’s Anne, Kirt, Jackson, Sandy, me, Liz, and Grace.