We all had a late dinner, and then ended up playing a cooperative murder mystery game at the dining room table.
This went on for a bit longer than we expected, and towards the end of the night… someone realized that the sewer line had started to back up into the first floor shower.
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.
Didn’t end up taking any photos today. A fairly uneventful kind of day, all in all. Liz and I continued to work remotely. By mid-afternoon, I left to run some last minute errands (day before Thanksgiving, trying to hit stores before they close). Liz has been super busy with work, and basically worked a full day.
In the late afternoon, Liz called me over to the window. But did so in an urgent, hushed voice. Just outside, there was a small group of deer grazing on the yard.
Two nights ago, Liz and I heard a deep sound late at night. We were both somewhat surprised – it sounded like someone slamming a door in the distance, but muffled. We didn’t make much of it, as it happened once or twice after midnight.
I stood in the hallway for a while, trying to listen for the sound to repeat. But after 10 or so minutes, went back to bed after not hearing anything.
With a bit of dinner, a fireplace going in the background, and Sherlock on the TV. This isn’t the best photo, but captures for me the moment. Relaxing on the couch, warm and full, watching a favorite show on television. A lovely evening.
It’s funny – a notable memory of the Whitehall Lakehouse is our drive from Chicago in 2022, which involved a lot of snow. I guess this is the other side of that coin, with snow on our way back home.
I’m in awe, and I haven’t even step foot inside any building yet.
A bit later on in the evening. I realized I hadn’t gotten any photos of Sandy, who continues to be the best dog ever. For a good part of our stay, she was curled up in her bed in front of the fireplace. Which, let’s be honest… if I could get away with doing something like that, I’d do that all week long.
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.
Today, after work, we made it a point to throw on our coats and head out. Liz had run a few errands earlier in the day, and the overall temps were fairly mild. She described it as a “very Fall day,” and so we decided to take advantage.
It’s an odd thing, as Liz is 100% remote and I’m doing a hybrid thing (remote, two days in the office). So the fact that we’re “remote remote,” and away from our actual house seems… immaterial. Remote is remote, after all.
It should be noted: at this point in the day, I’ve had two naps. And would eventually have another, in the late evening. I think both of us were very low on sleep, and given the opportunity… seem to have had some catching up to do.
Last year when we made the trek to Michigan for Thanksgiving, there was an unseasonable amount of snow that made our travels difficult. This year, we left a bit earlier in the day… aiming to get our travels done while the sun was up.
And then! After we got back, we got to sitting on the couch and just talking. We ended up visiting and catching up, and time somehow got away from us. At some point, Grace went to bed and Jackson came downstairs… and we all just kept on talking and talking. Telling stories, sharing stories.
I think that by the time we decided to call it a night it was close to 3:30 AM! Seriously!