The day after Thanksgiving

We made it through the big day. The total time on preparation and eating and clean-up was almost twenty-four hours from start to finish. (Regis used a stop watch to calculate that interesting tidbit!)
The weather was so beautiful we even had a few lawn chairs out in front and the porch was open. It's a good thing because our tiny house would have been crowded. The food was delicious and the company was great. Amber's parents, Reg's future in-laws, Mike and Peggy, came with their son (also Mike) from Grand Rapids. Tiffany came with my brother David and his wife Joan from South St. Paul. Peter came from Mankato and acted like he hadn't seen real food in weeks! Bob and Em were here with Bby Ella who was a great sport about all the strangers and the commotion. She even took a little nap in the midst of it all. My friend Kathy, who had helped me clean and cook and organize, was here for dinner, too. She took a plate home to Harvey, sick in bed. Regis said a very touching Thanksgiving prayer, saying how nice it was for all of us to be together and to welcome the new members of our family. I cried...second time that day. First time, as always, when Santa comes out at the end of the Macy's parade.
We had lots of help with the dishes, but Kathy and Peter hung in there for hours and finished the pans. I kept telling them to let them soak but Kathy likes to finish things. What a concept. All the guests were gone by 6 and the few of us who were left hit the couches.
I went back to bed when Regis left this morning and slept for two hours. Now that it's almost noon, I better get up and finish the clean-up. More pictures are posted here if you'd like to take a look:
http://homepage.mac.com/tsaum/PhotoAlbum51.html
Teresa