My Thanksgiving Break

The long weekend ended with this:

Snow! Today! (Yes, that's our house. And yes, we have two front doors. And yep, the neighbor's house is just like ours.)

The long weekend began Wednesday night when we drove down to Jonesboro and stayed with my dad. The next day, we three drove down to Little Rock to my brother's apartment. There, we met up with my mom and sister, who had driven down the day before. Since my brother was on call (tech support) on Thanksgiving, we stayed around his apartment and had a Honeybaked Ham Thanksgiving. Not bad, but not the best thing ever.

After lunch, we explored the area around his apartment a bit. He lives near downtown Little Rock and is quite close to the Arkansas River. A short walk beyond his apartment complex led us down to the river bank.

I walked along the river with a bamboo stick for a while. Because that's how I like to have fun. You can see downtown Little Rock in this photo:

Porkchop and me by the river:


Later in the afternoon, we went down to a lock and dam and walked across the river via a pedestrian bridge. Here's Porkchop at the midway point:


Thursday night, Porkchop and I shared a hotel room with my sister, who drove us a bit crazy. (And kept me awake until 2 am with her restless activity and midnight texting. Seriously.)

So, Friday morning we were tired heads, but we persevered and made chocolate gravy. After a breakfast of sugar and bread, we went to the Clinton library and an art museum. The library is very well done, and I wish I could have stayed there the whole day. Visiting the library of course reminded me of how well things were going at the end of the Clinton administration (job creation! a balanced budget!) and how the current administration made things into a dung heap. [Then, when I became depressed, I remembered how excited I've been feeling about the upcoming administration change. I can't wait to feel like an American again! I've been so disillusioned and disheartened for the past 8 years, I can't remember what it's like to say with pride that I'm from the US. Anyway...end tangent.]

Porkchop and I were both impressed with Little Rock - with the downtown, anyway. There are lots of little restaurants and shops, and it seems so friendly and accessible. And there's a trolley! And bike trails and at least two pedestrian bridges.

Friday night, we dined at Cajun's Wharf. Unfortunately, I wasn't hungry enough for a big dinner, but the gumbo was good. Next time, the grouper is mine!

My dad, Porkchop, and I returned to Jonesboro Friday night. Porkchop and I had to hit the road early to meet Porkchop's parents in St. Louis Saturday afternoon. Why did we have to meet them? Because of this little guy:

Oliver!

Oliver spent the night with us Saturday night, and Porkchop was beside herself with excitement.

Sunday evening came too early for Porkchop, as that's when we returned Oliver to his people.

Also on Sunday evening, we had an awesome dinner cooked by Porkchop's brother and sister-in-law. We had the juiciest, pomegranate-glazed turkey; sweet potato casserole; Swiss chard with pecans; a stuffing of pancetta, cherries, and goat cheese; mashed potatoes; and fruit tarts for dessert. We also played a lot of SingStar (well, I only participated in 3 songs...I listened to many more!).

And that brings us back to today! I had a dental appointment in the morning (yay! no cavities!), and I went to a chocolate tasting in the evening. My CSA sponsored a tasting with the owner of Kakao. The owner explained various processes to us, and we tasted a few truffles (a vanilla-dark chocolate one, a chai flavored one, and one made with Maker's Mark bourbon), caramels, dragees, and toffee. I also purchased some spicy hot chocolate, which I can't wait to taste.

Have a good week!