thanksgiving on the farm

Thanksgiving on the farm was fab. Jer and I arrived in Niagara at 10:00 on Saturday. We walked down to Clifton hill and did the tourist thing. He was like a little kid and I really enjoyed it too. You grow up around something and you totally take it for granted, but going with someone for whom it is new and exciting, well you can’t help but get into the spirit of things. We walked up and down the hill a couple times and then stopped at The Great Canadian Midway to check it out. Now this is a newer addition to the hill so I’d never been there. We stopped just to look but then I saw my favourite game in the world – Twilight Zone pinball. I had to play. This led to many other games. We ended up getting 42 tokens and winning 155 tickets, which got us a shot glass and five stickers. Then we walked down to the Table Rock Complex, where I used to work. If you’ve ever been to Niagara Falls and stood right next to the falls you’ve been there. It’s the large building where you can go in tunnels behind the falls (Journey Behind the Falls). Anyway I visited the bus lot and saw a few of my old co-workers, they told me I had a job waiting if I ever wanted to come back. So cute. Later we called for a ride and headed to the farm. When we first arrived my niece didn’t remember Jer but after a few minutes I was told I could leave and he could stay to play with her. Imagine! Dismissing her auntie like that. They look so cute when they play together that I didn’t mind. That night Jer, my brother in-law and myself stayed out by the fire playing hedbanz. I love this game but we had to stop because Jer kept giving up and I could no longer force him to play. We technically he fell asleep in his chair but I think he was faking. So the next day Maria arrived and was introduced to my fam. She thought my mum was my sister and my Gran was my mum so they loved her right away. The rest didn’t take long and Maria, being Maria, said whatever came into her head and laughed at everything, won everyone over. My sister named her Countess Abrupto. Before the dinner Maria and I went around the farm looking for artistic shots to photograph. You can see some here and here. We went out to the forest for a cookout and sat on logs eating chili and pork tenderloin. Jer knew everyone from last time but at this point I realized I hadn’t introduced Maria to everyone. I went to do so and they would say, ‘oh I know Maria’ like they were old friends. The woman knows how to work a crowd I tell ya. Maria, Jer and I were in charge of making the paper lanterns to light the trail from the house back to the campfire. These ranged from cute to ‘what in the hell is that?’, the best one was my turkey silhouette. Ask anyone. Except Jeremy. So we all assembled around a wonderful fire (Maria has a pic). The kids played with glow sticks and ran wild, Spencer (the Jack Russell terrier belonging to my aunt and uncle) chased the children and snatched food, debates raged, recipes and baby stories were swapped, as were the babies themselves, and I was brutally tickled by my younger cousin who looks like Pocahontas, with a little help from Jer who sat on my feet, preventing escape. All in all a typical thanksgiving dinner. Tonight is dinner at the in-laws, where Maria will join us again. Tomorrow you’ll get details and a list of what I ate.