The Staycation.
What is a staycation, you ask? traditionally it is a vacation where you stay home, board up the windows and doors, and turn off your phone- sort of like human hibernation. At least, that's what we all hope it will be like- most who engage in a staycation emerge unsatisfied, citing multiple chores and appointments that had to be completed during their time of rest.
This staycation was a bit different.
Trev and I decided this year we would invite our entire families and friends to our home for a thanksgiving feast. We also had my family come and stay in Worcester so we could enjoy some quality family time.
This has become a DeGrush family tradition- picking a victim, and invading their home for the turkey week. It all started 3 years ago in Paraguay, then progressed to Chicago, then San Fran, then Worcester! oh so worthy Worcester.
Bill arrived first, and we made a split second decision on our way out from Logan that we should drive to Portland, Maine. Why not? We stop in quaint Portsmouth NH on the way for caffeine refueling, and in a few hours we arrive!
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| maybe the best smell ever? |
hm who wants to guess what they sell....besides tapestries.
Portland is eerily similar to Burlington, VT where Bill went to undergrad. Except for the seafood part- we get inspired, so we head home to get some lobster! this is Bills first true, real lobster eating experience, so we show him the Trevor "technique".
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| we added truffle oil to our lobster butter. we are really just that fancy. |
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| the "technique" |
Bill and I agreed we would need some fresh air and adventure pre-Turkey day, so we head up to Wachussett with lil Olive, champion hiker.
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| must bring backpack EVERYWHERE. you never know when you might need a whosiwhatsit, that really important spanish sci fi novella, or more importantly, Mate. |
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| that awkward in between winterish time |
Made it to top! its not very high :) Still an accomplished between a jet lagged Californian and a office chair bound psychiatrist. Olive clearly had no trouble.
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| contrived photo attempting not to appear contrived |
I had a map, but...we sort of got off track. This was weird and interesting- there were boarders on the mountain that day digging in along a thin track of icy snowish stuff, and the half pipe and boarding park was respectfully full.
Turkey day arrives- everyone attempts to look presentable, but more importantly, hungry.
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| the calm before the storm... i mean, party |
We are really into cheese, wine, appetizers. and Mate, always mate.
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| this just proves that the wrong shoes will throw an entire outfit. oh well, hostess rules - slippers are perfectly acceptable. |
We had an awesome turn out, with friends and family from all of our walks of life, from a total of 6 different states (CA, TX, NH, AK, MA, CO), age range 0 to 92! Thanks to everyone for coming and making this a most memorable thanksgiving FEAST! Oh yeah, I made enough mashed potatoes to feed a small but hungry army, or for Justin to swim in. Bets on which actually happened.
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| yay family and friends! |
Although there were excessive amounts of turkey, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, yummy cranberry/banana bread, mac and cheese, creamed onions, gravy, and dear god WHAT MORE COULD WE HAVE SHOVED IN OUR PIE HOLES?
you guessed it. pie. and Trev's masterpiece- creme brulee.
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| what, you don't own a blow torch? |
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| practicing her hungry urban orphan look. its coming along well, but she needs a newsy boy cap. |
This is everyone sans the Wilkins/Snook clan, who headed home in hopes of adding another member to their ranks! (they continue to hope- its gonna happen soon!) and sans Grandpa Bill and Cici, who headed home in hopes of slumber.
The remaining crew stuck it out to play line-paper-line, a relatively new addition to the thanksgiving tradition circuit. Its the perfect way to innocently tap in to your family and friends just-under-the-surface weirdness.
The next part of the thanksgiving tradition is BLACK FRIDAY. its about a holy as any other holy day in my mothers book, and its just what we DeGrush ladies do. We wake up early, we go shopping, we conquer. This year was odd as many stores opened at midnight, and the big big big sales were happening then. We decided we would try a different path- head into Boston, stroll Newbury street, reward ourselves thoroughly afterwards. It was lovely. And I didn't feel compelled to drop kick even one person!
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| you wonder, why sunglasses? there might have been an eye drop "accident". no worries, nothing permanent. |
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| the Boston commons early in the morning |
Now, for the reward- I really dig Trident booksellers and cafe on Newbury St. Its also perfectly located at the western end of the stroll, and a perfect time out. They still look adorable despite near exhaustion. Laura is handling the bitter winds of New England like a champ!
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| they were twelve hour eye drops. |
So I decided, might as well head right towards gluttony, despite the turkey etc overload yesterday.
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| blueberry and ricotta stuffed french toast, earl gray tea. |
We went to see the Hobbit! Wow, we are so special and probably have some mob connections which is how we got to see this movie weeks before it hits the theaters!
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| we saw Skyfall, you crazies. |
Hm, I wonder what might be the most packed place to take a family for fun on black friday evening in Worcester? Oh, yes, of course! Bowling!!! I think the entirety of Worcester was in attendance. We enjoyed ourselves, Mom annihilated us, and we used bar refreshments as motivation to get strikes. Who in their right mind would name a specialty bar shot a "tooter"?!
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| Billia was what they were to name Bill if he were to have been their third girl. |
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| gang signs! |
In the midst of all of this random celebration, we also had some specific celebration- Dad had a very important birthday, and he therefore gets a very important present! A really hardcore sleeping bag for the most hardcore outdoorsman I know- happy birthday Dad!!
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| yes, i only wrapped the top of the present. judge away. the damn thing was enormous. |
The next day we headed out to the Oldak winery in NH to taste some wines and say hi. Trev's Dad Peter gave us a lovely pouring and of course we also saw the rest of the family and the beloved winery cat Simi.
We then set off for probably my most favorite place in the US (otherwise Paris or Belize might jockey for that spot)- Newburyport, MA. See previous post for gushings on this awesome place. We went to the Grog to conjure up memories of the week before our wedding, as we supposedly had dinner here sometime that week. The memories were jumbled, but the beer and fish fry were excellent, so all was good.
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look at that Texan!
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Any trip to Newburyport must include a stop at Oldies. Laura was in love, specifically with a print of a baby turkey by Andrew Zuckerman. Irony abounds!
The sunset was that really intense, coastal New England type. We thought, yeah its bitter cold, why not check out the beach?
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| my future house is the third one from the right, you can just make it out...the one with the helipad and miniature pony farm. a girl can dream. |
The next day, the family has dwindled to just me and Laura. We decide we will make a few quick visits to a few old haunts from her Clark days- first stop, purgatory chasm. Still pretty even in the sad fall time when all the leaves have dropped.
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| she thinks this winter stuff is not that bad! its about 40 degrees out. I fear she will never leave the hot bed of Texas. |
The final stop is yet again another feast, this time at Sichuan Gormet on Rt 9, mecca of all that is spicy and delicious.
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| our only intention with this photo was to instill intense jealousy in certain New Englanders. |
Then back to Logan to say goodbye to my last guest. Although it was "just" a staycation, family and friends made it restful, fun, and rejuvenating. I actually WANTED to go back to work, sort of. Thank you to all who came to see us in our not terribly exciting but still fun lil home in Worcester :)
