Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving eve I checked out the Juneau nordic ski club's site and found that the Mendenhall Campground was groomed and ready for me and my new skis. It was welcome news since we really haven't had snow yet and I've been itching to get outside.

I conned Mr. X into agreeing to a sunrise lap on the trail, but we didn't make it out the door until 9:30. That's about four hours late by my standards - but I'll admit it - I was the one sleeping in. The trail was a little icy; there really isn't much snow out there yet. We enjoyed meeting four dogs and were awed by the skate skiers who zoomed past us toward the lake. We went down on the ice and looked around, but we'd already been out for an hour which is long enough for two out-of-shape, chair force members.

Mr. X's skis on the ice

We'll have to see about getting a ski club membership. They really do a great job keeping the trails in shape - they groom the campground daily. It's just a question of whether I'll actually get out enough to justify the cost.

On the lake with Skater's cabin in background

After our morning activities we went home and I put the chicken in the oven. Yes, chicken, since it was just the two of us and chicken was 1/2 the price of turkey last week that's what we did. I already had potatoes made from a batch I took to a work party, made boxed stuffing and a green salad. Mr. X had his obligatory rice. Good eats.

I was a little nervous about dessert. Mr. X was enthusiastic. It turned out pretty well.

I had made a pumpkin pie by adjusting a vegan recipe. Instead of milk and eggs, I used cashews. Instead of maple syrup I used honey. And I made a graham cracker crust - that I was afraid had burned. It was actually a really good pumpkin pie - though it might be hard to go wrong with pumpkin.

After our feast we sat down to a viewing of Toy Story 2. You know, I really think that should be our official Thanksgiving tradition: Pixar animated movie after dinner.

getting set to go. Thunder mountain in distance.

Edit:  Saturday night, we went night skiing at the campground. It was good, but there was a creepy guy hanging out in the middle of the trail with his headlamp turned off. Not cool. And wouldn't you know it. We finally got more snow (at least six inches) Sunday.