And then there were nine…

Friday afternoon, my Aunt Teela and Uncle Jim arrived for Thanksgiving Part Two. After a lunch of leftovers, Teela and Mom watched Benjamin while the rest of us went to a matinee showing of James Bond. Everyone liked the film, although a couple found the movie too long. Not me…I really enjoyed the film. It was exactly what I was hoping for…classy with and edge, serious with well timed humor. The new Bond is wonderful. Can’t wait for the next one.

After eating leftovers for breakfast and lunch, we made new food for a festive birthday dinner for Teela. I made our favorite baked enchiladas with a spicier tomatilla sauce than my usual. We paired the enchiladas with a cool salad topped with pomegranate, blue cheese, and avocado.

After dinner, we played a new game (for me)–Mexican train dominoes. I can’t figure out the origin of the name, but we all played a few rounds and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Today (Saturday), Teela and Jim left early for home–leaving Jeff, my folks, and me to a lazy, sunny day. We drove Jeff down to see the beautiful State capitol, took a healthy walk across the James River to Belle Island, sipped a latte in Shockoe Bottom, and toured historic St. James Church (Patrick ‘give me liberty or give me death’ Henry), Chimborazo Park, and Hollywood Cemetery.

We had lunch at the 3rd Street Diner downtown, where our tasty meals were outshined by a colorful customer across from us. Let’s just say that a big plate of spaghetti and inebriation do not go together well. This rough-looking, VERY heavy-set man made a horrible mess with his spaghetti, but tried to clean himself up with dainty dabs of water on his napkin. The kicker was when he went to the register to pay. It seems that the poor waitress had to come back to the table to explain about tipping.

The best news of the day: Virginia Tech shutout UVA to hold onto the Commonwealth Cup…and irk my brother 🙂

We finished the day with a quiet dinner (a few more leftovers), a crackling fire in the fireplace, and a few rounds of Rummicube.

Sooooo, a few photos from the past two day in a sort of John-style. First, is the Virginia State Capitol. All shiney and clean…but still behind fences during reconstruction of the grounds.

Next, from our walk to Belle Island. This is one of the intakes to an abandoned VEPCO hydroelectic plant on the island. Let me tell you that this image is the stuff of my worst nightmares. Dark water sends shivers down my spine.

And lastly, my photo of how our walk in the park looked from Benjamin’s perspective. Kind of a horror movie view, don’t you think?