thanksgiving recap

So I pretty much went over-the-top yesterday and about killed myself.

Especially after a really bad night of insomnia. But. That's keeping in the true 'Kristin Kale Holiday Spirit', so it was worth it in my opinion. You can always 'not feel like' doing something and that's the way to slowly lose all the chances to make memories or events special. So I'd rather go a bit overboard than always let the opportunity pass me by. But that's just me.I made (ahem, from scratch): a citrus herb roasted chicken, roasted garlic & sage mashed potatoes, sauteed brussel sprouts with pecans, country bread stuffing, white wine gravy & a pumpkin spice cheesecake which hardly anyone could choke down after stuffing themselves with dinner (maybe I needed to do a better job of explaining that Thanksgiving is not about enjoying the food you make, its about ingesting the food you make. Never mind. There's always a next year.).
Eveline cut the bird (the bird is behind that dark shadowy thing on the picture. He is a 'cloaked in mystery' bird, you see).
There were 5 of us: Johannes, Eveline, Jo's father (Ernst), Philipp & myself. Philipp kindly picked out the 5 best pears he could find. He did a good job, no?
Mom & son. P's happy with his gourmet beer.