A View from the Edge: How I spent my Thanksgiving holiday

We celebrated Thanksgiving with 47 people! There was good food, good friends, good music, and so-so weather. It was overcast most of the day, a few sprinkles here and there, but NOTHING could put a damper on our spirits!

Our hosts, Sandy and Carol, ordered tables and chairs from the park's party wagon. The street was blocked off, and the tables were set up in the street. Everyone contributed a dish to pass, brought their own dishes, cutlery and drinks. Throw in some live music, and PRESTO! We have a PARTY!

We were entertained by:

Van

Doug

Henry came up and sang and Roman added his guitar.

Henry and his wife, Diane, sang an adorable duet.

I warmed up the crowd with a Thanksgiving joke. They were polite enough to laugh.

We have some crazy people in the park! Here are Lou and Jim, our kazoo aficionados.

I don't know why Jim has three kazoos in his mouth at one time; either he's extraordinarily talented or full of a LOT of hot air! Ha ha!

It sprinkled on us a couple of times, and no one was more prepared than Lou, the man of many hats.

Meanwhile, I arm wrestled David at our table. I don't recall what the bet was about, but I DID lose, darn it!

Not all my friends are here yet in Arizona. But here's the majority of the clan:

Table # 1 (l to r): Ken, Pat, Judy, Bob, Steve, Thelma

Table #2 (l to r): Pat, Ellen, David, Doug, Lenore, me, Jim, Bob.

A neighbor said a blessing before our meal.

Although it looks like the man next to me is toasting my ta-ta's, he in fact is SECONDING MY TOAST to our lovely hosts Sandy and Carol.

The meal:

Buns, Chinese salad, cole slaw

Candied apples, cranberry sauce, fruit salad, cranberry jello mold, Watergate salad, corn, carrots, green bean casserole, stuffing

Sandy quickly removed the lids from the hot foods while the hungry mob waits anxiously!

There are FIVE, count 'em, 5, turkeys sliced up in the warmer, next to three crock pots full of mashed potatoes, two large pots of gravy and one large container of sweet potatoes.

Does this resemble a soup kitchen?

Everyone "gobbled" up their food, and then....bing, bang, boom, some of the tables were taken down to make room for dancing!

I had to laugh when I saw some of the women who couldn't resist dancing when they heard the music, even though they were in the middle of folding up the tablecloths!

I'm a sucker for a slow dance!

Dance, dance, dance

Rain dance?

Our hosts - Sandy (l) and Carol (r) doing the polka

Line dancing

Crowd participation

"Reaching out, touching me, touching yoooouuu! Sweet Caroline! Ba ba ba!"

I love this next photo - I have to thank my husband for capturing it. It's a prime example of the fun that I have here in Arizona with my friends - we laugh A LOT here - and as you may see - there are many bottles of wine on the table - and yeah - that helps. But this is a great group of friends and I am thankful for them - thanks for making my holiday wonderful. You are my family away from home.