Turkey Steak Goose Chase

Jesse and Anders had Friday off of school, so I dragged them along with me on what Jesse somewhat grumblingly referred to as a "wild goose chase after turkey steaks".

And perhaps it was.

After all, I had to stop at the bank to make a payment on our construction loan first (which meant I took the tedious, traffic-packed route along main street) and when we finally got to Lee's (where the one-day turkey steak sale was happening), we were met with this tragic site:

But I was not to be defeated so easily and continued on to the Smithfield Lee's. (It was at this point that Jesse made the turkey-steak-goose-chase comment. After all nobody wants to spend their entire day off on a mission to find turkey steaks. Well, except maybe Anders who actually loves going to stores.) But that comment didn't deter me. I told the boys I was going to drop them off at the front of the store so they could run in while I parked. "Listen boys: I don't care if you have to shove old women aside left and right. You might even need to pry them from the hands of women and children," I informed them. "Just do whatever it takes to get me some turkey steaks!"

Anders commented that we left the house looking like a normal family but that it appeared this would end with us--covered in soot and dirt, clothing torn--walking from Lee's as it exploded in smoke and flame in the background behind us. 

As it was ... things didn't come quite to that.

We left Lee's rather quietly with several packages of my precious turkey steaks, a whole bunch of Stephen's cocoa (also on sale), chocolate chips (again with the sale), reward donuts for the boys for their sacrifice, some random groceries, an entirely free turkey (which, apparently, they were giving out if you spent $125 dollars), and not even one soul shoved roughly aside (in fact I think I politely said "excuse me" at one point).

And then we came home, and Penny was waiting--lonesome--for us since one of her classes had been cancelled, and the little kids got back from school (Friday is their early-out day), and Starling ran directly to her room and came out looking like this (oh I love her):

(If you missed him, please scroll back up and spy Hans in the background.)

And Summer brushed Holly and fed her tall grass, and the other kids hung out outdoors for a bit. (It was the loveliest November day. It looked like a storm was coming all day long but just stayed 60 degrees and breezy.)

And then Penny went off on a date with her current boy Jacob. And the rest of us went to the farm to feed. (Now that we are graining the steers for their butcher date, it is twice a day that we have to go feed!) And we discovered we had a garage door. (Hurrah! ... Only why won't our trim ever get painted?)

(And here's our recently graveled drive and our sidewalk should you be interested. It looks so smooth and nice that it pains me to think of it getting worn away or scraped off as we clear the drive of snow over the next year or so):

And then we came home and the little kids had ice cream and watched The Little Mermaid. And then Mike got home and we put the little four to bed and watched Fantastic Four with Jesse and Anders. 

And that was our Friday.