A Special Thanksgiving

This year we decided to return to the same rental house that we stayed in last Thanksgiving. It's a nice single story three bedroom in a quiet neighborhood about 10 minutes from where our daughter lives.
It has a great kitchen with an amazing array of everything needed to really cook, a table that has a set of pull out leaves, so you can seat at least 8 people, and, best of all, a wonderful backyard with grass, a BBQ, a large table with chairs and an umbrella, another seating area, and two propane heaters for when it gets chilly. We were blessed both years with great weather and were able to spend a lot of time out in the backyard.

This  year Thanksgiving was more special than usual. Randy, who co-owns the property with his partner Nathan, kindly called up on Wednesday evening to make sure that the oven was working properly because he hadn't checked and he knew that I wanted to roast a turkey the next day. If it hadn't worked that would have been a disaster. While the oven was heating up so we could make sure that it reached the needed temperature, I chatted with  Randy and then my daughter chatted with him, too. We had such a great time and he seemed like such an interesting guy (for instance, the kitchen is awesome because they used to live there and he is a chef who has opened and run many restaurants...how often does that happen?) that we invited them over the next morning for mimosas while the turkey was cooking. It wasn't clear if they were going to come, so I sort of forgot about it.

About 11 in the morning, with the turkey only about an hour away from being done, Randy and Nathan arrived. They had texted earlier to see if it was OK, but I was away from my phone and taking a nap. As soon as I woke and saw the message I texted and urged them to come. Before I had time to clue in the rest of the family, they were there, bringing roses for me and champagne for my daughter. What a lovely surprise!

They are both delightful men and we had a great time sitting out back in the sun and getting to know each other. The mimosas certainly helped, but we really did have a lot in common (they both grew up in and around Virginia as I did, my daughter worked in the past in food service, Randy and I love to cook, etc.) and so soon I invited them to stay for the turkey dinner. They had planned to eat at a restaurant that held a sentimental place in their hearts, but maybe the promise of homemade pecan pie did the trick.

We had such a wonderful meal. Randy saved the gravy after I over-boiled it and Nathan took a professional photo of a slice of the pie. He is brand manager of an important restaurant group and does their food styling and photography. His photo is at the top of the post, just to give you an idea of his talent. Conversation flowed and I feel like new friendships were made. Next time I'm down visiting Katherine I might be invited to Game Night. That would be great fun.

Hope that you had a Thanksgiving as special as mine was.

If you are interested in renting the house yourself, go on VRBO and type in Redondo Beach and look for Beach House.