Traveling Weekend

Your Sis and I work well on a lot of levels, but maybe the most convenient is that we travel so easily together. A six-hour car ride with her just flies by even if we're quiet. A fine time was had by all this Thanksgiving at Your Brother's house. He fried a turkey very well, and we ate dinner around 4 p.m. It was a huge spread, and I'm borrowing recipes to make the side dishes for my parents at Christmas. We spent that Thursday evening having drinks on the back porch and playing with Your Brother's thermal vision goggles. Brooke is assimilating everything she hears. I have no clue how bright 22-month-old girls are supposed to be, but she may wreck the curve. She understands directions and the gist of conversations, it seems. She strikes me as perceptive. Also, cute as hell.

We all ate at a local Mexican restaurant Friday night before returning to their house for an unscheduled foosball tournament. Your Sis and I played a bit before letting Your Brother in against the winner, and then Your Dad joined in and we split into teams. When Andrea came down the two of us played against them and were demolished right quick. I never played before, and it was fun. For ten minutes, we weren't in-laws or parents or spouses, but four young people playing a game, and it was spirited and loose. Maybe my best memory of the trip.

We left Saturday morning for home after having breakfast with Your Parents. We stopped by My Parents to take them out for dinner, and we talked about the upcoming play (rehearsals start tonight) and the new James Bond film, Casino Royale.

This is a good Bond film. Daniel Craig is asked to do things other Bonds were not, and he makes for a good new version of the character. It's as shocking a change from Brosnan's style as Moore's was from Connery's, but I wish Brosnan could have had his chance at the film. I think he could have done well. Craig's appeal is that he isn't a prettyboy, but that in no way diminishes his appeal. It adds grit, and the film maintains a new realism because of his work. An early parkour stunt sequence steals the film, but the low-key scenes of quiet tension (either sexual or combative) hold your attention just as well. This is the goods.

We got home about 10:30 and crashed hard into the bed. I spent most of Sunday helping Your Sis correct rough drafts of student papers while watching football.

The NFL
Her Teams
New England (8-3), NY Jets (6-5), Oakland (2-9)
Philly (5-6), Detroit (2-9)

My Teams
Miami (5-6), Pittsburgh (4-7)
Philly (5-6), Carolina (6-5)

Carolina couldn't beat a weak Washington team, Pittsburgh was killed by Baltimore, and the Patriots beat an energetic Chicago team in a game filled with turnovers.

Picture of the Day
Found on a Russian LiveJournal blog. No idea where it comes from.