Close family friends, the Fryers, were with us on Christmas Day. 
Although the addition of Jim and Sam meant another two guys in the house, with Laura and daughter Jane and Sam’s girlfriend Becca here, we females were actually a force to be reckoned with. And I could wrap up girly things like lip gloss and cute books in angel paper with pink ribbon.
We were wowed by this huge surprise of a family present from an overly generous friend.
An amazing feast starring Chris’s brined turkey was served (the only casualty was the smoke alarm, which had to be beaten down off the ceiling to stop its incessant wailing). My brother Jim was with us for the holiday week, helping with cooking, cleaning, errands, and driving.
A long-lost first cousin, David, came out to have lunch with us on Boxing Day and to share memories that are known only to a few people on earth (i.e. how did Grandpa John serve ice cream? In slices! Which, we all agreed, is the perfect way to present Neopolitan). For me, it is wonderfully surreal to have another blood relative living East of the Mississippi, let alone in the very same neck of the woods. Thank you, David and Alison, for relocating to Philadelphia!
Games were played. Pit, Scrabble, Big Boggle, and Pictionary were hauled out on various nights. Although the team of Chris and Malcolm ended up winning Pictionary, I am proud of this one particular victory that Jim and I had in the game during an ALL DRAW turn. Each team was trying to illustrate the same thing. Luckily for me, Jim inherited the art gene and did this detailed little drawing.
After guessing “cowboys” and “cattle rustlers,” I threw out “posse.” And got it right. The best part was hearing the wails from our boys, who were busy on their own drawings of “posse,’ which involved limosines, bling and gangsters. They demanded, ”What does the word posse have to do with cowboys?”
Yes, I felt old. But victorious.
