Ezra’s first Thanksgiving also marked the first Thanksgiving since Ahna and I have known each other that we didn’t travel somewhere to see family…instead we were able to drive down to my folk’s house and enjoy a wonderful afternoon there (remember the trip to Florida in October? That was our visit with family instead of over this weekend). We both commented on the ride home about how strange it was to be driving back to our house, and not staying somewhere else. Of course we absolutely love seeing family, but it sure was nice to arrive back to our own beds and not have to deal with the airport.

That ‘mish-mosh’ of a crowd consisted of family from Israel (Rena), family from Colorado (Mom, Dad, Joel, Jenn +1, and two of Jenn’s family, Cyrilla, Tanner), and family from California (John, Miriam). A total of 13 people for dinner, including 2 vegans, one vegetarian, and plenty of carnivores. Ahna and I made vegan versions of Shepard’s Pie and a Sweet Potato Casserole – both of witch turned out very tasty, if I do say so myself. The food was delicious: the turkey was perfect, the stuffing/dressing was great, and the corn pudding was worth thirds….but perhaps my favorite was the cream of asparagus soup….mmmmm. We served food that had recipes from Kansas, Florida, Virginia, Israel, and the Internet; and tried a new beer called He-Brew (really tasty and some of the best label reading out there)..truly a international flare to the table. 

After the main course, we all walked over to the Nathan’s house (the next-door neighbors) and joined their crowd of 13 for desert. Cyrilla had made some awesome pies, and in combination with the cookies and ice cream, it made for more great food that our stomachs had to find room for. By the time that we were done with desert, Ezra was getting tired (as were we as the digestion started, and the football was boring) so we headed home. 

It was a really fun day for us: we got to spend the morning together and the evening with family and friends, and all of it without the worry of work or travel. The only bummer was that I didn’t take a single picture with our camera (!), but there were several other photographers walking around. Whenever I get those e-mailed, I will make sure to post them.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Ahna and I enjoyed a nice day together yesterday doing some errands, but most importantly: hanging out without the oppressive ‘work’ looming overhead. 

We are heading down to my folks’ house this afternoon for a meal with a mish-mosh of people, and have been assigned volunteered to cook a couple of vegan dishes for the vegetarians/vegans in the crowd (there will be at least 4, I think). We looked up some recipes yesterday morning and settled on a Shepard’s Pie and a sweet potato casserole (from Kathy in FL) before heading out to the grocery stores. We immediately aimed for the natural foods store since we were looking for some vegan ingredients, and ended up stopping at Sunflower Farmers Market, Whole Foods, and King Soopers before we had everything. 

This morning comes the assembly and cooking process (otherwise known as ‘following the recipe’) and we will be faced with the same confliction that nearly every one of you get to deal with: how to cook more than one thing in the oven when you only have one oven. We’ll let you know how it turned out. 

Hopefully everyone will stop and think about what they are thankful for….our list is ever growing, but this year starts and stops with family and friends (oh yea, and for having jobs that will probably sustain themselves through tough economic times. And one more thing: a country that finally woke up and realized that we needed a big change.) As our immediate family has changed and grown, our extended family and friends have helped, loved, cared, supported, and encouraged in ways that we never thought possible. So: Thank You.

Class. Well, I can’t actually remember if I have mentioned this or not in a previous post, but I am in the process at the department to become and Acting Lieutenant. It’s a position that replaces the assigned Lieutenants when they are not at work, but will also allow me to trade with other LT’s on other shifts for days off. More to the point, it is the applicant pool for any future promotional opportunities to LT (ie: you have to be an Acting LT before you can promote to LT), but don’t worry, I don’t think that I am interested in a promotion for a few more years. 

Some might remember that I was an Acting LT in a past life with the department, and at the time I dropped the position due to mixed emotions on how the department was treating the people willing to serve in that spot (still, there is no acting pay…which is just one of the issues). But over the course of the last several years, I have decided that this is something that I am interested in pursuing again. Unfortunately, the department decided that it had been long enough since I last was an actor, so I get to go through the process (which didn’t exists before) with the other guys that are also stepping up. 

The process has been long – including a very comprehensive exam, a psych test, and an interview with the Chief. Upon successful completion of all of that, we were admitted to the course, which is essentially a college course on Fire Officer 1 (and we will get credit at the college if we desire). The course runs for almost two months on shift, with each class lasting from 9 in the morning until approximately 4 in the afternoon. Each day we cover two chapters, thus we have two quizzes every day and 2 tests every day where we have to maintain an average of 80% to stay in the class. Needless to say, it’s stressful and tiring, and it is taking a lot of time reading and studying. 

Once the class is done, we will get assigned a mentor LT, and have to complete a task book that takes roughly 3-4 months to finish….we have to do all sorts of stuff on the fireground and administratively and document all of it. The end of the process should be sometime during the first quarter of next year, but the end game is an opportunity to learn the position while not yet being promoted…..therefore becoming more prepared for when we are able to test and promote. 

For now, the result here is a little more space between posts…but they are fun for me to write, so I promise to try to get them up more frequently that this past week has been.