HOCKEY, THANKSGIVING, AND FURNITURE
We celebrated Thanksgiving here in Canada this past weekend. I hope everyone had a good one!
My long weekend was filled with Canucks hockey, a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and time with the family, and of course… more furniture sanding, painting, and refinishing.
Thanks to the awesome people at Canucks Hockey Blog (Hi JJ and Mozy!), Allan and I won tickets to the Canucks Open Practice this past Saturday. Now, tickets were free anyway, but they scored us awesome seats in Row 1 right beside the players’ bench!
It was great to see all the fans come out to support the team… and also great to see all the families and kids there. It’s a great event that everyone can afford to go to, and the team put on an exciting performance.
The practice was filled with various drills and scrimmages, and lots of goofing around from the players. I especially enjoyed the showboating during the shootout at the end of the practice. We had an awesome time and it got us all pumped for the game on Sunday night (which the Canucks won in an awesome shootout of course… must have been all that shootout practice 
… right?).
The rest of Saturday and Sunday was spent mostly hunting for furniture, and sanding and painting. It’s amazing how much time it takes. We’ve spent dozens of hours already on just our dressers.
I spent Sunday afternoon cooking in the kitchen with my mom… and I think we put together a pretty nice spread! My dad did the turkey, which is (in my opinion) the best… he makes an amazing overnight brine for the turkey with fresh herbs from the garden… and of course it is cooked all day in the oven until it is fall apart tender.
We also had Kansas City ribs (no pre-made sauces, only fresh herbs and tomato sauce made from tomatoes from the garden, and oranges), avocado and beet salad, home made Ciabatta bread, roasted potatoes with carrots and blue potatoes from the garden, a vegetable tian with parmesan and bread crumbs, sparkling grape juice punch made from homegrown grapes, and some homemade chocolate crème brûlée from dessert.
Judging from the amount of food on Allan’s plate I think it turned out pretty good! 
Monday was spent hunting for furniture, and finally completing the last coats of lacquer finish on the dresser. Here’s a shot of our setup in my parent’s garage. I will have before and after photos for you when all the bedroom furniture is done. We still have the bed to do!
Although I try to remember what I am thankful for every day at some point during yoga or prayer, Thanksgiving is always a good time to formalize it. So, here is what I am thankful for…
- Allan… my wonderful partner who means everything to me in this world! Thank you for always making me laugh and that we never get bored of spending time with each other.
- My amazing parents and my little brother… my whole family who I’m so grateful to be so close to.
- Our beautiful city and province where we can do all the activities we love to do
- Friends, for always being there for me
- My job and my coworkers
- A healthy body and mind!
What are you thankful for? What did you do this past weekend?
Tags: Canucks, dinner, family, furniture, hockey, Open Practice, refinishing, Thanksgiving, Vancouver Canucks, weekend
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October 13th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Had to pipe up that turkey that’s falling off the bone is the best kind of turkey!
That’s also quite the paint-cell-chamber setup you guys put up for the furniture – you definitely avoid the trouble of air-drying outdoors (too cold, or too wet, etc). Those dressers should turn out awesome as a result!
October 13th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Looks like you got lots done over the weekend, that’s awesome. Delicious dishes are always good too.
Me? A day of rock climbing instructing followed by a night of crazy partying (see pictures on Flickr). Then home for thanksgiving dinner then dinner with friends on Monday. Lots food!
October 13th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Your pictures of food and feasting always look so amazingly mouthwatering.
October 13th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
That’s an AWESOME shot of Rypien in the shootout! Geeeez! My photography is entirely done against yours now. I hate you. First the sport photography, now the food too… not cool, Allie.
October 14th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Everything looks amazing. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving here! Great idea on the painting booth. We have a paint sprayer but often refrain from using it because it’s too messy.
October 15th, 2009 at 11:27 am
“We also had Kansas City ribs (no pre-made sauces, only fresh herbs and tomato sauce made from tomatoes from the garden, and oranges)”
Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Kansas City ribs? Holy mackerel, that’s where I’m from. How did you like them?
I’m not sure if you’ve done a blog post on this subject in the past but I’ve got to ask anyway.
Have you got any tips for someone (me) wanting to start their own personal blog? How to make it unique and different? I’m not an expert at Java, HTML or anything like that. Any advice would be appreciated or links if it’s easier than rattling off a bunch of stuff. Thanks.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
wow you guys have your own grapes? that’s so awesome. looked like a fab thanksgiving spread.
we had a turkey-less thanksgiving – roast duck with orange sauce and lamb with mint sauce.