Family Traditions
The Baxters, Trish and Don, arrive from El Paso. The Thanksgiving Fairy catches the flight too and leaves a bag of treasures every morning by the coffee pot until the day of Thanksgiving....Trish always brings extra empty suitcases to cart her treasures back to the desert. Overflow purchases sometimes have to find their way via UPS as well. Big Lots is certainly never the same after the Baxters leave town.
  Trish and Ginty head out for a marathon shopping excursion to the mecca of outlets in Commerce, GA. Later in December, many people get to experience the fruits of our labor.
  The family Wednesday morning trek to the Pickens Flea Market…

Sometimes this is a routine and uneventful outing where we arrive in a van full of Porters and Baxters and occasional miscellaneous friend ready to buy all sorts of flea market treasures -- vintage salt and pepper shakers, seasonal throws, fresh tomatoes and cantaloupes, fried pies, and all sorts of indescribable treasures.

But other times, we do experience the occasional mishap en route. Last year we all piled into the family van and Don was the last one in so he pulls on the side door to close it and the DOOR FALLS OFF!! We all turn with our mouths open and just stare at the door and then look up at each other. Finally someone says, “What the hell happened to the door???” After an hour and a half of attempting to put the door back on, Dan, Don, and Robin decided we should split up and just take the Neon and the pick-up truck . Even with our late arrival, we still walked away with countless flea market treasures.
Another time we took a borrowed van and among the Porters and Baxters this year were two family friends, Jay Merchant and Judy Bonham. Dan was driving and was talking to Jay who was in the front passenger seat, Dan took his eyes of the road while he was talking and the van slipped off the road for a moment, but Dan quickly got us back on the pavement. Unfortunately it took out the tire. 
In the middle of nowhere, we sat and waited for Dan and Robin and Jay to walk to a phone to call roadside service, since the van had no spare. After several people refused to let them use their phones, they finally found someone willing to help. We got the flat fixed and still managed to make the latter stages of the flea market.
So this year as we start out, we will be thinking very positive thoughts but all of us know from first-hand experience to expect the unexpected!!
 

 Thanksgiving Day:

Morning cooking with Macy’s parade in the background; Dan cooking the turkey on the grill; Robin asking at least a dozen times when we think it’s all going to be ready… and usually a tale or two is told after dinner.  This year we will finally get the big picture of the holiday revealed in Dan’s original piece entitled, “The Story of Thanksgiving”

 The Day after Thanksgiving:

No shopping allowed. We usually head out for an outdoor adventure to the mountains, or the Botanical Gardens or a local park.
 

We are not always predictable in our activities, but what is predictable is joining together as a family to enjoy each other’s company.