Thanksgiving spuds

My friend Wenirs and I have a long history; not only have she and I been friends all our lives, our parents were great pals as well. Our families visited frequently, they coming to us when we lived somewhere interesting and we spending summers with them in Michigan when the Navy parked us in less glamorous places. When I moved as a young bride to Western New York, happily, that was just a six-hour drive across friendly Ontario to get to Wenirs' house.

She's my rock when I need one and we laugh at the same goofy things; I'm her children's Fairy Godmother.

We have shared many Thanksgivings starting even before the children, who are now young adults, came along. Each year I'd drive west or she'd drive east on Thanksgiving day when the traffic was lighter, so our tradition has always been to eat our Thanksgiving dinner the next day, feeling as we do that Thanksgiving is not a specific date in late November but rather the time when one's favorite people can gather.

Our visits have been less frequent since I moved to California so, when her children and I hatched a plan to surprise her and her delightful husband at Thanksgiving, I knew it would be a joyous surprise. My Fairy Godson flew in from LA, My Beloved and I landed soon after from SF, and My Fairy Goddaughter swooped by to pick us all up and deliver us. The surprise was total - we even got tears as well as hugs and "I can't believe its."

This year, she cooked the bird on Sunday and I made the mashed potatoes. Simple is best with family dinners, so all I did was boil the red potato halves until tender and, leaving the skins on, mashed them with lashings of butter, half and half and pepper. We cooked more potatoes than we really should have eaten and still I had to call a halt to photograph the last spoonful before it disappeared.

My only quandary now is how to top the Surprise Thanksgiving - and whether or not to make more of these delicious spuds for dinner again this evening!.