Holiday cheer with the fam 🎄🎅🏻

I was invited by my papaw/grandfather to attend a special dinner. It was put on by the lodge which my Papaw has been a member of for 44 years. Of course, I brought @flowerbaby along with me. My mother was also able to attend with us.

Instead of riding separately, my mother picked us up since we were along the route. Before we headed out, I had the three of us go down to the Christmas decorations to take some photos. @flowerbaby and I wore matching sweaters that we found at Target earlier that day. The image depicted on our shirt is cats pulling Santa's sleigh. There were jingle bells hanging off of the shirt too which made us impossible to be silent.

My mom was looking fabulous as usual. I don't think either of the gals really felt like taking photos, but a little pressure from me got them into action. I'm glad that we took the time to capture these images because they will never be forgotten.

We first went to my grandparent's house, aka mamaw and papaw. @flowerbaby had never been to their home and I hadn't in far too long. She was curious to explore their big house, she had heard so many stories about it. Plus they have two cats and my girl loves animals. We spent a few hours there exploring and chatting, then it was off to the dinner a few minutes away at another location.

I've been to this dinner a few other times years prior, but it had been a few years since the last time. There were far fewer people than there usually is, I guess we can blame that on COVID and an ever-aging lodge population. There were still well over 75 people there I'd say. Seeing empty tables was a bit odd though. I was thankful that my table was still filled with my loved ones and a few other interesting people as well.

My papaw is a character and has a wild sense of style. Probably sounds like me, I'm glad to be similar to a guy like him. We are different in a lot of ways too, but I think we get along quite well. My mother and him both like to stand out, so I'd say that is who I get it from.

We had so much at this dinner. Everyone was given a free jar of locally sourced honey upon entry. We also signed a book to help keep track of total attendance. There was a per-meal selection of tasty hors d'oeuvres shortly after we found our table. There was a lot of yummy stuff to choose from there. My favorite was the pineapple-flavored meatballs. @flowerbaby was a big fan of the fruit dip. It was difficult to not fill up on this stuff alone, but we had self-control.

Following the snacks and a brief word from the leadership, it was time to feast on the best stuff. Turkey and ham were the main meats. I like how they separated light and dark meat turkey. I prefer dark, that was my favorite thing that I ate that night. There were also several other choices on the huge buffet. The sweet potato casserole was amazing. I could list off food for quite a while, but I didn't take photos of any of it. I was too busy enjoying myself.

Of course, there was dessert once we finished. I barely had any room left, but I had to try the pineapple upside-down cake. It was well worth overstuffing myself. I had to call it quits after that. As I'm writing this, I wish I were eating this very same meal again. It was that good!

Once all of the food was out of the way, it was time for some lodge awards and a few final words. It all seemed to go by much quicker than I remember in the past. I'm not sure if it is because I was actually having a good time, due to the fact that I'm older now, or if they just cut things short. Whatever it was, I'm happy that we took the time to go. It was great to spend some time with my mamaw and papaw, plus I got to be with my two favorite girls.

My NFTs: https://inji.com/@daltono/nfts