Turkey and the fixins, poodle not included

At our condo in Florida, we've developed a Thanksgiving tradition, which we share with wonderful friends from Philadelphia - one year at our place, the next year at theirs. And there's always a dog around, but this year we invited Sophie as our beloved Millie never made it to the new house.

Millie in 2008 was the "host dog" and we had dined at the Evergreen condo, inviting two additional neighbors who were not all that "up" on the Thanksgiving tradition. Tony was a Brit, and his wife Hanna was an Austrian, before marrying and moving to Massachusetts. Now, we suppose they still celebrate Thanksgiving in Massachusetts, but apparently not everybody makes a big deal out of eating too much turkey, followed by falling asleep on the couch. Following that 2008 dinner, all six of us went next door (I had a key) to inspect the work done for my "roof-mate". They were getting ready to sell their place, and had contractors in to fix it up. They left me with a key. We left our plates on the table, including the desert dishes where June had made a magnificent peanut butter pie.

Millie, the beagle, loved peanut butter. Either I failed to push my chair back, or perhaps it was Dick (June's husband), but Millie took advantage and when we returned the top of the table was disheveled, and all of the food left there was GONE. It was Doggone Gone. I think we might have lost one glass, but fortunately no injury to the beagle, and the tile floor was easily cleaned. Millie was sitting in the corner, looking guilty while licking her chops. Ah....life with a beagle.

In 2009, we went to Dick and June's place, and it was a wonderful meal, but no canine adventures. For 2010, the venue would shift to our new home, but we were all sad that Millie had been taken by cancer and would not be around to entertain us.

This year, Sophie came with Dick & June, since it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a dog present. Sophie is an apricot poodle, and VERY spoiled. Sophie however likes me, and very few others than her mom and dad (June and Dick). We also invited my son, who recently had moved to Florida, and Robert DeSero Jr., the facilities manager at our old condo association. That rounded out the preferred seating of six, and it also decimated the turkey. We were a little worried that having run out of turkey, we'd have to prepare poodle as a fallback, but Sophie was spared at the last minute when she reminded us that French fries go with burgers, not turkey.