December 8-11, 2023: Ron and Karl's Birthdays in San Antonio
	November 4, 2023: The Sorollo Exhibit at the Meadows Museum
	Return to the Index for 2023

Well, another Thanksgiving has rolled around, and, as we've done for the last couple of years (what with many of our friends having left Dallas), we are going to spend Thanksgiving in San Antonio with Prudence and Ron, Nancy and Karl, and Guy. We drove down on the 20th, spent four days at Ruckman Haus, and then returned home.

Getting to the Ruckman's House in San Antonio

You have probably seen an album page where we visit San Antonio, but in case you haven't, I want to show you the route to San Antonio from Dallas and where Prudence and Ron and Guy are located.

On the left-hand map below, you can see the normal route from Dallas down to San Antonio. Not much explanation is necessary; sometimes we take the bypass around Austin, but most times we don't, and the trip to the San Pedro exit in San Antonio is usually four hours plus.

We head north on San Pedro Avenue a couple of miles and then either hang a left on Ashby and a right on Breeden or just a left on French to get to the Ruckmans' house on the northeast corner of Breeden and French.

In case you have not seen them, I have put below first an aerial view of the Ruckmans' house (it is the house on the corner and the garage/apartment building north of it where Guy lives) and a front view of the house (taken in 2010).

Thanksgiving at Ruckman Haus

This is perhaps the fourth year that we have done Thanksgiving here at Prudence and Ron's house, and it is always a pleasant, group activity, as everyone contributes.

Our Thanksgiving Group

For my part, it seems as if everyone is enamored of the stuffing I make and the gravy I concoct, and they also like the pumpkin pies that Fred makes, so these (along with my sister's Classic Green Bean Casserole) are the contributions that Fred and I make.

I have to do the stuffing differently, though. Since Karl cooks the turkey at his house and brings it over to Prudence's, I have no opportunity to actually stuff the turkey. So I guess what I make is actually called "dressing", as it is cooked outside the turkey. I have to do the gravy differently as well, as Karl brings the giblets I don't have an opportunity to prepare them for the gravy, and since the turkey is cooking someplace else, I don't have the juices that I normally would to be the liquid for the gravy. But these are not insurmountable problems, so the dressing and gravy turn out pretty much as they do at my house.

The other change is to the green bean casserole; Ron (and everyone, I imagine) likes the french fried onions enough to want to double (or triple) the amount the recipe calls for.

Ron makes a salad, and Prudence makes some of the best mashed potatoes you've ever tasted, and Nancy brings a vegetable dish or two, so we have quite a spread, which gets laid on on the dining room table where Karl carves his turkey. Then the dinner is buffet-style and we eat in the sunroom.

In that beautiful glass room, Prudence can use her big table and a smaller one easily accmmodate over a dozen people, as she did this year. Sometimes I wish I had the space at my house to do the same thing.

As for the guests this Thanksgiving, some were familiar faces while others were new. But all of them were friends, as everyone should be on Thanksgiving. Fred and I tried to get everyone in at least one picture, and I think we succeeded. Here are the the best of our Thanksgiving pictures this year:

As it turned out, this year my birthday fell on Thanksgiving, so one of the dishes on the table was a cake that Fred got for me, complete with candles and a gift shirt.

The shirt Fred got me is at left, and you can see the cake and me below:

Thankgiving at the Ruckmans was as enjoyable as ever.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	December 8-11, 2023: Ron and Karl's Birthdays in San Antonio
	November 4, 2023: The Sorollo Exhibit at the Meadows Museum
	Return to the Index for 2023