A Harder Thanksgiving

Worry not; Thanksgiving this year was Harder in name only.

A lot of Harders got together here in Mountain Lake. Everyone (with the exception of my brother David and family) from my dad's parents on down: five siblings and three of their spouses, five grandkids and four of their partners, and seven great-grandchildren.

This year we held the gathering the day after Thanksgiving in our church basement, and it worked very well - lots of room to cook, eat and visit, plus the kids could spread out over the course of the day.

The turkey and stuffing was catered, but Aunt Lois (at right) spearheaded the rest of the magnificent cooking, with contributions from the rest. Very, very tasty.

 Cousins.

Afterwards my brother Willmar's family and we went skating on Mountain Lake.

After shoveling quite a bit of snow, Ramont showed 'em all how it's done on skates.

Anna also skated for the first time, and did nottttt want to get off the ice. She was really quite a balance queen.

Again, Ramont was the star.

Here we are at my folks' place, enjoying the traditional American Thanksgiving meal of kjeltje, schmont fat met tsiple, Mountain Lake sausage, and the trimmings...with cherry moos for dessert, naturally.

For Saturday Aunt Lois had organized the first every Harder Turkey Trot to raise money for our town food shelf. It was a perfect winter day to walk a few miles through snow,

with relatives,

beside the lake,

with these two enthusiasts in tow.

After one last hurrah on the lake, we said our good-byes and hurried home to our normally recluse lives.

It was truly an enjoyable holiday!