Tacky Christmas

I've lost count of exactly how many Tacky Sweater Parties we've had.  Probably at least 5 by now.  I'd like to think that Stuart and I are famous for them, but I don't know if that's exactly the case.  Regardless, we're usually able to convince lots of folks to come due to the lore of the deep fryer and all kinds of delicious things getting dunked in there.  Add a Dirty Santa gift swap and a prize for best dressed, and there's not many more better ways to throw a party!

Turns out Reese's are not fryer compatible. They just dissolve.

Winston got a lot of love while wearing his tacky sweater.

Deep in discussion of frying strategy

These Northern boys discovered Rotel dip!

Dr and Mrs Love in their finest Christmas attire.

Exhausted from all the fun

Dr Churchill won best dressed!  I think those earrings made the outfit

Quite the gift - Spam!  Upon opening everyone exclaimed "lets fry it"!

Watching Dirty Santa

Dr Le received a "cowboy-scented" candle and some glue sticks; exactly what he wanted!

A green Buddha head to match the big white one given at the last tacky party.  Now both proudly displayed in the resident library at UVA.

Jess got a hand-written poem from Rich

And the prize for best dressed?!  Hot guys and baby animals calendar!

It wasn't long after the gift swap that the Spam made its way over to the fryer.

Pondering the fried Spam.  The consensus was that it tasted like bacon, but soggier

Rich's poem

Third years!

Prashant and Winston

Family photo

Friendsgiving!

I can't believe we had the third annual Saulters Friendsgiving just a couple of weeks ago!  Fortunately Stuart was able to come to this one!  I had the day off after an exciting 28-hour call day in the MICU.  Stuart and I started early by preparing 2 turkeys to roast, and then he got worn out and took a nap while I made homemade cranberry sauce and lots (and lots) of cornbread.  I tried my hand at a pumpkin pie but did something wrong and it turned out more like pumpkin pudding.  Oh well!

Mardi was interested in the poultry activities.  No worries, we cleaned the counter afterwards.

I gave Stu the experience of stuffing butter and herbs under the skin.

Whew!  Making turkey is hard work!

The party started at 7:30.  We had about 30 friends come over, each bringing sides and/or dessert!  I was originally afraid we wouldn't have enough food but boy was I wrong!  I had about a gallon of mashed potatoes left over in my fridge!  I think everyone had a good time.  If you can't be with family for Thanksgiving at least you can be with great friends!

Ted had the turkey carving honors - he did a great job!

Friendsgiving is always cozy in a small apartment

ohhhh yeah ... dessert table!

Winston got a new bow tie for the occasion

Andre stayed up past his bedtime to come eat with us!

A strong intern showing

(part of) the third year class 

Crabtree Falls

Stuart and I have come up with a small "Charlottesville Bucket List" of things to do before I graduate at the end of June (... how did time go by so fast?)

There's a hiking section of the list with two famous C-ville area hikes we haven't done.  A few weeks ago we decided to mark off Crabtree Falls.  These are the tallest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River, and you get a good view of them for most of the hike.  It was about 4 miles if I remember correctly, which isn't too bad, but the first half is mostly switchbacks up the mountain.  A good work-out!

Unfortunately most of the fall leaves had already fallen since we were at a bit higher elevation; but the views were still beautiful!  Here are some photos ...

Winston tried to play in the water some

Unfortunately it was like an act of Congress trying to get him to go up these open stairs.  He usually defaulted to just going in the leaves and then would slip and slide and fall down the hill.  Stuart carried him most of the staircases.

Winston blazing a trail

Next hike on the bucket list: Old Rag!