Thanksgiving highlights

We had a great Thanksgiving meal and visit with the family.  Spouse made his famous dressing (with Granny Smith apples, Craisins, pecans, celery and onion) which was off the chain delicious.  We've somehow lost the origin of this much-loved recipe.  I believe I suggested the ingredients to Spouse for our 1st Thanksgiving together, but he says he'd been making this dressing before he met me.  I don't think either of us would bet our paychecks on it, but our ongoing claims make for a funny conversation every year.

Corn casserole in the oven

This year he also made a cannoli cheesecake which was also very good.  I made corn casserole which is also a family favorite.  I've taken it to work for our office Thanksgiving meal several times and everyone loves it so I'm not allowed to bring anything else.

When we arrived at Spouse's sister's house she explained that we'd be having an unexpected visitor for Thanksgiving this year; the cashier from CVS.  Spouse's sister frequents this store because its close to her home so she's familiar with many of the employees.  As she was checking out she'd engaged in a little casual small talk and asked the young woman if she was having Thanksgiving with family or friends.  She explained that her family is from Bangladesh and her parents have not adopted American holidays like Thanksgiving.  She further shared that her older sister (a physician) had a baby recently so their parents were fully consumed with their 1st grandchild.  She said she'd just go home when her shift ended at 6:00.  She's in college but her roommates were all away, spending Thanksgiving with their families.

Spouse's sister suggested that she stop over after her shift and pick up a plate to go, since we would have already finished our meal by 6pm.  The young woman was very appreciative and they exchanged phone numbers.  A few hours later the young woman called to say there'd been a schedule mix-up and her shift was ending at 2pm, not 6pm, and asked if she could come over then.  So, the invitation for a plate to go turned into another seat at the table!  

My plate

But it worked out fine.  The young woman was very nice.  She loved all of the food, but needed explanations as to the ingredients since she'd never eaten some of these dishes/combinations.  

I could see the wheels turning in her head as she struggled to figure out how these diverse people were related, so Spouse's sister introduced us all and explained the connections.  "This is my brother and this is his husband Mark, and this is Mark's aunt Mary, and this is my daughter Anna and this is her husband Randy and their daughter Gabby..."  Anna is white/Italian, Randy is African American, and their daughter is biracial.  Honestly I felt a little proud of our diverse family and everyone's willingness to have a stranger join us for Thanksgiving dinner.  

Later, after we'd all had desert and were relaxing and talking, our nephew Eric was talked into playing his guitar and singing.  Baby Gabby quickly joined in by blowing on a recorder, creating a clash of chords and chaos.  It was a very nice day!

We left on Fri around noon and got home about 2:30.  I put away the pots/pans we'd taken with us, ran the dishwasher, and then began decorating for Christmas.  First the wreaths were placed on the doors, then I removed all the photos from the mantel and put up the candles, garland, dried flowers and fruit.

Later that evening Spouse & I joined Steven & Thad for carol singing and the lighting of the Rehoboth Beach Christmas tree.  

Thad opted not to be in the selfie

It was really cold that night but the turn-out was big and we had fun.  Despite having lived here for nearly 12 years and having visited here prior, we'd never attended this tree lighting and carol singing event.  Then we had dinner at a nearby spot. 

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving in America, a day where people try to be mindful and thankful for all they have, including a big turkey dinner.

For many people, Thanksgiving is a time for family members to come together.  More people travel for Thanksgiving than for Christmas.  But not everyone can spend Thanksgiving with their family.  Some are rejected by their family for being GLBTQ.  Some are not welcome in their family homes due to old family drama or arguments.  Some do not live close to their family and can't travel to be with them.  For all of these, Thanksgiving can be a lonely day.  

One year Spouse & I were aware that several of our friends had no plans for Thanksgiving so we asked them to join us and our family.  We ended up with 23 people for a sit-down meal.  We were a little concerned if we'd have enough food, but everyone brought something to add to what we'd prepared and we all had plenty to eat and a really great day together.

Others have adopted a Thanksgiving tradition called Friendsgiving where they intentionally seek out friends who have no plans and/or no family with which to spend Thanksgiving.  In this way they create a 'chosen family' with whom to spend the holiday.

Whatever your Thanksgiving plans, I wish you a day of thankfulness, gratitude, friendship, love, and delicious food.

Don't rush the holidays

I'm a firm believer in not rushing the holidays.  I do not want to see (and will not buy) Christmas decorations in stores in Sept.  Even more specifically, I don't put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving.  The day after Thanksgiving?  Fair game.

But yesterday I made a small exception... we put up our outdoor Christmas lights. 

It was sunny and in the low 50s so the weather was perfect for it.  Plus, the weekend after Thanksgiving I am scheduled to work both Sat & Sun.  Regardless of whether it rains or is cold in the coming days, we've already got our lights up and ready.  But we vowed NOT to turn them on until after Thanksgiving.

We will spend Thanksgiving and some of Fri in VA with our family, as usual.  When we get back home Fri afternoon or evening, I'll probably put the wreaths on the doors and start putting out our interior decorations.  Then (hopefully) on Sun after work I'll put up the Christmas tree and string the lights on it.  The following Sun we're having our annual Christmas tree trimming party where our friends help us hang all the ornaments, and in exchange we provide food and drinks.  Its always a good time and one of my favorite holidays traditions.

Holiday weekend recap

Before leaving for Thanksgiving with the family, we HAD to bathe the dogs.  When Chihuahuas need
a bath they start to smell a little like Fritos.  Marvin & Walter smelled a lot like Fritos since we'd procrastinated bathing them.  But we certainly weren't going to bring 2 Frito-smelling dogs with us to become the laughing stock of the holiday.  Marvin & Walter used to hate getting baths and would try multiple times to climb out of the laundry sink.  They've gotten much better, and while they still don't like it, they don't try to "escape" as Spouse calls it.  I like to take photos of their baths because I find them cute, for some reason.

Spouse made his famous stuffing (with granny smith apples, dried cranberries, and pecans) which made our house smell wonderful.  Then on Thurs morning we packed up the boys, the stuffing, and some odds and ends and drove to Spouse's sister's house in Northern VA.  The traffic was light and we made great time.  Our 2 nephews were both home from college and our niece was there with her boyfriend, their 2-year old Gabby, and their new dog Bingo.  Marvin & Walter got along well with Bingo and they played a lot.  Marvin & Walter were absolutely exhausted that night, literally falling asleep sitting up.

Anna, Bingo, Gabby, Randy

After we'd gotten settled and had a little snack, I picked up my aunt Mary to join the gang, and shortly thereafter Spouse's brother and his wife came over.  We had a delicious dinner of roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, regular cranberry sauce, jalapeno cranberry sauce, sweet potato shuffle, peas, corn, green bean casserole, biscuits, and corn bread.  Later for dessert we had pumpkin pie, chocolate cheesecake, hummingbird cake, assorted chocolates, and peanut butter fudge. It was a wonderful feast!

When we lived in VA, Spouse & I used to host Thanksgiving and we used a large, oval platter with a gaudy turkey design on it from the 1970s which we'd gotten from his mother.  This platter is what the turkey would be placed on just prior to carving.  Since this is our family's 1st Thanksgiving without his mom, and since we no longer host, I decided to bequeath the gaudy turkey platter to Spouse's sister this year.  It made me feel comforted that although Spouse's mom wasn't with us, her spirit was with us in the form of her old turkey platter.

Fri morning we ate Thanksgiving leftovers for breakfast, including the desserts.  Then Spouse & I met up with our friends Shaun & Jeff for lunch.

Shaun & Jeff

We met them in Feb of 2016 on our cruise to the Caribbean.  We learned that they lived near where we'd lived and where our family still is, and we connected on Facebook after the cruise. We had lunch with them while we were in town.  They're super nice guys and we had a fun time.  Later that afternoon we headed home to DE.  I had to work on Sat and perform Sat night.

Work went well, and after a light dinner, I performed as Elton John in the Holiday Legends show.  All of the Legends characters perform a holiday song they were known for and a non-holiday song they were known for, so as Elton John I performed "Candle In The Wind" and "Step Into Christmas".  It was fun; I love holiday music.

I also had to work on Sun, which is unusual, but several of my colleagues had requested the day off so I was assigned to cover the office on my usual day off.  It was very slow so I got caught up on several work and non-work things.

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, whether spent with your biological family or your logical family of choice.

Happy Thanksgiving

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  -Melody Beattie

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/melody_beattie_177949?src=t_thankful

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/melody_beattie_177949?src=t_thankful

Thanksgiving plans

Tomorrow morning Spouse & I will pack up Marvin & Walter and drive to his sister's house for Thanksgiving.  Spouse is making his famous stuffing tonight and my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  

My office is closed on Fri (for the 1st time) so we won't have to rush back after dinner on Thurs.  We'll stay overnight and head back on Fri at some point.  

Its supposed to be chilly (in the 40s) tomorrow so it will actually feel like Thanksgiving.  Sometimes its 60 or 70 degrees on Thanksgiving day which makes the whole event feel out of place.  We're looking forward to some nice family time and some great food and a reminder to be thankful for all we have.

Thanksgiving weekend recap

Overall it was a very nice holiday weekend.

Spouse & I took the dogs with us Thurs morning and drove to Spouse's sister's house, arriving just before noon.  Both of our nephews were home from college so we were happy to spend some time with them.  Shortly thereafter the boys went to pick up their grandmother and I went to pick up my aunt Mary.  Eventually our niece showed up with her daughter and boyfriend so we could eat.  We had a beautiful and delicious turkey, dressing, sweet potato shuffle, corn casserole, macaroni & cheese, peas, corn, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, biscuits, and roasted brussel sprouts & butternut squash.  For dessert we had pumpkin pie, brownies, apple cake, hummingbird cake (my all-time favorite) and assorted chocolates.  Everything was tasty and we all ate too much.  We had lots of fun talking, laughing, and catching up on everyone's lives.

Spouse's sister and her granddaughter Gabby

Me and my aunt Mary, making silly faces

Spouse's mom with her great granddaughter

Our brother-in-law Eric (armed and dangerous) and our nephew Eric

Our nephew David fighting off a food coma

Our niece's boyfriend Randy

We stayed overnight there and had a leisurely breakfast while talking about Christmas plans.  We left at 12:30 and arrived back home about 3:00.  Spouse took a nap while I watched a little TV, then we met up with Steven & Thad for dinner.

Sat I went to work until 1:00, then headed to the memorial service for our friend Karen.  (This is the 3rd memorial service I've attended within the last 3 months.)  I met Karen in VA at the church we used to attend.  She & Marty joined just as we were about to move away.  I later discovered that they moved to the same town here in DE and that we were neighbors.  The service took place on the beach, which sounds lovely on paper.  In reality though, it was very windy and about 50 degrees so everyone was freezing by the time it ended 30 minutes later.  Then there was a nice reception at a local venue.  It was really nice to see so many friends from the church come to the memorial service, and I enjoyed chatting with many I hadn't see in several years.  Among those friends who'd come from the church were our good friends Ron & James.  We'd arranged in advance to have dinner with them after the service and for them to stay overnight at our home.  This gave us a great opportunity to visit and catch up with them.

Sun morning the 4 of us had breakfast and Ron & James headed back to VA.  Spouse & I relaxed for a little while, then got the Christmas tree assembled, lit, and strung with the silver beads.  

The ornaments will be added next Sun during our tree trimming party.  I also put up the wreaths on the exterior doors.  

Throughout this coming week after work we'll continue with the interior decorations.  Hopefully we'll have it done before the weekend since we'll need time on Sat & Sun to make the food we'll be serving at the tree trimming party.  We ended the evening by having an easy dinner out with Steven & Thad and then watching 2 episodes of WestWorld.  Anyone else watching that show?  I love it!

Thanksgiving

This morning Spouse & I took the dogs with us and drove to Spouse's sister's house for Thanksgiving.  I'm looking forward to not just a terrific meal, but 2 days off work and some relaxation time with the family.  We'll head home sometime on Fri, when we're ready.

I hope all you readers take a moment to stop and be thankful of the goodness in your lives, and plan to bring goodness into the lives of others, however and whenever you can.

Holiday recap

Thanksgiving and Fri went pretty well.  There was minimal family drama, and mostly just a lot of good food and thankfulness.  We were thankful that Spouse's brother who has terminal cancer was well enough to be there.  We were thankful that our niece and her 11-day old daughter were able to be there.  We were thankful that our nephew who is a college sophomore was able to be there.  We were thankful my aunt who had knee replacement surgery was able to be there.  We had a lot of food, a lot of laughs, and a lot of reasons to be thankful.

Great Uncle Mark and Gabriella

On Fri Spouse & I had a leisurely breakfast with his mom, and then headed over to Trader Joe's to stock up on some tasty goodies for our upcoming tree trimming party as well as some stuff for our regular eating.  Afterward we took Spouse's mom with us to his sister's house where we ate Thanksgiving left-overs for lunch.  Shortly thereafter we packed up our stuff, grabbed Marvin & Walter, and headed home to DE.  We had dinner with our buddies Steven & Thad.

Sat I worked, we had dinner with Steven & Thad, and then I performed in the 1st Christmas Legends show.  It went very well and I enjoyed meeting and talking some of the audience after the show and posing for photos.

Sun Spouse & I had breakfast at Crystal with Steven & Thad and then came home and put up our Christmas tree.  We had discussed whether or not to switch over to LED lights and decided to continue using our existing lights since they all still worked just fine.  That must have jinxed us, since the 1st string of lights we plugged in only lit up about 2/3 of the way.  So we hopped in the car and purchased all new LED lights (on sale for 1/2 price at KMart) and proceeded to light the tree.  However, the last string of new LED lights was faulty and wouldn't fully light, so we returned it and got another string to replace it.  Needless to say the lighting of the tree took much longer than anticipated.  

After dinner (again with Steven & Thad) I sorted through the Christmas stuff, unwrapping the home decorations and saving the tree ornaments for next Sunday's tree trimming party.

It was probably 1 of the most relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgivings I can remember.

Happy Thanksgiving

Spouse & I left this morning for VA to have Thanksgiving dinner with our family at Spouse's sister's home.  We used to host Thanksgiving at our home for the first 18 years we were together.  But with our nephew wanting to see his friends over his break from college and our niece who had a baby less than 2 weeks ago, we have resigned ourselves to no longer hosting Thanksgiving in order to accommodate our family.  Things can't always stay the way we like them so this is our new reality.  We will certainly have a great time together, eating a delicious meal and spending time together.  We'll stay overnight at Spouse's mom's house tonight, make a trip to Trader Joe's tomorrow, and then head home sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Whether you spend Thanksgiving with your family, your spouse's family, with your 'chosen family', or quietly at home, I hope you reserve some time to be mindful of the many things for which you are thankful.

Giving

As a child my parents taught me that there was more happiness in giving than in receiving.  That's probably in the Bible somewhere.  Since I grew up in a very modest household it was probably very convenient for my parents to tell me that, as I remember wanting a lot but not getting a lot because we 'couldn't afford it'. 

But as I matured I definitely understood that what you 'get' from giving to others is happiness and joy.  When you give to others (your time, your money, yourself) you make a difference in someone's life and that makes the recipient happy AND it makes you happy.  Its a win-win situation!

Yesterday Spouse & I did some charity shopping.  My company supplied its employees with a 'wish list' from Ronald McDonald House of DE so we used that to inform our purchases and then dropped them off at my office.  Next we went to the grocery store and purchased shelf-stable foods (canned and dry goods) and dropped those off at a local food bank drop-off location.  It was actually quite enjoyable to do this together, and knowing that these things will have a real impact on people gave us genuine happiness and joy.

Over the years I have volunteered for and raised money for AIDS research and treatment, battered women's shelter, cancer and stroke research, Habitat for Humanity, and local food banks.  I say this not to 'toot my own horn', but rather to show examples of how anyone can make a difference in other peoples' lives and receive a feeling of happiness at the same time. 

Literally anyone can participate in 1 or more ways:

• Give of yourself - volunteer in person at a soup kitchen, food bank pantry, Habitat for Humanity build site, hospice, SPCA, or meal delivery service
• Encourage others - host a fundraiser and invite your friends, neighbors, and colleagues to donate and/or volunteer, or get them to pledge for you to run a 5K race
• Support local drives - pick up non-perishable food items, household items, or toys and drop them off at Thanksgiving or Christmas drop-off point
• Give money - send checks to worthy charities 

When giving financial donations be sure to research how much of your dollars actually goes to the cause and how much goes to executive salaries and administrative costs.  Check this site to know which charities are highly-rated and have lower paid CEOs and which charities have highly-paid CEOs but are low rate charities.  Sadly there are some charities and scams you'll probably want to avoid.  Local giving can be often be more effective.

Another benefit of in-person volunteering is that you will likely meet other like-minded people.  This has certainly been the case for me.  I've met lots of sincere and fun friends while volunteering.

I encourage everyone to commit to giving, not just at the holidays, but all year 'round.  You'll be amazed at how good it feels to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

Happy Thanksgiving

Here's wishing all of you a happy, drama-free, and delicious Thanksgiving.

Resolution

Last night Spouse spoke with his sister Mary again.  As it turns out, she had not effectively communicated some important details last week regarding the flea issue at Spouse's mom's house.

From last week's conversation we understood the flea problem to be very recent, but upon further conversation it appears the initial infestation occurred a month ago.  

Kind of an important piece of information to omit!!  The house and yard were treated back then, and again 2 weeks later as a precaution.  No fleas have been observed since then.

So all of the talking, investigating of alternatives, and negotiating with Spouse I went through for the last several days was all for nothing!

Spouse is making the stuffing and I'm making corn casserole tonight, then we'll head out tomorrow morning with Marvin & Walter, arriving at Spouse's mom's house before noon.  I'll pick up my aunt Mary at 1:30 and we are scheduled to have Thanksgiving dinner at Mary & Eric's house at 2:00.  We'll likely leave the boys at Spouse's mom's house while we eat since that will be their usual nap time.  After dinner we'll probably bring the boys to Mary's house so the family can meet Walter.

We'll stay overnight at Spouse's mom's house as usual, and probably head home around noon or possibly after lunch on Fri.  I'm sure we'll have a nice time but I am also sure it will not be without drama.

Pre-Thanksgiving drama

We're still a week from Thanksgiving but the drama has already begun.

Ever since Spouse & I got together in 1996, the holidays have always been set:  Louis & Karen host Easter, Spouse & I host Thanksgiving, and Mary & Eric host Christmas.  Even when we moved to DE we made it clear that we would continue to host "our" holiday Thanksgiving, which we have... until this year.

Mary & Eric's oldest son David went away to college in northwestern PA back in Aug and has not been home since then.  He will be coming home for Thanksgiving and said he didn't want to go to DE because then he wouldn't be able to see his girlfriend and buddies during his school break.  So Mary asked if she could host Thanksgiving this year.  Spouse & I were initially a little disappointed that we were 'losing' our holiday, but then I looked on the bright side and thought about NOT having to prepare for 8 house guests, NOT having to wash countless pots and pans, and NOT having to wash multiple loads of sheets and towels after everyone left.  It was going to be OK.

Then came the call from Mary last night, informing us that Spouse's mom's house (where we always stay when we visit the family) was infested with fleas.  I immediately began to scratch at the imaginary fleas on my head.  Seriously, I am totally creeped out by the notion of fleas.  Then I feared for the safety of our dogs who always travel with us to Spouse's mom's house.

Rather than totally freak out and refuse to go at all (which would have been completely warranted in my opinion), I came up with a 2 workable alternatives:

• Drive down to Mary's house with our dogs, have Thanksgiving dinner, spend the entire day/evening there, and then drive home late that night
• Spend the day at Mary's, stay in a pet-friendly hotel overnight, visit again on Fri before going home

Unfortunately Spouse was not very receptive to either idea.  We can't stay at Louis & Karen's because Marvin does not get along with their dog.  So Spouse suggested we stay at Mary & Eric's house.  I really didn't want to do this because Mary is dog-sitting her neighbor's dog and we have no idea if our dogs will get along with that dog.  Plus, our dogs are used to sleeping a lot during the day while we're at work.  Staying at Mary's house would mean there will not be any 'quiet time' for the dogs to nap.  Spouse said we'd put them in their crates in a bedroom and they'd be fine, but I'm afraid there would be too much commotion for them to fall asleep and they'd feel like they were being punished, being kept away from everyone.

So we have decided NOT to make a decision yet, and see how things develop.  

Please pray to whatever Deity you believe in or ask the Universe to send me peace and serenity.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone is having a nice Thanksgiving.  And just in case you aren't, click on the video above.  (Make sure your sound isn't muted.)

Family arrival

As usual, we are hosting Thanksgiving at our house again this year.  We are expecting Spouse's sister and her husband and their 3 kids (ages 15, 17, and 21) late tonight.  Then on Thurs we are expecting Spouse's mom, brother and sister-in-law.  So that means 5 people tonight and Wed night, and 8 people Thurs night, plus Spouse & me.  Thank goodness we have 4 full bathrooms and a powder room!

Oddly Spouse did not take off work tomorrow.  I think he was concerned there would be no one in his office/dept if he took off too.  I am also working tomorrow.  So I'm not sure what his family will do tomorrow with both of us at work.  They've been here plenty of times so they know how to get to the grocery store and outlet malls, but its supposed to rain and be quite rainy so I'm not sure that will be an appealing idea.

Now that the "kids" are older I actually enjoy having them visit even more.  All 3 of them are very smart, keep up with current events, and have a good sense of humor so we are sure to have a good time, as we always do.

Spouse and his sister will do the majority of the cooking (turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mac-n-cheese) and I will make my usual sweet potato shuffle and corn casserole.  Spouse's sister-in-law will bring the pies on Thurs.

Here's hoping that your Thanksgiving and holiday travel go smoothly and are enjoyable for you.

Thanksgiving mini-drama

We'd heard from Spouse's sister that his 2 brothers who are 'flakes' were bringing Spouse's mom with them and had planned to leave DC Wed at 3pm.  This means they should arrive by 6pm so we waited for them to eat dinner.  

At 7pm they still had not arrived so Spouse called his sister to get a cell phone number for 1 of the flakes, knowing his mom would not have her cell turned on.  His sister didn't have a cell number for either of them, and neither of them had ever called us to tell us when they would arrive, nor did they ask for directions, so we had no idea where they were, when they'd actually left, or when they'd arrive.  Unfortunately this is typical behavior for these two.  They are so dysfunctional and self-consumed they have little to no regard for others.  

Since Spouse & I expected them around dinne time we'd postponed eating, thinking we'd eat with them when they arrived with his mom.  But by 8pm they still hadn't arrived and we'd heard nothing from them, so Spouse & I left to get a quick bite to eat and pick up a few last minute items from the grocery store.  We later learned that they arrived at our house just minutes after we'd left, finding the house locked.  They went to a bar/restaurant and had a bite to eat while we were doing the same thing somewhere else.  As they came in the door they asked where they could smoke so Spouse told them either out front (in the yard) or out back on the screened porch.  One of the flakes said he'd use the empty beer can in his hand as an ashtray.  How charming!

Later that night Spouse's sister and her 3 kids (ages 15,  17, and 20) arrived.

Thanksgiving day went rather smoothly, with everyone getting along and enjoying a delicious dinner.  That evening the 2 flakes were preparing to leave, as both of them had to work on Fri and were not staying overnight again.  We sent them on their way with a silent sigh of relief.  A little later our stomachs finally had enough room for dessert so I went out onto the rear screened porch to get the pumpkin pies off the porch table.

That's when I discovered that the flakes had dropped their cigarette butts on the porch floor!

I was stunned at their inconsideration.  I just couldn't believe that 2 people could show such disregard for someone's property to throw dozens of cigarette butts on the floor.  How did they think these would get cleaned up?  The truth is they didn't care.

When I came back inside I told the others what the flakes had done.  Although everyone thought it was absolutely terrible, in reality no one was truly surprised by their selfish, inconsiderate behavior.  They've all become used to it.  Had the flakes still been present when I discovered the butts, I would have handed them a broom and dustpan.

Black Friday

Many retailers opened on Thanksgiving night to lure in even more Black Friday shoppers.  I am NOT one of them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Family arrival

Mon I cleaned the house and made sure there were clean sheets on the beds and clean towels in the bathrooms.

Last evening Spouse & I bought all our Thanksgiving ingredients at the grocery store.

After work today he'll prepare and cook the turkeys which when done he'll allow to come up to room temperature and will then sit in the fridge overnight.  Then tomorrow he'll put them in the Nesco roaster oven on a very low temperature and bring them back to hot for dinner.  This allows us to have the oven free all day on Thurs for baking the dressing, sweet potatoes, casseroles, and biscuits.

Tonight the family arrives.  Unfortunately Spouse's brother-in-law Eric is away on business travel so he won't be here, but Spouse's sister Mary and her 3 teenagers and Spouse's mom will definitely arrive tonight.  

There is also a possibility that 2 of Spouse's brothers might show up tonight, but we don't really know for sure.  I find this uncertainty to be very frustrating and kind of rude.  Having 2 extra people (who don't share a bed) stay overnight will change the sleeping arrangements for the others who managed to confirm that they'd be staying with us.  But these 2 brothers are flakes so this behavior is, unfortunately, par for the course. The 2 flakes have to work on Fri so (if they come at all) they will leave Thurs night after dinner.  Spouse's sister, the kids, and his mom will stay with us until Sat. 

But we will not let this possibility of family drama diminish our enjoyment of some family time together and of course a delicious meal!  Here's what we're having:

• Spouse's famous citrus herb roasted turkey
• dressing with granny smith apples, pecans, and cranberries
• mashed potatoes and homemade gravy
• green bean casserole
• macaroni and cheese
• corn casserole
• sweet potato shuffle
• pineapple dressing (side dish)
• biscuits
• homemade cranberry sauce

Here's hoping that that there's no family drama in YOUR Thanksgiving.