Welcome, one and all to the Whiner's Version of the Thanksgiving Feast! We, the moderators (mostly other people, since I tend to read emails way after the fact...) have decided that this week's Whiner's Ball be deemed a Multi-Host, Week-Long Extravaganza! Much in the tradition of my family Thanksgivings, this way, the work is divided, and no one person is stuck doing all of the onerous (though fulfilling!) work alone.
By the way, I'm bringing Praline Sweet Potato Casserole; dinner rolls; Penne Pasta with garlic breadcrumbs, Olive Oil, and Almonds; and a Chocolate Raspberry Torte to the festivities. And that's just *my* contributions! My mother, who is hosting our family's get-together this year, plans to also make: a standing rib roast, a "small" turkey (small to my mother means anything you *don't* need a forklift to move), sausage stuffing, broccoli with cheese sauce, mashed potatoes, squash casserole, fried corn, and macaroni and cheese. And, I'm quite sure that there will be more. Can we go ahead and loosen our belts in anticipation now? I'll have a bottle of Pepto-Bismol with a bucket chaser as my beverage, please!
But, seriously -- in the spirit of the season, I say to you all: May all your whines be small, pixies. May the joys in your lives far outstrip your sorrows. May you be fortunate enough to hold your loved ones close, and to tell them what they mean to you. May the blessings, both great and small, flow for you and your families, and may you know how truly loved each and every one of you are. Give thanks, pixies, that we have this wonderful community here who provide support and laughter in times of overwhelming stress and sorrow. Be glad of the friends we have made, and who gather around our virtual table to share in the gifts that we bring to each other. I wish you peace and happiness, from our table to yours.
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45 comments:
Hear, hear. (Slurp!)
KLee, I have to ask, what is fried corn? I've heard of fried Mars Bars (though I haven't tried one YET), but never fried corn.
yummers! happy thanksgiving to all the pixies!
i'm cooking the whole shebang. antiwhine: daughter will be home from college for the long weekend, MIL will visit for a couple of days, son and his girlfriend will be over for the feast!
whine: my MIL is a domestic goddess. my personal ranking with the good housekeeping people is "terminally inadequate," so i've spent several days washing everything in sight. my husband usually helps prepare for company by changing the oil in his car, but this time he decided to pull ivy off the house. the ivy decided to take varying layers of paint with it, so that particular part of the exterior now looks like it has leprosy. oh, well.
Madeline -- fried corn is (at least in our household)is when you take a package of this:
http://www.pictsweet.com/chub.shtml
and fry it up in a cast-iron skillet with a few slices of bacon, some cream, a bit of butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Yum! Not good for your cholesterol, but SO FREAKING GOOD going down!
If you can't find the "sausage" tube (which greatly cuts down the preparation time) you can cut it fresh off the ear, and do the same, but with more butter and cream.
Aren't you glad you asked? :)
That sounds delish!!!
I'm going up to my mom's for the holiday. By popular demand, I'm cooking one of the turkeys this year and making the mushroom gravy I made last year!
Also by popular demand, some of the changes we instituted last year when it was at our house will continue - games in the daytime instead of after dinner. A pathway to the bathroom from both sides of the table. Stuff like that.
I finished buying Hanukkah presents for the kids today. We celebrate it on Friday since we're not all together for the actual holiday.
liz...ONE of the turkeys???
I am making the turkey, by tradition (at least until the sqvirrel makes good on his threat? to deep try a turkey). I will collaborate with my mother on the sweet potatoes. The sqvirrel will make his (yes, totally from scratch, including crusts; and yes, this is why I married the man) unbelievably good pumpkin pie as well as an apple pie. But we will be at my mother's house. Games will be played. The sqvirrel will get too competitive. My brother will compose poetry while playing Balderdash.
Family drama is *already* in the air. My brother, who is a relatively new custody-sharing father, wants to take his son home to take his nap in the middle of the afternoon, which is when my mother would like to serve "dinner." She would like my nephew to take a nap at her house. My brother is worried that his son won't sleep at her house (given evidence of 4th of July when he did not nap while at a cousin's house). He is worried about making his son's wife angry if the two year old is cranky without his nap (I have no idea if she would be angry or not). My brother is the dad. My mother is still a mother. And she thinks her son should do whatever she advises. She calls me. I make the sqvirrel talk to her (another reason I married him) so that I don't have to weigh in on the whole thing. Sigh. (that was a whine)
Sending ALL KINDS of vibes out there to everyone for Thanksgiving. And big thanks to the host(esse)s with the mostest for keeping the whining ball going for all of Thanksgiving week!!!! Excellent idea. I'm grateful you are all here for me to whine to. (that was an anti-whine)
30 people = 2 turkeys.
My mom makes one tandoori style on the grill. The other is roasted. They like my roasted turkey better than my mom's roasted turkey. The tandoori turkey has a lot of fans, too.
30 people = 2 turkeys
If this were true, wouldn't turkeys be running the country? This is why I never understood the new math. Plus they kept changing what "x" was.
Corndog -- you *almost* have it there! Except, I think it's actually horse's asses. and, I could never figure "x" out, either.
And, for those of you that have never tried it, deep-fried turkey (is there ANYTHING we Southerners *won't* fry?!?!) is not-to-be-believed! So good!
Liz, both turkeys sound great!
Turtlebella -- never pass up a man who can cook, right?! Mmmm...pie.
I am in Our Nation's Capitol, with the bf, for which I am grateful.
Imelda arrives in 8 hours. God help us. And I am missing my family, the smell of turkey cooking, and a Thanksgiving that feels like Thanksgiving. For me this has always been a family holiday - I haven't always spent it with my family, but I have ended up crowded at the kid's table in someone's parents'/aunts' living room - so spending it with other detached twenty and thirty somethings who hate turkey and don't believe in tradition is just a little odd.
But, I am thankful for the good things, including all of you. May your Thanksgivings be warm and joyful.
~Redzils
there are all kinds of typos in my comment!!! ack! The funniest one is... "his son's wife" - son in question? he's two. doesn't have a wife. has a mother though, which is what i meant. it all gets very complicated...mothers, sons, non-wives (my bro and his ex were never married)...
some day we will do the deep fry(now all new with an 'f'!) turkey.
30 people for thanskgiving. yikes. i feel faint. ON THE OTHER HAND...that might make it easy to avoid any annoying people? (um, so! negative!, turtlebella!...yeah, my social anxiety levels are creeping up...) and...tandoori turkey sounds really good!
also, corndog my coffee almost hit the laptop screen re: your math.
alrighty now...off to work for moi.
liz -- sounds like quite the feast! good news about the bathroom lanes. [i remember times growing up when we would literally crawl under the table to get out.]
turtlebella -- please forgive me for giggling over the naptime dramas! hope the day itself goes swimmingly.
redzils -- sending along some virtual turkey, assuming mine thaws in time to cook. and a tent for imelda!
Mmmm. Fried corn of my dreams. Substitute turkey bacon (no pork at my house) and I'm all set.
My whine/anti-whine is that I'm not traveling for the holiday. Not celebrating at all, as currently planned. For the first three years after we moved to Canada we jumped through hoops to be at Thanksgiving, but this year a change in my Mom's plans made it easier to say no.
So I'm sad to miss seeing all my cousins, and I'll get a good heap of guilt from my Mom. And I won't get all those yummy foods I never bother to cook for myself. Snuggly Girl is pretty bummed about it, especially since we didn't end up doing anything on Canadian Thanksgiving either.
The anti-whine, of course, is saving big bucks, not spending time in airports on the nuttiest travel weekend of the year, and not pulling Snuggly Girl out of school for most of a week.
Antiwhine: I am over the two-week virulent stomach virus, in time for Thanksgiving.
Antiwhine: we are only driving a couple of hours away, instead of 8 hours as we often do. And very nice family member is hosting.
I am making Roasted Root Vegetables, by popular demand. Yummy and healthy and easy (except for much chopping to get them at the proper size to roast). I'm glad there will be a healthy dish, as I'm back on Weight Watchers as of a few weeks ago and my mom is a newly diagnosed diabetic (who, antiwhine, is doing a terrific job keeping track of everything and adhering to a diet and exercise regime).
Hey, what's with all the anti-whines? Other than a napping toddler and Imelda moving in, we are pretty low on teh family drama so far.
FWIW, 2 year olds who need to nap, need to nap. Your mom is clearly of the "My children never gave me a minute of trouble, la la la, I can't hear you" school of grandparenting.
madeleine: i have house leprosy! and an incoming cleanliness goddess! a turkey that i did not begin to defrost soon enough!
I suppose it is an anti-whine that Thanksgiving is a non-drama in my family. We are having just the regulars--my kid, my parents who live with us. So just like any other supper. Good luck to all navigating family currents.
On the whine front, I have designated Turkey Day as the day when the HPT will mean something. (Day 30). So wish me luck, but I have to say I am gearing up for disappointment. I had my prog. level checked on day 24 and it was 11.5,. which is pretty low for a Clomid cycle. But, I didn't get the ovulation crampy feeling until day 20, so we may have checked too soon.
Who needs family drama when I have internal fertility drama?
My OB's office was too cute with their expression of "hoping" I ovulated. How medical. It feels a bit like I will disappoint them if it fails. I am mostly flirting with infertility, having had two children. But if this were my first attempts, I think I would run screaming away from this office.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Liz, your “turkey math” reminds me of this immortal exchange: Q: “What are you making?” A: “The front ends of horses, to be shipped to Washington.”
Whine: Dancing Girl has been calling daily the past few days & I feel helpless. She’s picked up either strep or a virus—she went to Health Services, but the cultures aren’t back yet. She’s still chilled, achy and miserable and I’m several hundred miles away. Truthfully, I’d be unable to do anything beyond provide nuked chicken noodle soup and sympathy even if she were home, but it’s still hard. I’m feeling annoyed at generations of slacker students who rob those who are genuinely ill of any credibility. She didn’t go to class yesterday or Monday, but she’ll have to drag herself there today, sick or no. Her quiz and presentation can’t be put off any longer. DG, of course, is worried that she won’t perform as well.
Anti-whine—after class she boards a plane to travel to her grandmother’s house. My MIL and I can take turns providing nurturing.
We leave to drive the 9 hours as soon as I finish teaching my 2:00 class. Heartless instructor that I am, I refuse to cancel class.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, pixies.
NUD
Madeline, Kathy A- I have your drama!
We collected Imelda at the airport around 6 pm yesterday, and she bunny hopped her way back to the apartment empty-handed, while the boyfriend and I lugged her three pieces of luggage + shoulder bag. We managed to snag dinner reservations for shortly thereafter and had to change fast. We didn't have time for me to smear on make-up, but apparently we couldn't leave the apartment until she rubbed smoothing gel in my hair - it just looked Too Windblown!!
Over dinner they spatted like an old married couple, and I watched.
She wandered out to the balcony to call her new boyfriend as soon as we got back to the apartment, and the bf and I retreated to bed. That part should have been nice, but we ended up using the time, cuddled in the dark, to rehash the inevitable end of our relationship (approaching fast, since he moves away Dec. 1) and his inability to love me the way I want to be loved.
So, yeah.
Drama!drama!drama! I fell asleep about 2 am and am now at Starbucks down the hill some five and a half hours later. I even paid $10 for internet, because I *had* to tell you all about this.
Whine: After the summer car accident, the insurance people told me not to bother calling the health insurance people. Which was a bad, bad, idea. So now health insurance people are trying to get their money back from the other person's car insurance - who are, in turn, saying that they will take the money out of my pain & suffering settlement. We finally talked to a lawyer last night, who thinks the car insurance people didn't give us enough money in the first place, and have no right to take the health insurance money from us.
Notes to self (and others): (1) Always call the health insurance people. Immediately. (2) Even if the case is simple and fault is 100% on the other person - call a lawyer. Also immediately.
Antiwhine: At least it's not too late to do anything about it.
((( sarah )))
NUD, hope DG is feeling better. being able to administer chicken soup in person should help.
redzils, that so totally sucks.
Happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans at the Whiner's Ball!!!
Fried corn! Fried turkey! (Please don't burn down the garage) Fried everything!! It's a feast allright....
It's only 10:00 am, and I'm hungry from reading all your deelicious posts.
Whine: I am slowly but surely coming to the conclusion that everything I do has an impact on Teh Headache. Yesterday I got a bunch of Christmas shopping done and I was toast by 5:00 pm. I'm still achy all over today, as if I ran a marathon. Damn it. I used to be in good shape - now I have one busy day and I'm done in.
I started the day with a pain level at 6-ish out of 10, which means that by noon, it will getting into unmanageable territory. I have waaaaaay too busy a day for this.
Happy Thanksgiving to all the American pixies!
The Continuing Adoption Process Whine: Our adoption facilitator told Spouse that Judge Who Doesn't Waive Waiting Periods would be presiding over the adoption hearing and possibly adding 3 weeks to the process. And 3 *bonus* weeks of single parenting!
Antiwhine: Kid3 and Spouse are coming home tomorrow! JudgeWDWWP is spouse's third cousin twice removed(or something like that), a close enough relative to waive the waiting period for us, but far enough removed that it's all good and legal. Hooray for adopting from the same small foreign city in which my spouse was born and our shamelessness in using those connections to our advantage.
Can Kid3 be referred to as Kid3 if she is oldest of the lot?
I'll be back later to read all the whines and vote!
A little levity about my current intolerable holiday living situation:
Why do I call the ex-fiancee Imelda?
Well, she called me up yesterday morning to yak and ask about shopping opportunities. I told her I'd bought new shoes, then she asked me to describe them. I said, "Black patent leather heels, peep-toed, with red ankle straps."
And she said, "By SXXX MXXX? I know those shoes!"
People, she identified my new shoes by DESIGNER, over the PHONE!
That last anonymous comment was me...
wtf whine: i got a call last night from one of my son's oldest friends. his girlfriend works at Cinnabon at the mall, and on sunday, her boss hit her across the face! he wanted to know if she should tell the police. [uh, YES.] nobody saw it happen, but the other employees all want to testify for her -- because the manager has hit them, too.
sometimes my heart aches at how young they all are. how vulnerable. i strongly suggested going to the police asap, and complaining to the state agency handling employment matters. and quitting her job immediately, and getting a lawyer. sheesh. what kind of butt-head hits the young people working for him?
jen, hope things work out. what a mess.
((( sue )))
YAY, that mommy! welcome, new kid!
redzils -- you had me with the hair gel. eww. we're gonna have to put you on IV margaritas by tomorrow.
I think this is a good thing?! My boyfriend and I will be having a quiet Thanksgiving together at our apt, just the two of us. So it's at home by ourselves, with all the tasty food we make.
Redzils - I feel a real kinship with you for reasons I can't go into here. Let's just say that (1) I've given extraordinary advice and comfort to a loved one who (2) isn't there when I need support. Actually, I realize I could be talking about Spouse as well.
Kathy A = There was an article about making sure one's teens are safe at crappy jobs in one of the women's mags recently. My sister works a crappy job and I worry about her 17 year old self constantly.
Well, I'm spending Thanksgiving alone. The kids are with their dad this week heading out to the Bronco State to see his other daughter and his parents. They are driving and I worry myself sick about them out on the road. Plus, I worry myself sick that my hard-headed MIL will try to give Zilla corn products since she knows more than my board certified pediatric allergist and we carry EpiPens for fireplacing poops and giggls.
Anti-whine: Zilla is really good at saying "No!" He has inherited his Gramma's pigheadedness and I like to think I have taught him to use it for good.
Whine/Anti-whine?: A very dear friend of mine who dumped me a few years ago wants to be my friend again. Can you be friends with exes? She apologized for dumping me. Sorry to use SO verbiage but I get inordinately close to my friends and it really feels like a "dumping" when they do things like drop off the face of the earth for years on end with no explanation.
Whine: School continues to suck the life out of me. I had to ask for extensions on two projects because of Teh Craziness (severe corn allergy, divorce, and the passing of my beloved grandmother for those keeping score at home).
Anti-whine: My thesis director/mentor loves me and has been wonderful. The other professor is usually pretty cold toward students and even he made a beeline to me to offer support and encouragement.
Well, I have a research proposal, a paper, and a giant econometrics project to devote 12+ hours to in order to get a meh grade on. At least he has promised not to fail me no matter what. Furthermore, I am taking this class as an undergrad so I get some goodwill points for that that I hope to use for all they are worth.
Anti-whine the best - The Detroit Institute of Arts is reopening this weekend. I am going to party there Friday night, by myself if I must! I am so excited by this.
No family drama at my level, but:
We are spending Thanksgiving, as we always do, with my dad and stepmom (at their house), and her family. Their house is not! at! all! babyproof! Which means that I will not relax for the entire 10 hours we are there (antiwhine: we decided NOT to sleep over, for the first time ever), for fear that AM will put his fist through something glass or break something ceramic or eat out of the dog's bowl. I probably whined about the very same 2 years ago when Miss M was around the same age.
Miss M will probably take this opportunity to note that everyone but her immediate family is eating something different (and not nearly as interesting) for Thanksgiving dinner. She has a vague grasp of the idea that what we eat is kosher, but something tells me that when she sees the trief pumpkin pies (which look like sweet potato pies, her actual favorite pie) she will break down in those big fat crocodile tears she seems to enjoy so much.
Also: one of my favorite family members will be missing because (antiwhine--she's 44! healthy baby!) she just had a baby. I have tried calling to offer congratulations and get her sister, who has no flippin' idea who I am. For all I know Sis is not delivering the messages, because said family member is from the Deep South Where Manners Are Everything (come hell or C-section).
On the other side my 90 year old grandmother just passed away on Monday. I should be sad, right? But I am conflicted. She had severe dementia for the last several years, so wasn't the person she was...a drunk who was petty and mean to her family while keeping up appearances to everyone else. At least I am not the only one conflicted--as far as I can tell my mom, my aunt, and my cousins (the remaining family) are all having similar feelings. The memorial service, which I am attending in support of my mom (my stepdad cannot come and my brother is jr year abroading), is taking place at a place/time that is bound to set me up for very very very bad traffic on the way home.
Cripes, sorry, maybe I should use my own blog for the non-drama...
I've just made the cranberry sauce and the cranberry orange relish. Now I'm moving on to the apple and pecan pies. Tonight I'll do the sweet potatos with pineapple and a pumpkin pie. So tomorrow is only going to be herbed turkey and cranberry apple stuffing and I'm done. The home I'm taking the entire meal to is doing the veg.
Anti-whine: I just brought my daughter home today.
Whine: She's already had friends over, and has gone out wandering around town with other friends. She's not supposed to leave the property without telling me, but she's gone.
Whine: I feel like total crap. I can't seem to shake the cough and stuffed nose. I want to be able to breathe, but so far, it's not happening.
Whine: Scummy girl we know left the Hospital before daughter, and ended up in program with Son. We can't seem to shake her, which sucks.
I need to find some freelance writing jobs.
Happy Thanksgiving, American Pixies.
To our Canadian pixies -- Sorry to leave you out of the loop! Not that we don't love you guys! I swear!
I have finished making the cake part of the Chocolate Raspberry Torte, but I have to rest a bit because my hands are tired from pushing raspberries through a fine strainer to de-seed them. Ow.
Now must wash the teetering pile of dishes and make the raspberry cream for the topping. Yum!
Praline Sweet Potato casserole and biscuits are on tap for tomorrow morning, while I'll make the penne when we arrive at Mom's at around 4:00pm tomorrow. We're eating late so that my stepdad can join us. He, unfortunately, drew the crap work assignment AGAIN this year, and will be at work until about 3pm.
I hope all the pixies, even the non-gluttonous Canadian ones, are having a good week with few whines.
You guys are making me so. hungry. My mom better be taking me someplace nice for dinner tomorrow is all I'm saying. I keep wanting to invite my grandmother. She loved to hang out with me and her former daughter-in-law. Her last vacation was with my mom and my two brothers two years ago. I loved going to her house for Thanksgiving as a kid. The food was never fancy but the pies made the night.
Onetiredema - we like all whines, big and small, here. No such thing as non-drama in the Pixieverse.
Now that I am starting to feel vaguely human once more, I want to thank everyone here for their kind emails and comments during this terrible, terrible time. :)
kathy a - your IV margaritas suggestion made me laugh. I maybe need it after today, when I got sent shopping with Imelda. I tried on a million dresses she picked out for me, and through some strange coincidence 75% of them made me look like I should have been jumping out of a cake... (a cheap cake).
I had a margarita at dinner in your honor, and seem to have moved into this thread to help me survive the week. Thanks for being my internet family, you guys :)
Miranda - here is my "I'm totally sure this isn't helpful" advice - I have a friend that continually dumps me. The last time she stopped calling/e-mailing I decided I had had enough and I wasn't going to be the one bending over backwards to make sure that we still remained in touch....then I found out that her husband lost his job, went off the deep end with drinking and they separated. Obviously I felt like crap, made a huge effort to do everything I could for her and yet 3 weeks after we reconnected she went right back to ignoring my calls/e-mails. So my advice to you is if your friend wants to call you - let her. But her problems aren't your problems and I think I had something more constructive to offer when I started this but the moment has passed in my own rambling.
Damn.
I think wtf whine should be a new category.
I also think that toys that say "minimal adult assembly required" should be called out for the bulldung that they are. Since we had the Thanksgiving thread for a whole week can we have a holiday toy assembly whine for an entire month?
whine: my inlaws are crazy!
antiwhine: so crazy that my husband agrees and we don't have to see them tomorrow!
Can I have fried corn fedexed to me?
Pretty please?
Diane, I think I get what you are saying. Don't ignore the fair-weather friend but don't expect much.
Redzils - You deserve an extra special award for dealing with Imelda. Oy.
I work on Thanksgiving.
On the plus side, I'll be able to commisserate with all the depressed, lonely residents who didn't get to go home to see their families.
The holidays never depressed me until I started working at the mental hospital. Now I get depressed by proxy.
redzils...I think you should show Imelda a shoe shop and then RUN AWAY!!!
My whine has disappeared. My nephew's mom freaked out about not being with her son for four days in a row (my bro has him on Wednesdays, and Then Friday to Saturday on regularly scheduled programming). So my brother, who is a NICE GUY, decided to switch T-giving for next year. So we are sad not to have the little guy but I get to see him lots so all good.
Okay-- have to go start getting the bird all greased up (I do a herb butter thing underneath and over the skin) and ready to roast!
Lots of love to all the Pixies, American, Canadian, do we have non-North American Pixies??? You too!!!! Everyone. I fill your day with light and bliss and peace (good mantra for those of us with less than ideal family members!).
Argh.
I am here to whine because that is going to keep me from killing somebody.
We had a slow morning, and went and saw pandas. We had lamb for dinner, and it is now 6:30 pm.
The TV doesn't work. I finished my book. I am tired of the interweb. I dont want to work (although I have some of that). Sitting on the floor with the computer on a chair isn't comfortable enough for computer game playing. And, with Imelda here and no one feeling inspired, I am ready for bed at six freaking thirty, with probably four hours to kill before bed. Whee. Grr.
redzils -- guess you can't send her out shopping on thanksgiving night, huh?
whew, got the dinner done, stuffed everyone silly, and this time i did not forget to serve one of the dishes [my usual holiday tradition]! MIL ended up not coming; but a stray colleague came, and i think he had a good time. son stayed over last night, so for the first time in 9 months, both kids were home! and they got along! son's girlfriend brought us lovely little presents -- she is such a nice young woman.
i've got leftover chocolate cake, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, wild rice mix, savory sweet potato gratin, rolls, and nobody had room for any of the salad. sending virtual plates to all who need them.
shit. i did forget one dish, after all. roasted squash, anyone?
Matt and Hosea are sick, so we had frozen lasagna for T-Day.
But we're going tomorrow to some friends' house to have the whole shebang. Whee!
Impending boycott alert: I hereby boycott any and all toys that are packaged in any of the following ways:
a) Hard plastic casing that must be cut with knife or scissors, leading to finger cuts from knife or scissors or from the sharp edges of said casing.
b) Each (small, cheap, plastic) item individually bound to the back of the package with wire twisties.
c) More than two levels of packaging of any kind.
Other than that, T-giving was lovely. And so was muscle lab this morning (to prep for the practical on Wednesday).
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