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Monday, November 23, 2015

Thanksgiving (U.S.)

This is the start of the festive holiday "overload" season!  We'll be open 24/7 for all of your whining and anti-whining needs!

Featured this week:
*  Recipe sharing welcome!
*  Stupid pet tricks!
*  Stupid people tricks!
*  Things I'm thankful for.

We're going to the kinda-in-laws again, a big semi-chaotic feast.  I'll be taking along veggies and dip, a savory sweet potato gratin (this time w/o sausage, since son's GF no longer eats meat), and because the gratin will only have a pint or so of heavy cream, chocolate mousse for a dessert.  One year there were 3 pumpkin pies, so I'm going bold with chocolate.

This morning, I'm finishing 3 chunks of work.  Two are done!  As you can see, it is already break time, because the last piece is so boring complex and important.  It could change the entire way this problem is viewed, or (more likely) simply stun the reader into a deep lethargy.

Fortunately, I have substantial help from my office assistant, Minerva, who is sitting atop the filing cabinet so as to keep a close watch on any shenanigans that other animals might try outside the window.  It's a thankless job, but somebody has to do it.

What's up with you?


52 comments:

Sue said...

Yay for bringing the chocolate mousee kathy!! Good work on the albatrossi too!! WooHoo!

W: Hubby woke up with (I think) a stomach flu this morning. Poor guy. Doesn't have a fever, or I would be concerned about infection. On the other hand, he's not himself at all - very grumpy. He doesn't get grumpy...well, ever. So I'm a bit concerned.

W: Cat goes to the vet in an hour or so for blood work. Not the best day for it, but hopefully it won't take long and I can get back home quickly to check on hubby.

Liz Miller said...

Yikes, Sue!!! Give my best wishes to your sweetie.

This year we are not going to the craziness that is my mom's, so I am making thanksgiving dinner for the three of us:
Herb-crusted turkey with mushroom gravy; Brussels sprouts & pearl onions in horseradish cream sauce (a new recipe, I'll let you know how it goes); green beans; mashed potatoes; stuffing made from my late mother-in-law's recipe (that only I will eat); canned cranberry sauce; and pumpkin pie.

Do you think that will be enough food for three?

kathy a. said...

Poor beloved! Hope he is feeling better, that the infection-B-gone brain waves work, and that everybody gets back from the vet unscathed.

Yay! Finished, then did a revision, delivered drafts, and got my status report in the mail. Grocery shopping done (except I forgot the whipped cream again). Progress, baby!

kathy a. said...

Liz, that sounds wonderful! Should any of us end up starving, can we help you out with the leftovers? ;)

Liz Miller said...

Indeed. However, dinner plans may change. My dad and stepmom asked if our invitation for Christmas is still open! Of course, we said "yes".

Issue: Dad has dietary restrictions. Stepmom has different dietary restrictions. When we thought they weren't coming, we planned on Prime Rib, Yorkshire pudding, and some kind of vegetable braised in at least a pound of butter. I may switch that out now for much of our T'giving feast, and have the Roast Beast for T'giving. I'll check in with the menfolk on what they'd like.

Liz Miller said...

Dietary restrictions = low fat for dad, low carb for stepmom. So the quart(!) of heavy cream I was going to use for T'giving will not get used on Christmas.

kathy a. said...

Yay for Christmas company! My solution for special diets is to add another dish or two -- all the better for leftovers! Plenty of choices for low-carb. Steamed or roasted veggies avoid the fat. Fruit can serve for a dessert option. And then you can still do some blow-out features for those who wish to indulge. Don't need to do huge portions of the extras, and mostly they can be done in advance.

Anonymous said...

(((Sue's hubby))))
Hope he's feeling much better soon!
Yay, kathy on the albatrossi!
Liz, it all sounds delicious!!!!

W: chapped hands!
also, exhausted....
--Neighbor Lady

Liz Miller said...

So! New T'giving menu!

Prime Rib
Mashed potatoes
Green beans
Brussels sprouts & pearl onions in horseradish cream sauce
Pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream

Christmas menu:
Herb-crusted turkey
Roasted veggies, including potatoes
Salad
Green beans
Stuffing (for me, because).
Cranberry sauce. Either homemade or store bought. Dunno.
Dessert of some sort.

Neighbor Lady, have you tried Bag Balm?

Liz Miller said...

Oh! And the mushroom gravy for the turkey.

kathy a. said...

Liz, it all sounds delicious! I am nowhere close to planning Christmas, and we're having guests. Uh, oh. AW: Still have a month!

NL, even vaseline helps, especially if you can put some gloves over your hands at night.

Liz Miller said...

I only have it planned because Prime Rib has been Christmas Dinner since forever. With the one exception of my making the goose from the Little House on the Prairie Cookbook when I was 10. Switching it out for Thanksgiving Dinner is no biggie.

kathy a. said...

We did prime rib for Christmas last year; might do that again. Our Jewish guests say that ham (our old standby) is no problem, but I'd prefer to not push it. Am sure the GF will not starve, even eschewing meat, as there will be plenty of sides. Plus latkes from her dad! Ooh, need to invite the nearby cousins...

esperanza said...

NL, chapped hands sympathy here too.

Anonymous said...

Ooh I forgot about bag balm!
Thanks, Liz.
--NL

Liz Miller said...

Kathy A, I highly recommend goose if prime rib doesn't appeal to you this year

esperanza said...

W? AW? Uh oh. Mini is asleep at a reasonable hour. Plus we're heading out of town tomorrow. Those two facts combined will almost guarantee that she is getting sick. Stay tuned.

kathy a. said...

Bugs B Gone, Esperanza!

Liz, I talk a good talk foodwise, but I don't do Mother Goose, Bambi, Baby Lamb, or any fish that still contains insides or eyes.

kathy a. said...

Also, tentacles or suckers. Just forget about bison, moose, elk, duckies. Don't even ask how I justify what I do eat; I don't know.

Liz Miller said...

Well, it's almost certain to be a gander. Father goose, if you will.

kathy a. said...

To each one's own! I hear that goose is good.

Mousse is better, though. ;)

Liz Miller said...

That's for sure. And now I've got "happy llama, sad llama" stuck in my head

Sue said...

Yummy food posts!!! We've only got four for Christmas this year, so Prime Rib is sounding really good. It' also way less work.

Hubby is feeling a bit better this morning but is still weak and shaky like a baby bird. He was going back to bed when I left for work.

Sending "Go Away Bugs" vibes to Chez esperanza. Fingers and toes crossed in the hope that the traveling holiday does not include sickness.

NL, I concur with Liz' suggestion re: cream/vaseline and gloves. My mother swore by this method and her hands were always soft, despite a lack of dishwasher in our house. (Six people in our house and no dishwasher - how did she do it?????)

esperanza said...

Bug Report: I think it's just more allergies. She sniffled all night but woke up perky.

esperanza said...

Now there's a weather whine. Heavy rain and flooding predicted Friday-Saturday. We HAVE to come back by Saturday, as we both are preaching Sunday morning. Ugh.

kathy a. said...

Sue, glad hubby feels a bit better. Here's to a regaining of strength.

Esperanza, hooray for allergies! (as opposed to the alternative.) Hope your travel goes well.

AW: Rain! It's supposed to be soggy through the holiday, which normally would not be exciting, but this wet stuff is so welcome this year.

kathy a. said...

So much for the rain.

Starting to feel a little wheezy and swelly. Let's just hope that is allergies, OK?

Sue said...

esperanza, here's to good travel without illness... all appendages crossed.

kathy, sometimes the rain stirs up dust and pollen, so hopefully it's just that.

We at the Pixie Ball celebrate allergies! (Because it beats the alternative Viral Torrent of Ick)

QWP - how are you feeling????

kathy a. said...

My husband decided to take a 5 day weekend.

Sue said...

A 5 day weekend sounds like an excellent plan. :)

kathy a. said...

I should be more grateful or something. He would have 4 days off for the holiday, in any event. Then daughter is off Monday.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I think I finally have a quiet moment to post here. Uff dah, has it been busy here! I'm still recovering from that dang cold, and Li'l E has it too. I think I've finally gotten her down for a nap, which would make all our lives easier (both because she needs the sleep, and because Mr. Q comes home late on Wednesdays, and when she doesn't nap, bedtime happens immediately after Mr. Q gets home, which is challenging).

W: there's a fun, big farm show in town this week, and I was going to take E on Thursday, to see the stock dog trials. But we're too sick to go, and I am disappointed. I love the farm show.

Whispered, potential AW: the list price just dropped for our favourite house (which is just over two blocks away from Mr. Q's work/E's future school). We're going to get in touch with a mortgage broker and a real estate agent, and start the ball rolling, so that if this house really is what we want, we are actually in the place to act on it. If it isn't right, then we can just wait for the right one, and keep saving up for a higher down payment.

But there's the potential that we might be moving this winter! Aaaaa. Operation Live Above Ground is progressing.

Sue, I hope Hubby is getting better quickly. Esperanza, I hope that whatever was bothering Mini stays away for the holiday and travel. And best of luck for all the Thanksgiving meals this week!

kathy a. said...

AW: My sister was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer the day before thanksgiving. She got her mam today, and now has been cancer-free for 7 years.

AW: Much as I complain about family, I love them; and most days, they love me. (OK, most years. A person benefits from the long view.)

AW: I don't regret a single pet we have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Even the one who is still too shy for petting.

AW: Work albatrossi stink. But it is so fortunate I accidentally ran across my life work, and have had the opportunity to make progress -- and to work with some really wonderful people.

AW: Y'all are good friends. Glad we have been able to share here for so many years.

xoxo

kathy a. said...

QWP, fingers quietly crossed about the house! And hope you can get to the farm show another day.

Liz Miller said...

AW: Had a meeting yesterday with a friend, and told her that I'd love to continue raising money for things I'm passionate about and she said, "Did you know that [the organization she's chair of] is looking for an Executive Director?" !!!!

Gotta put together my resume. Figure this all out.

QWP, yay for the prospect of the house!

Kathy A, yay for 7 years! Yay for work you love.

kathy a. said...

LIZ! Oh, that position sounds so great for you! And for them.

Sue said...

Fingers quietly crossed here too QWP!

Those are excellent AWs kathy.

Oh Liz!! That sounds so amazing!!!!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

That sounds like an incredible opportunity, Liz! You'd be amazing at that.

Kathy A: those are excellent reasons to be thankful.

AW: I spent a bunch of the afternoon crunching numbers, and using a few mortgage calculators, and it looks like our payments would be much lower than I thought they would be (I'd previously used a simpler calculator, and had the interest rate set too high). That makes me feel even better about going ahead and buying a house!

kathy a. said...

Yay, QWP!

AW: There is chocolate mousse! W: not quite as much as I expected. AW: have some extra little cookies to round things out. (Like there will be a shortage of desserts...)

W: The desk chair cat got a little overexcited when I returned from cooking, and she clawed my butt in the heat of the moment.

Liz Miller said...

Yikes!

kathy a. said...

Happy thanksgiving!

Liz Miller said...

Terrific thanksgiving at home with my boys (though my DH got obnoxious over the pumpkin pie, and then my DS joined in). I am currently giving myself a timeout before I escalate to telling them both where they can put the pumpkin pie. Or, more accurately, shove it.

Liz Miller said...

But seriously, that was just the last 5 minutes of the day, and all the rest was glorious. I just need to get back in the glow of loving them to pieces I was in before the pie.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Send the pie to me, Liz! I'll be properly appreciative of your efforts.

I'm sorry that you were clawed today, kathy! Oh my.

Eeee: I'm phoning an agent, to book a tour of Favourite House.

kathy a. said...

Fabulous feast at the kinda-in-laws! Tons of fabulous food. Only one accident involving blood. Three dogs. We got to visit the otherwise invisible cat, who was one of daughter's foster kittens back in the day (and is now enormous).

Apparently it is getting to be time to talk about a wedding. Son's GF showed me the ring from her grandmother that she will use "when the time is right." Her dad sounded a note of hope and cheer for a family festivity involving a man and a woman. Hmm.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh, that is exciting, Kathy!

Anonymous said...

Yay, kathy and liz and qwp!! hooray for possible festivities and possible awesome jobs and possible houses!!!!!
Hugs to all the pixies!
I am so thankful for all of you and for this place to connect!

--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

Liz, sorry about the meltdown at the end, but glad it was otherwise a joyous day!

Yay, QWP!

NL -- we like you, too!

Sue said...

I'm glad there were great Thanksgiving celebrations for our US pixies! Sorry about the late-in-the-day pie crisis, Liz.

kathy, a minimum loss of blood is always a good thing for a holiday meal. :)

We're pretty thankful for you too NL!!

QWP - I am so excited for you! We waited a long time (11 years) before buying our first home. We knew what we wanted and waited for the right time. It was SO worth the wait, but I still remember the pitter-patter of my heart when we walked through those doors for the first viewing. Eeeeeee.....

And it's good to have an agent helping you out. Yay!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Tomorrow! We're looking at the house tomorrow! And the mortgage broker says that everything looks good (I just talked on the phone with him, and we're doing all the pre-approval stuff tonight), and we should be able to get a good rate. Aaaah! (And Sue, it's been ten and a half years for us!)

Anonymous said...

Fingers crossed, QWP!
--NL

Queen of West Procrastination said...

So, we really like the house, and might make a conditional offer this week! But there's evidence that it's settled on on part, and we want a structural engineer to inspect it, in addition to the regular home inspection. I really hope it doesn't need anything major.