My plan was to relax, munch on horsey dovers and watch Turkish rip-offs of famous movies on the Roku channel The B-Zone. Plans were changed slightly when My Beloved tested positive for Covid this morning, so now I am serving her mint-sage tea and mini quiches while watching a most delightful live action rip-off of Disney’s Snow White.
So, how is your day going?
My wife is sick today too, and I am likewise ferrying tea to the bedroom. We’re in a VRBO visiting relatives. We ordered a Covid test via Instacart and when it arrives the result may dictate exactly what we do for the rest of the day. Seems unlikely we’ll be following through on plans to have dinner with the relatives.
Getting ready to head downtown for a Thanksgiving meal at a local restaurant. I usually volunteer in the kitchen, but ownership has changed, so this year I’m a patron. The meal is free for the community. There are three seatings, and my wife is a greeter at the front door as is the previous owner. Should be interesting…
Great! We are visiting our son in Boston, my daughter and family drove up from NY and will stay a few more days and then take us back with them. My DIL is stuffing the turkey. All are on the same page politically. Even my son’s FIL, while still a Republican has dropped off TFG’s bandwagon and probably helped to elect Fetterman and Shapiro.
Nine of us had Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, a day early. Because my niece is having Thanksgiving dinner with her boyfriend’s extended family tonight.
So today will be very low-key, just relaxing with the family.
Off plan?
My mother-in-law was going to host 20+ of the extended family today, but 36 hours ago, my FiL tested positive for COVID and is symptomatic. They attempted to pass to my Auntie-in-law, but her husband is running serious flu-like symptoms (testing negative for COVID though). My wife, who is doing her thesis defense next week decided that out of a well-reasoned sense of caution to NOT go to either and made her apologies - because now is not the time to have any sort of serious cold.
So she’s on Campus working on various last minute things, and I’m surfing my Plex server, while under the blanket with a warm cat and a kindle. I’ll be cooking a Chai-der (chai-flavored hard cider) marinated pork tenderloin and slow roasted sweet potatoes for myself later, and the wife will go ahead and bake the over-night rise whole wheat bread we prepped for the holiday.
Well. I have no family, so I went to a local church and had a plate. As I was walking home (its almost 60! yay) a woman I know from church pulled up and asked if I needed a meal. I told her her sister was bring me over a plate, but she gave me a container.
Then her sister dropped off a plate.
Here I am trying to lose my waistline-I’m an ok weight, but, menopausal women have that abdomen weight and I can’t button my work pants-so, tomorrow I will eat lightly.
Am going down to the lobby to watch football.
Took a friend’s dog for a long walk, eating some sushi, reading about gas turbine thermodynamics, and noodling on a Call of Cthulhu scenario set at Roanoke Island where the player characters play European settlers who don’t realize that they are about to be sacrificed by the natives to the Katshituashku in revenge for their treatment of the local tribe.
Stranger
Definitely better than yours or Your Beloved. Hope she feels better soon and you stay healthy!
Pretty much zombie day over here. We’re probably doing Chinese buffet tonight (it’s just the two of us).
I burned my palm and index finder while getting the homemade mac & cheese out of the oven. Palm was mostly protected by a potholder so that’s just a raised red area but the finger has a small blister.
Getting ready to leave for work 
! Where I’ll be all alone all night 
! However I did take the precaution of picking up a pricey pre-cooked, needs-to-be-reheated Thanksgiving meal from a caterer, so I’m hoping to be able to gorge successfully (we have a full kitchen for reheating needs). Now all I need is for work to be relatively quiet, which is a better than even bet, and all should be well…err, wellish anyway.
Doing a little bit of family stuff tomorrow morning and with any luck, a little more on Saturday.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends and neighbours!
Here in Canada we had ours last month. But I just realized, in my routine skimming of various news sites, why there are several American and international news stories on the CBC news site which have not appeared on CNN. The CNN website appears to be practically dead. Of course it is! Everybody is home celebrating Thanksgiving, or getting ready for it! I’m imagining two people in the entire CNN building: a security guard, and an unfortunate intern who drew the short straw, whose job is to keep the CNN cable channel supplied with prerecorded material.
I got takeaway from bassetts turkey yesterday, today I am fending off the cats eating it.
Just got finished eating dinner. We usually have the whole family over, and this year is no exception. No kitchen disasters, which is always a good thing. I told my wife this morning that my one goal for today is to not overdo it – I didn’t want to be waddling around all evening feeling all bloaty, or going to bed feeling like I’m gonna barf if I lay down. So far so good!
TLDR: Not at all according to plan. Not at all.
Long version:
Wife & I went to her daughter’s house this morning at 8 am. Daughter is a foster Mom to a brood of 7 all under age 10. We brought the whole feast for 10 big & small people in ready to assemble & cook condition. Including the 28lb turkey in stuffed and oven ready condition. Hint: that’s a 9 hour roast time minimum.
All was well with lots of gleeful kid energy & noisy chaos until noonish when the 8yo had a flareup of a chronic health problem he’s got. Which proceeds to get worse & worse.
Fast forward to now = 4pm. 5 kids have been urgently farmed out to other foster parents. By law nobody else can watch them; not even wife & I. The sick kid, one other kid, & the two women are now at the hospital.
I’m at their house alone in the silence amidst the kidful wreckage babysitting a roasting bird while rehearsing making everything else myself in a strange kitchen to feed everybody if they get back at a reasonable hour.
More likely I’m just pulling the bird whenever it’s done, resting & carving it, then refrigerating it all for tomorrow when we’ll try the feast again.
Hope the 8yo is ok. This could get life-alteringly serious for him. He’s a sweet kid handed a real shitty life until very recently.
No matter what happens this will be a Thanksgiving to remember.
My daughter and 3 grandkids have all been sick. So our dinner was moved to her sister in laws house and my daughter isn’t going. The kids are well enough to go, but it feels awkward for me to go and since I have been having some health issues anyway, it was just easier for me to stay home.
I threw a piece of beef in the crock pot a couple of days ago and then wasn’t able to use it right away. I’ve gotten so stupid about using anything “too old” so I almost threw it away, but I forced myself to make some burritos with it and they were so good! I have chocolate cheesecake for dessert in while.
I think this is my second ever Thanksgiving alone.
So different depending on where you are! We’re saying “dang, it’s down to 60. Brrrrrr.”
Since all but one of my familty moved to Washington state over the last year and a half or so, and the remaining family member is the one we’re least close to, we just stayed home. Good Stuff restaurant was selling prepared meals, and I’ve never had anything bad there, so we took a chance. It was really good! Moist turkey, good gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, big green salad, seeded dinner rolls, a decent ham slice (I’ve saved mine so I don’t know about the taste, but it looks good), real mashed potatoes, stuffing. haricot verts with toasted almonds, sauteed onions and a lemony dressing. AND a whole pumpkin pie. Everything was tasty and good quality with enough for a second meal (it was designated as a meal for two, but some people like to be overly full on T-day). And it was $62 for everything! Good enough that I’ll gladly go this route next year if no other plans develop.
Today is also my birthday (61, holy hell…) and as my husband is working several states away I am on my own.
Blissfully, wonderfully alone! I had yesterday off too and I’ve had two days of being in my own head, of cleaning, rearranging, reorganizing, nibbling, napping, cat-snuggling, farm choring, tea and wine sipping bliss.
I might be a bit of an introvert …
I have a couple of Cornish Hens about to go in the oven, some veggies to roast, a nice wine to drink, and some really bad TV to catch up on. Happy Bday-Tday to me
I also work retail and this is a lovely grounding for the busy time ahead.
At least I hope it’s busy, sales have been way, way down 
`
For all of you whose T-day has been turned upside down, you have my sympathy. I hope everyone is healthy and happy as soon as soon.
Wow, your life is never boring. Here’s hoping for the best outcome and a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. Let us know how it turns out. 
It’s just me and my spawn. I roasted a turkey breast and got some Stove-top to go with it. And the cranberry jelly. My daughter is making pumpkin bread and my son and I are making a chocolate pie because that’s his favorite. That’s about it. It’s quiet. I struggle with life this time of year, it’s just hard. I grew up with such a big loving family and they’re all gone. I try to just remember what I have and be grateful.