True, and I do remember as a kid that xmas dinner was a really big thing that mum used to get quite stressed about. I just don’t share that expectation any longer, also it’s usually just the two of us for xmas dinner so he’s quite happy with whatever appears on a plate in front of him!
Honestly, for just the 2 of us, I don’t know that I’d have bothered at all. OK, I probably would have smoked a turkey because we both like smoked turkey and packaging all the extra for future meals is a definite bonus. And, frankly, old habits tend to linger…
We’re not big turkey fans at our house, and it’s just the two of us. So we feel free to eat whatever roast we love best, and that means rack of lamb. I’ll get one at a good supermarket tomorrow morning and roast it up with mustard, rosemary, and garlic rubbed all over the outside of it. With scalloped potatoes, brussels sprouts, and pumpkin pie for dessert.
Good morning.
It’s 44°F, dark, and cloudy outside. It’ll remain cloudy all day, with an expected daytime high of 54°F. Rather blah weather, but tonight rain moves in.
I tend to like to do thing right for the holiday meals, too, and my timing was always good. I used to have bunches of people here for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but we’re down to just three of us now. Even so, I tend to try to make things nice. When it’s down to just the husband and I, I’ll probably scale way back, but I don’t think I’ll ever not get to prepare a prime rib roast for Christmas or turkey for Thanksgiving. One of you mentioned deviled aigs, so I must remember to do those on Thursday, too. Good thing I bought two dozen eggs.
I’ve done both the fancier paper plate versions and the nice dishes. I got rid of the nice dishes several years ago. I used them only twice a year at most, and I had to hand-wash them, which was a PITA. Now, we use our everyday dinnerware.
Bright Tree, I’m glad the shampooing works for Ollie. It would be pretty challenging to wrestle with a 170-pound dog (Buster 100 pounds, Maisie 70 pounds) every other day to bathe them. It would probably be easier if we had a dog washing station/tub, but bending over a bathtub is rough on the ol’ back.
I managed to get to Safeway yesterday and score Thanksgiving provisions. I actually found a 10-pound turkey, but somehow, I couldn’t go quite that low and opted for twelve pounds. It’ll probably be too much, but there you have it. Old habits die hard. I also procured the ingredients for stuffing/dressing, and the mashed taters, of course. I didn’t get any fresh veggies for the side dish, I’ll dash over on Wednesday. I made it back home by 11:30, and the store wasn’t crowded at all.
Boo Fae, sounds like a fun night!
We didn’t ride the bikes yesterday because my husband is still feeling pretty crappy. He had the grumpies to go with that. 
He toned that down, however, when I gave him the “look”.
I doubt we’ll ride today, and if we don’t, I’ll probably work on cleaning. The floors need a good scrub, so maybe I’ll do that.
Other than that, I don’t have anything on the agenda.
However, for now, it’s time for another cup of coffee and more internet perusing. Please take care of yourselves.
Good morning all. Up at a usual hour for me (about 6:30am) and have pilled, broken fast and internetted so just a normal morning. For the last several months I’d be on the soccer fields by now but am adapting to being home on the weekend (which will end mid-December when Futsal starts). Nothing much on the agenda, need to vacuum the floors and do some other minor house-irk, but not enthusiastic about it. Probably watch the college tackleball games while exercising at the gym some of the afternoon and have my usual Saturday Big Bowl O’Pasta (we recently had a MMP on routines, and my eating habits have definitely become one…need to try other stuff–sometime).
Weather is nice again, about a 1-in-4 chance of rain today, but right now it’s dry and clear and 66F heading to 74F, so another day the HVAC doesn’t have much to do. Think I figured out how to program stations on my car radio, which will help when Imake the 7 hour drive to Brother’s next week.
Flyboy, sounds like a wonderful night out and love the T-shirt (ordered one like this for myself): https://images.nowbestshirt.com/2021/09/godzilla-you-re-gonna-need-a-bigger-boat-shirt-shirt.jpg
Nut, good on ya for helping out. I presume this is not a full-size 7 ft. tall refrigerator but a small one for student use.
swampy, somehow I think you’ll manage to get nappage and day drinking in there somewhere…
FCM, hope painting, training, and doggy grooming (is this his first groom?) go well.
boo fae, sounds like another great night out, I was awake past midnight last night but doubt I could keep up with you two.
My SIs-in-Law does Turkey with most of the trimmings, she’s usually cooking for 5-6 people (depends if all the kids are home or not) so some planning goes into it. I always offer to help and am always told that things are fine, so that ritual awaits me.
And that’s all for now. Have a good Sattiday.
It actually turned out to be a freezer, though not a huge one. She does actually have a husband and two small very energetic kids (I’m not sure if I ranted about that whole mess of getting them over here, but it was a nightmare), so I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to fit it in the car.
I did not go to the garden centre in the end- there’s a thick fog bank sneaking up from the river, which had swallowed the village the fridge was being delivered to and the main road to the garden centre. I’m not a fan of driving in fog if I don’t have to, so I’ll get some of the outdoor jobs done today and go look at plants and eat cake tomorrow instead, because it’s supposed to be raining. I may also visit the cake-free, annoying, but cheap garden centre while I’m there (it’s crammed absolutely full of loud obnoxious Christmas decorations, but it’s also half the price of anywhere else).
The Salvation Army is having a Thankgiving buffet for poor people at 3 and hell yes I am going.
MetalMouse - he went to our groomer right after we got him. They said he behaved, so that’s good.
Rain is still falling for the next couple of hours. Hope it makes my iris and lilies happy.
Waves from wet West Virginia. It isn’t currently raining, but it has been off and on for the last couple of days. It is beautiful, its going to take me a very long time to get tired of watching the magical sky water fall.
It was really foggy on the way to the gym, though. I think I might need to start going later to give the fog time to burn off.
We’re pretty ready for t-day. We will be having supper with Harry et al and I will be bringing cookies and cranberry sauce, both adult only and child safe versions. James has been invited so I’ll be picking him up for that.
We will be doing our own mini-feast on Friday and then the family dinner on Saturday which will also include cookies. James has already told me that he thinks the wonky looking cookies taste just as good as the pretty ones (which is true) so he’ll get more over the weekend.
I want NOBODY in my kitchen when I’m cooking. I know what I’m doing and I have a plan. I will kick my own mother and husband out, so I understand why your SIL tells you to go away. Offer to take the trash out, I usually have an overfull can at some point in the process.
Yesterday I used the cookie recipe our dear Dicey recovered for me and was really happy with the result. I was able to remember a few of my changes once I got started and also wrote them down. I took most of them to James at the old farts home. He says he gets a lot of street cred for being able to hand out home made cookies to his neighbors.
There’s an Angel tree in the lobby so I grabbed one and asked James to give me his xmas list cause the lady I got isn’t asking for much. Underware, socks, slippers and PJ’s. That’s pretty boring and if I’m going to go xmas shopping, I’m going to buy some fun stuff too. (of course I’ll complete the lists first)
Hubs and I talked it over with the mail guy and he has homes for five more Aldi boxes so I’ll be heading to the capital in an hour or so. Those turkeys are rock hard, I want to be sure they have time to thaw before needing to be cooked.
The high school that traditionally hands out take home turkey dinners isn’t doing it this year, which is a real shame because this year it is really needed. But, seeing as how all of that money and food came from donations, it is very possible that they just couldn’t get the support this year.
That’s what freezers are for. Plus, your son will probably be happy to take leftovers home. It will all work out 
In other news, I was super proud of myself for getting my Secret Santa package sent out on Wednesday. Due to computer issues (or so they say) nothing has moved from the Post Office in town for two days. I shipped early so I wouldn’t be stressing about deadlines. Now I’m stressing over the the post office AGAIN!
Well, if I want to get back in time for the mail guy to deal with the food boxes, I’d best head out. I’ll chat with you guys later.
I had some notion of making French toast this morning, but overslept and had zero energy. I don’t think I ate enough yesterday, which can wreak havoc with blood sugar. So it was egg sandwiches today, and I’m feeling better.
The sun is back and temps are up in the 40s, with a few days of 50s coming our way. Then we plunge back into the 30s on T-day.
Not sure why I agreed to make Thanksgiving dinner. It all seems very daunting as I get older. This may be my last time doing this.
The annual staff gift is coming up. I was surprised to see that there are some 45 employees here, and was shocked to see that donations to that effort by residents ranges from $20 to over $1500. $20? Really? What sort of cheapskate thinks that 50 cents per person is appropriate? If you can afford to live here, you can certainly afford to be more generous than that. We’ve always donated at the upper end, as these folks work very hard to make sure we are all taken care of. End rant.
I’ll have to see what we can do about that. Being a kitten, she doesn’t have all that long an attention span, so chances are by the time we manage to get a camera out, she’s off to something else anyway.
I was on the 100 and 200 Slides, which wouldn’t have been too bad except. 1. The Preload boss ordered more RFID labels, so I had to clear and stack 236 5lbs. boxes. 2. The one bulk load for Madison Avenue in Cary comes to the slide. 3. Secondary Sort sending all sorts of stuff for me to fix, because I’m apparently the only who can figure out that the address is right, just the customer forgot to hit the “tab” key, so the number, street name and street type are all just jumbled on one line. Also having to rebox a 150lbs hydraulic lift that had beaten its box into Jell-O. But it’s the weekend, laundry is in the dryer, and bacon, eggs, and a gin&tonic(part of a delicious, nutritious breakfast!) are in me, so naptime.
Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people
But there better be stuffing and Jellied Cranberry Obelisk at Thanksgiving.
But how are the diodes on your left side feeling?
Ms Peach was the bad girl at dog school today. She managed to wiggle out of her halter twice, and really didn’t want to pay attention to the lesson. She wanted to play with the other dogs. We then went to dog park where she got to run around like a dope.
I do like the tradition, but real cranberry sauce is better than the obelisk. I hate when the obelisk melts.
I wonder if I can find the other canned t-day specialty…brown bread, here in upstate NY?
Walmart on-line, Amazon both sell B &M brown bread, as does Star Market if you have access to those.
https://www.starmarket.com/shop/product-details.960547584.html
My birth grandmother worked at the B & M factory in Portland, Maine for decades. I like brown bread and B & M baked beans any way. I just can’t get the canned bread here in the prairie states (without paying ridiculous price and shipping for it).
That is about 30 minutes from where I grew up, depending on traffic.
And yup the shipping costs are not worth it. I may brave Wegman’s to seek it out. Wegman’s is a friggin nightmare, at any time of day.
Otis was naughty, too. He didn’t want to pay attention - he wanted to rassle Trevor and snuggle with Millie and Tilly. But we did get some good advice from Trisha for dealing with him jumping on me and gnawing on me. We’ll see how it goes.
Today was the last of the beginner classes. Intermediate begins on Jan 17. Between now and then, we need to work on skills and obedience with him. And try to figure out why he’ll jump on me but not on FCD. It’s weird because usually critters love me bestest. No clue why he feels compelled to “attack” me. Today, he leapt on my back while I was scrubbing at the kitchen sink. Idiot dog.
But he’s nice and fluffy and clean. The groomers do a good job. And while he was getting purtified, I unwrapped the first turkey, and prepped it for smoking. We’ll move the smoker to the porch in the morning and I think it’s supposed to go 7 or 8 hours - I’ll recheck the instructions to be sure. But it’ll be in the smoker pretty much all day tomorrow.
We had an early supper because we were both stahvink! I discovered that a mandarin orange eaten immediately after General Tso’s chicken doesn’t taste very good. Feel free to make a note of that.
OK, my recliner beckons…
Roasted the two turkey thighs I bought. They produced a surprising amount of drippings/fat, which will be used for gravy. The thighs will go in a pot to make stock in a couple of days.
Do not wait until the day before Thanksgiving to go to the grocery store. It’s crazy that day, and some of the staff will be drunk, anyway. So, is the day before called Please, and the day after called You’re-Welcome-giving?
Thank you. I’ll remember now. And I figured Hazel was in no danger of getting her face hamburgered, but it still made me shudder! 
nut, that was awfully nice of you to help your student. Sorry you were unable to get to the garden center.
swampy, I’m verklempt on your behalf with all you’ve got to do today! < wrist to forehead > Stay strong! 
Boo fae, thanks for the explain. Like you, I often make things how I was taught. For better or worse. In my case, it was often for the worse, so I relearned a lot of cooking habits. In your case, I’m sure it’s all to the better.
Hope you have as much fun tonight as you did last night!
lucky, that lamb roast sounds really lovely. Eliminate the mustard, and that’s how I make mine, too. Like you, I much prefer lamb to turkey and I don’t ever make turkey for just myself at Thanksgiving, but for some dumb reason, I always roast a chicken instead. I might give your tradition a try next year. Or why wait? Maybe at Solstice!
taters, I completely get that. I’ve had 3 German shepherds, and I wouldn’t have tackled them for regular baths, either! It’s unlikely that the allergies Buster and Maisie suffer from are due to a skin yeast infection in any case. I’m still kind of gobsmacked that Ollie’s issues have been so easily resolved. I’ve cut the baths down to about every 3rd day, so that’s nice, too. May Buster and Maisie’s itch issues be resolved with similar ease.
JtC, you have helped so many people this year. You’re a champ.
Today prep for hosting Thanksgiving dinner with my friends continues apace. Temperatures warmed enough to put the heat pump back into service, so I got a reprieve from schlepping wood. Made cranberry sauce and put the chicken in the fridge to commence defrosting.
It’s a dryish day, so it was a good time to rake leaves, mulch the flower beds and blow off the outdoor areas around the house.
All done, and in time to watch my Ducks play a tough game against SC. We’re in the 4th quarter, which feels like the 10th quarter, and they’re finally (dare I say it?) safely ahead to win this game. Lotta penalties called against both teams in this game. Tsk.
Hope everyone enjoys their Saturday night!
Evening all. Spent a fair amount of time at the gym, some of it I actually used to exercise, but reading and cellphone browsing also kept my interest. Had a snack when I came home and will fix my usual Saturday Big Bowl O’Pasta here in a bit. Stayed nice all day and still is 62F outside, but will cool down overnight.
T-shirts arrived, I’m undecided if I’ll wear them to the gym or take them to Brother’s place to impress with my erudition…
Nut, I understand your reluctance to drive in the fog, I was in the Northwest part of the US a few years ago and wanted to drive up to Mt. St. Helens, but the fog/clouds just kept getting worse and the road got less and less defined so I finally gave it up. Maybe another time…
Coppertone, hope the buffet was good.
JtC, enjoy the rain. You’ll know your a West-Virgin’eer when you see it raining and immediately start worrying about the roads flooding…and you just can’t help doing good, can you? Keep it up, you help restore my faith in humanity after reading the politics part of the SDMB…
Cookie, some people have little to no understanding of money, IMHO, especially when donating it. I try to be generous but only at times I can be. I have no doubt you have been generous as you can be.
doggio, 236 x 5 is nearly 1,200lbs, some of the gym folks would love that cardio burn…
FCM and VanGo, I imagine your misbehaving puppehs would get along just fine if they ever met. Hope their behavior improves with age…
And that’s all for now, need to get those noodles working. Talk with ya later.