Thanksgiving Movie Night: Plane, Trains and Automobiles

I wanted to watch a Thanksgiving movie, and this is the first I've thought of--Planes, Trains and Automobile. I knew the plot outline and had heard the film was funny.

Overall, I was disappointed. Steve Martin experiences one travel nightmare after another. It's relentless and becomes boring and unpleasant to watch. Also, the happy ending for John Candy was unearned.

Thankfuls

Another Thanksgiving Day--our first in our new home. 

So, I'll start with that. I'm thankful that we bought this condo and  moved here.

I'm thankful that we finally put our Norwalk condo on the market yesterday..

I'm thankful for my health. 

I'm thankful Jeff's hospital visit led to him getting physical and occupational therapy and nurse visits at home.

I'm thankful for friends.

I'm thankful for Jeff. 

Wet Thanksgiving and Bleak Black Friday

I'm thankful for yesterday's rain (any rain recently) though it can complicate my walks with Jace. 

I'm thankful that I could have Thanksgiving here and not have to travel anywhere.

I'm thankful for the Whole Foods Turkey Breast Dinners. They're good, and reheating is much easier than cooking.

I'm thankful for our Thanksgiving with my brother Jim and our friend Cynthia.

I'm thankful for my health.

I'm thankful for Jeff and Jace.

***

Today was a lazy day. I woke up early. After I walked Jace, I journaled over coffee and played The New York Times games, and read. I had left all the dishes from yesterday, and cleaned them in stages over the day. (I still have some of the crystal to wash.)

Jeff and I grazed, then ate a late lunch of turkey leftovers on toasted cranberry English muffins. More turkey with salad later. 

A quiet day I didn't realize I needed.

It's Never Too Late...

 ...to be thankful. 

We hand a nice Thanksgiving. My brother Jim and our friend Cynthia joined Jeff, Jace and me. As I previously said, I was organized. I even decided to make a special cocktail: a vodka gimlet with fresh lime juice. I made two drinks but planned to serve four mini drinks in cordial glasses shaped like mini-martini glasses. Jim wasn't interested, so more for the rest of us. 

I served shrimp cocktail and Boursin cheese with Trader Joe's pumpkin cranberry crackers as appetizers. Our dinner from Whole Foods consisted of turkey breast, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I added Pillsbury crescent rolls. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. 

The only problem was that even though all the food had been defrosted (according to Whole Foods, it was chilled not frozen) the turkey and mashed potatoes took about twice as long as the instructions indicated. I took the stuffing and green beans out of the oven while the turkey and potatoes continued to cook. It was annoying, and I got teased about the delay, but we didn't really mind. 

After dinner, I took Jace for a short walk and then vegged on the couch after I found The Godfather on TV. 

Here's the list I might have made if I had posted on Thanksgiving night. 

What I'm thankful for:

1.    Jeff

We've had many heatlh challenges over the past few years, but we're still here and we still love each other.

2.    Jace

To be honest, there are times Jace wouldn't make this list. But he is fun and loving and sweet and loyal. And cute too. 

3.    Friends and Family

Sometimes it's hard to stay in contact with others. We all seem to get bogged down in our day-to-day bullshit. But the effort is well worth it.

4.    My Health

Seeing Jeff's health problems, as well as those of other friends, makes me appreciate how lucky I am to be healthy. It keeps me going to the gym too. 

5.    Our Home

Yes, it's true, I want to move out of our condo, out of Norwalk, out of Connecticut. But it's nice to have a place of our own with no mortgage. It's a good size for us in a good location.

6.    Good Weather (for the most part)

Most of the fall has been mild. As Fitzgerald said: "Life starts over again when it gets crisp in the fall." Already, many mornings are cold. I'll enjoy the crispness when I can. 

Thanksgiving Eve

I think I should be in bed but feel too awake. I am very organized for our dinner tomorrow.  And when I use "very" I mean "very." So, part of me asks, "What are your forgetting?" I have a list I made last week. I washed the china and the flatware. I still need to wash the glasses and make cocktail sauce. 

Can that be it? I guess I can do some kind of quick touch-up somewhere. 

Maybe I can just relax.

And reheat.

Countdown to Thanksgiving

When someone asked me if I'm cooking for Thanksgiving, I said, "I'm reheating." This will be our fourth year getting our dinner from Whole Foods. This year I'm picking up the food on Wednesday instead of Thursday to make sure the food is properly defrosted. Last year the meal was practically frozen and took too long to heat up. That's one stressor I can avoid.

We're having two guests: my brother Jim and our friend Cynthia. Both were scheduled for last year, but Cynthia got sick and had to cancel.

I'm very organized this year. I've already bought the items I need (except for the meal and shrimp which I pick up Wednesday afternoon.) I'm serving shrimp cocktail because it's one of Jim's favorites, and his birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year. I personally think it's overrated and kind of boring. But, whatever. I also have cheese with pumpkin and cranberry crackers. 

I've been in cleaning mode for a week: doing some work each day instead of one big cleaning binge. By Wednesday afternoon, I'll have washed the good china and glasses, sharpened the knives, selected pots, pans, and serving dishes, and set the table.

Sounds like a good plan.

A Cold and Quiet Christmas

As I wrote about Thanksgiving, we're trying to figure out new Christmas traditions too. Last night we had my brother for dinner of Beef wellington, fingerling potatoes, and green beans with scallions from Whole Foods. It was pricey, but delicious. We have enough for another dinner tomorrow night.

Yesterday morning was one of the few times a year that it's horrible to walk a dog: cold, wet, and damp. But it got better and warmer each time I went out. Temps will rise each day up to the fifties by the end of the week.

Thanksgiving Weekend Thoughts

I'm trying to figure out our new Thanksgiving traditions. Looking through some old posts, I realize that it's been longer than I thought since we've had a big family get together. Those days are over.

I was proud of myself that I ordered our holiday meal back in the first week of November. Holidays always seem to sneak up on me. It doesn't really make sense, but it's true. My excuse is that the sales and marketing parts of the holidays start so much earlier than the actual holidays, that I lose track of the actual dates. How does that sound?

Anyway, I was happy--no, I should say thankful--that the weather had warmed up this week. We had some rain, but it's easier to be thankful in fifty degree weather than thirty degree weather. I've enjoyed most of my walks with Jace this week.

Our dinner from Whole Foods was delicious. There is a but. After I brought the food home, I unpacked the box and put everything in the refrigerator. I wished I had paid more attention--the foods were closer to frozen than not. The dinner took much longer to cook than expected. I had even sketched out a timeline based on the cooking time of the various dishes. Instead I kept testing dishes and moving them from the lower to the upper oven to keep them warm. Oh well.

We were supposed to be a dinner of four, but our friend got sick, so only my brother came. Jeff and I had leftovers for Friday lunch and Saturday dinner. We still have some turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. 

We went out to lunch Saturday with my brother and his girlfriend at a favorite, Sedona Taphouse. After lunch, we played Trivial Pursuit. Jeff and I each won a game. 

The rest of the weekend was lazy. I skipped the gym (sore right shoulder and leg.) In general, I was in a slow mode. (That reminds me of a description of a busboy's speeds, slow and stop--I need to remember that line.) 

I guess we're in Christmas mode now.

Homebody, Housework, and Holidays

The last week-and-a-half flew by--one day to Thanksgiving. I made sure to put my order in with Whole Foods in plenty of time: a classic meal for four: turkey breast, green beans with shallots, mashed potatoes, herb stuffing, turkey gravy, and cranberry orange sauce. We've been happy with their food for the past two years. And it's easy. 

We always buy the dinner for four. The first year the dinner for four was only $10 more than the dinner for two. Leftovers! This year we have two joining us, so I'm keeping leftover expectations low.

I've been in a homebody mode for over a week after an expensive morning at the Farmer's Market, gas station, and liquor store. I've also been in a cooking mode. I did a good job with modified trout and green bean almondine, lobster salad, lobster risotto, lobster quesadillas, curried lentil soup. I overcooked chicken on a dish I've made several times before. D'oh.

On Sunday I concentrated on housework. The kitchen, bath, and hallway are clean. The dining area and living room are cleaner. I need to focus and finish. Finishing is important.

Monday was the last day of my fall writing class before we break for the holidays. I wasn't crazy about the prompt this week, but I wrote something. It's short--about 250 words (246, I just checked.) At least it was a good exercise in writing a male first person point of view.

I've already signed up for the winter fiction class beginning January 9. I need to decide if I also want to take the personal story class. 

Time to get moving--still lots of cleaning to do. I will also do a short workout and take Jace to Oyster Shell. After a few days of unseasonal cold, we'll see the 50s today.

Lazy Weekend

I had the lazy weekend I didn't even realize I needed. The most ambitious thing I did was go to the gym Saturday. I went to the art supply store Friday as I mentioned in an earlier post,  and I took Lola for walks. Other than that, I mostly stayed in: I read, did spelling bee puzzles, played with my art journal (but not my new supplies) and watched TV/movies. We ate Thanksgiving leftovers for Friday dinner and Saturday lunch. 

Tomorrow is the first Monday in months without a writing class: we're off until January. It's hard to believe it will only be a week since my last class. It feels as if it were much longer. I need to do my own writing.

Driving around, I've noticed more lights and other Christmas decorations. Oddly, I haven't seen any Christmas trees tied to the top of cars. My first sightings of the season are usually over Thanksgiving weekend. 

It snowed this morning. Luckily it didn't amount to anything, but it wasn't a welcome sight. I'm not ready.

Thanksgiving Eve

I spend most Thanksgiving Eves being thankful that I am not traveling. I don't remember the last time we had to drive more than an hour on Thanksgiving Day. 

We are having another easy Thanksgiving getting turkey, stuffing, cranberry orange sauce, and fingerling potatoes from Whole Foods. I'm heating up soup and rolls. I was going to make a pumpkin apple soup, but found some pumpkin, butternut squash, and apple soup in the freezer. I cleaned today, so all I have to do set the table, make the salad and heat the food. My brother is bringing wine and dessert--apparently too much dessert--from what he said. 

A neighbor lost her mother just a few days ago. This will be a tough holiday for her. I hope she can keep it together.

A Different Kind of Black Friday

I was never a part of the Black Friday shopping routine. The big difference this year is that I'm not hearing/reading stories about the lines, the crowds, the fights. Some stores even decided to close on Thanksgiving, stopping the last few years' sales creep into the holiday.

We had a quiet day. I spent most of it doing laundry: I had an extra few days' more laundry than usual, plus sheets I had forgotten about when I reorganized the linen closet. I also needed to wash the bathroom rug.  I walked Lola around the neighborhood his morning, then Jeff and I walked her at Oyster Shell Park and through South Norwalk this afternoon

I was happy with our Thanksgiving meal from Whole Foods yesterday. The only issue is that it forgot my order of lobster bisque. I made salad because I thought the green beans with scallions would be overcooked, but they were deliciously crunchy. I've never been a fan of gravy, but this gravy was good. I probably had crappy gravy for most of my life and only thought I didn't like it. 

We had leftover turkey sandwiches for lunch today, leftover green beans with salmon for dinner, and still have much more leftovers. But that's how we planned it: lots of leftovers. 

Last night we watched a film Charlie Says--not the usual Thanksgiving Day fare. It's a different take on the Manson family focused on Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel after they've been in prison for three years. The acting was good especially Matt Smith as Manson (although he was too tall) and Hannah Murray as Leslie Van Houten. 

  

Thankful

I'm thankful for/that

• Jeff
• Lola
• our health
• we're financially secure through this hard time
• Biden defeated Trump and will be our next President
• we had a good dinner tonight
• my writing class on Zoom
• my in-person collage class
• being able to meet on Zoom
• it didn't rain all day as predicted; we got in two walks with Lola--one was a bit rainy, but the other was beautiful 
• The IRS has resolved my mother's tax mix-up from 2017 and will return some money.

I may think of more things to be thankful for later. 

Thanksgiving Memories

In my last post, I wrote about a Thanksgiving writing prompt. It got me thinking that I don't have many strong memories of early Thanksgivings. We used to have turkey on both Thanksgivings and Christmases, and I might be confusing the memories. My cousin Cindy mentioned spending Thanksgivings at our house in Audubon.

After my parents divorced and my mother remarried, she went to my stepfather's parents' house while they were still alive. I don't remember resenting it at the time (I was 20, not some little kid) but I used it years later to rationalize spending Thanksgiving with Jeff's family. 

Jeff and I spent several years going to this sister's house and a few times at her country club. The last several years found us at retirement communities with our parents. Sometimes we've pet sit for Jeff's sister's dog. We spent a Thanksgiving apart so each of us could be with his/her mother when there was no one else.   

As I wrote in my essay for my memoir class Saturday: Ultimately the number of people doesn't matter. It's the love that counts. 

The Extra Leaves in the Table

Last year, I read and blogged about Stephen King's book On Writing. I quoted the following:

"For me good description usually consists of a few well-chosen details that will stand for everything else."

Yesterday, I participated in a Memoir Workshop given by the Bridgeport History Center at the Bridgeport Library. We looked at this Norman Rockwell painting Freedom From Want as our prompt. As usual, I'm alone in my dislike of Rockwell, though this painting didn't annoy me as much as others do. 

I wrote a fictional piece based on the painting, but ended with a few paragraphs that were based on my life. In the fictional part, I wrote about Grampa putting extra leaves in the table. That was the detail that resonated with people in this class. I didn't think it was important; I just wanted to give Grandpa something to do. You never know.

I often focus on details in others' writings: Scott's grandmother's never used door that rattled and John's grandmother in her wheelchair mixing sugar cookies. I also remember how a teacher focused on spilled lime juice on the counter in a story I wrote that the class trashed.

Details are crucial to a story. So are realistic breaks in dialogues. I often wrote about smoking just to give my characters something to do. In my latest story, it was drinking coffee and wine. I need more work.

Thanks

This is the first Thanksgiving that Jeff and I spent alone (with Lola of course.) We had a stuffed turkey breast, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and a carrot salad.

Originally I suggested that we eat around 4. After our second walk with Lola, it was already past three, and I wanted to have a cheese course. We had three cheeses, crackers, a pear paste, and some fruit. The consistency of the pear paste was too dry and hard. 

The other disappointment was the turkey. According to the instructions on the turkey's label, it should have taken about 45-50 minutes to cook. It took over twice as long. We ate around 6:30. Luckily, it was just the two of us, or I would have been stressed out. Luckily also, we had eaten the cheese.

We enjoyed a pear tart for dessert. I would have gone for the traditional pumpkin pie, but Jeff bought the tart, and it was delicious.

The important thing about Thanksgiving isn't the food. I am thankful that I have Jeff and that we have a good marriage. I'm thankful that we enjoy good health. I'm thankful for Lola. She may drive me crazy sometimes, but she brings me much joy.  

I'm thankful for friends and family members, even the ones I don't see very often.

I need to give thanks more often. 

Thinking about Thanksgiving

This will be the first Thanksgiving when Jeff and I won't be with other family members.

We discussed our options. Dinner at a restaurant: only a few are open. I didn't want to invite people over because I didn't want the stress: I've never cooked a Thanksgiving dinner before. Jeff and I decided to stay home and cook a turkey breast: sides to be determined. I got a Stop and Shop magazine with ideas and figured I'd start from there.

Since our decision, I found that a friend Marti is thinking about hosting Thanksgiving if she can get her house in order. I laughed because that was something Jeff and I discussed: we would have major cleaning/organizing to accomplish before inviting anyone over.

I ran into a friend in our condo; she and her boyfriend are alone this year too. And they don't cook. She mentioned getting a turkey breast, instant mashed potatoes, and stove-top stuffing. She's in retail and has to go to work around 6 PM on Thanksgiving. She says it's better than going into work on Friday at 6 AM. I get it.

This year's Thanksgiving is still a work in progress.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

This is a quiet Thanksgiving for me. I have bronchitis and decided it would be a bad idea to to spend time with people with compromised immune systems. I stayed home. The fact that this was the coldest Thanksgiving in one hundred years made it even easier to stay in.

This afternoon I watched Season One Game of Thrones, did some SAT geometry work and rested.

Jeff visited his mother for a Thanksgiving lunch. He returned home to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for us. We missed out on a few things such as cranberries and pumpkin pie, but it's more important to be together.

That's the main thing I'm thankful for.

Thanksgiving Day

When I was growing up, we would eat Thanksgiving dinner around 4 PM.  Today Jeff and I went to visit his parents, ate at noon and were done by 1:30. I'm still getting used to early holiday meals. Jeff's dad resides in the health center; we took him to the main dining room today. He enjoys seeing people that he usually doesn't see.

Unfortunately he wasn't feeling well. After dessert, he went back to his room to take a nap. I don't think he even finished his coffee. We visited a bit more with Jeff's mother before returning to take the dogs to the Bark Park. There weren't many dogs there, but Jake played with a black lab named Carly. Lola ran around a little on her own.

My brother and his wife had Thanksgiving dinner with my mother at 11 AM. That's too early for me. Today was also Jim's birthday, so he wanted to spend it with mom. Jeff and I will probably see her on Saturday for dinner. 

A few years ago I speculated about future Christmases. I'm starting to wonder about Thanksgivings as well. We'll make sure to enjoy ourselves whatever develops.

Random Sunday Thoughts

This has been an unusual week: a three day work week for many, Thanksgiving, Black Friday (god not for us) and Jake-sitting.It was nice to come home last night.

This afternoon we went for an hour hike at Cranbury Park. I told Jeff that Lola was a good influence on us. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gone hiking, even though it was a nice day. It was my first exercise in four days.

I've got a new project. The ACT manual has been revised. I'll be teaching a class in about 2.5 weeks and will need to prep the manual, watch some videos and pass a quiz. I had just started a project to organize my ACT, SAT and PSAT materials. I should have started earlier (the story of my life.)

I've been thinking about plans for the week. It looks like my Monday appointment may move to Thursday. That opens up tomorrow, but I had planned on dinner with my mother beforehand. Should I reschedule? I need to go food shopping, and get back into a gym routine.

I keep dozing off as I try to finish this post. It's not conducive to planning. I'll re-think it tomorrow.