Thanksgiving Wrap-up
Nov. 26th, 2004 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillibetThis year we ended up having Thanksgiving at my parents' place, together with both of my sisters and their partners. It's rare for all eight of us to be together and my mom was pleased as punch to have us all at her table. Everyone was in good spirits, there were no arguments or fussiness. Mom managed not to hassle us too much for eating all the food she kept pushing on us.
Jason and I drove over there on Wednesday night. At 4pm there was a reported 54-mile backup from Sturbridge (i.e. get on the Pike in Boston and sit), but by the time we left, shortly after nine, there weren't many left on the road. The weather was pretty bad--fog and heavy rain over the mountains--but we still made good time. In our room at the Best Western was the largest jacuzzi tub I've ever seen in a hotel room--big enough for Jason and I to sit next to each other at one end! So we eased the travel-stiffness with a nice long soak and then fell into bed.
We made it over to my folks' place (about 5 minutes from the hotel) just after 8:30 am to find that Mom had the table set, the turkey in the oven, and most of the side dishes just waiting to be cooked. I drove Dad down to the Thanskgiving service at the Episcopalian cathedral in Albany, where we met![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bex77. The music was pretty, but the sermon wasn't very engaging--"halitosis of the soul" just isn't a theme to inspire me--and the High Church rituals seem more silly than meaningful to me. When the service ended we were in the midst of a severe thunderstorm, so there was much wet scurrying with umbrellas.
Back at the house--with a brief detour to pick up the pies I had left in the fridge at the hotel--we found Anne & G. helping Mom to get dinner finished. Jason was working on the computer and no one seemed to need my assistance or entertainment, so I took a nap until dinner was ready about 1:30pm. Mom served us turkey (with especially good skin), gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cheesy onions (which she actually got Dad to make, amazingly enough), wet stuffing and dry stuffing, scallopped pineapple, cranberry sauce, and sausages.
We stuffed ourselves and then the others dragged Mom out for a walk in the blustery day while Dad napped and I cleaned up the kitchen. When they got back first Jason and then Beckie helped me finish up while Anne & G. kept Mom distracted downstairs looking at all the junk my folks found this summer in a box of my grandfather's. And then it was time for pie.
I brought three pies from the First Church Somerville First Annual Pie Festival--a vegan apple ginger pie, a sweet potato pecan pie, and a traditional pumpkin. The consensus was that the apple was the best, but only after careful consideration of all contenders. The funniest moment was when Beckie opened the Cool Whip container that Anne had brought from the fridge only to find tuna salad. Turns out none of the many Cool Whip containers in the fridge contained Cool Whip--the Cool Whip was in the freezer.
After dessert we hung around for a while and then Anne, G., Mom & Dad sat down to bridge, while Jason & Neil played with computers and Beckie & I went over to the hotel to get her checked in. When we got back, Tricia had arrived. She stayed for a couple of hours, regaling us with tales of her new job selling Subarus, her romantic adventures with men named Paul, and the exploits of the Lions' Club, while we raided the fridge for turkey sandwiches. ("Where did you put the turkey?" "It's in--wait for it--a Cool Whip container in the fridge.)
Eventually the rubber ended, Tricia said goodbye, and the six of us went over to the hotel for Hunter Soup--the annual tradition of hot tubbing at the hotel. Anne & G. went back to spend the night with the parents and the rest of us walked across the parking lot to Denny's, so that Beckie couldn't say "You never take me to Denny's" anymore. A plate of cheesy fries later, I was ready to fall over, so we went back to the hotel and fell into bed. Then various hijinks (a phone call, a search for sudafed, etc.) kept us awake for a couple of hours, but eventually we got to sleep.
Beckie had promised me a wake-up call, but forgot until they were leaving the hotel, so we were an hour later than we had hoped getting over to the folks. I'd called the last sausage, so I got to have that for breakfast with an egg on toast--no one makes 'em like Mom! After hugs all around I got in the car and zoomed across the Pike to make it home in about two and a half hours.
Jason, Beckie and Neil stayed and helped Mom & Dad with a few tasks and then went down to Hudson, where both Neil's brother and Jason's great-uncle and aunt live. They had good visits and got home around 7:30pm. Meanwhile I managed to get the bulletin and newsletter done, so felt it had been worth it to make a break early.
I'm very much looking forward to hosting Christmas here, but it was nice to swoop in and back out with only the drive and one meal's dishes to do. And it was very special to all be together for the holiday--this will be one to remember when this era is past. Hope you all had good celebrations of your own.
Jason and I drove over there on Wednesday night. At 4pm there was a reported 54-mile backup from Sturbridge (i.e. get on the Pike in Boston and sit), but by the time we left, shortly after nine, there weren't many left on the road. The weather was pretty bad--fog and heavy rain over the mountains--but we still made good time. In our room at the Best Western was the largest jacuzzi tub I've ever seen in a hotel room--big enough for Jason and I to sit next to each other at one end! So we eased the travel-stiffness with a nice long soak and then fell into bed.
We made it over to my folks' place (about 5 minutes from the hotel) just after 8:30 am to find that Mom had the table set, the turkey in the oven, and most of the side dishes just waiting to be cooked. I drove Dad down to the Thanskgiving service at the Episcopalian cathedral in Albany, where we met
bex77. The music was pretty, but the sermon wasn't very engaging--"halitosis of the soul" just isn't a theme to inspire me--and the High Church rituals seem more silly than meaningful to me. When the service ended we were in the midst of a severe thunderstorm, so there was much wet scurrying with umbrellas. Back at the house--with a brief detour to pick up the pies I had left in the fridge at the hotel--we found Anne & G. helping Mom to get dinner finished. Jason was working on the computer and no one seemed to need my assistance or entertainment, so I took a nap until dinner was ready about 1:30pm. Mom served us turkey (with especially good skin), gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cheesy onions (which she actually got Dad to make, amazingly enough), wet stuffing and dry stuffing, scallopped pineapple, cranberry sauce, and sausages.
We stuffed ourselves and then the others dragged Mom out for a walk in the blustery day while Dad napped and I cleaned up the kitchen. When they got back first Jason and then Beckie helped me finish up while Anne & G. kept Mom distracted downstairs looking at all the junk my folks found this summer in a box of my grandfather's. And then it was time for pie.
I brought three pies from the First Church Somerville First Annual Pie Festival--a vegan apple ginger pie, a sweet potato pecan pie, and a traditional pumpkin. The consensus was that the apple was the best, but only after careful consideration of all contenders. The funniest moment was when Beckie opened the Cool Whip container that Anne had brought from the fridge only to find tuna salad. Turns out none of the many Cool Whip containers in the fridge contained Cool Whip--the Cool Whip was in the freezer.
After dessert we hung around for a while and then Anne, G., Mom & Dad sat down to bridge, while Jason & Neil played with computers and Beckie & I went over to the hotel to get her checked in. When we got back, Tricia had arrived. She stayed for a couple of hours, regaling us with tales of her new job selling Subarus, her romantic adventures with men named Paul, and the exploits of the Lions' Club, while we raided the fridge for turkey sandwiches. ("Where did you put the turkey?" "It's in--wait for it--a Cool Whip container in the fridge.)
Eventually the rubber ended, Tricia said goodbye, and the six of us went over to the hotel for Hunter Soup--the annual tradition of hot tubbing at the hotel. Anne & G. went back to spend the night with the parents and the rest of us walked across the parking lot to Denny's, so that Beckie couldn't say "You never take me to Denny's" anymore. A plate of cheesy fries later, I was ready to fall over, so we went back to the hotel and fell into bed. Then various hijinks (a phone call, a search for sudafed, etc.) kept us awake for a couple of hours, but eventually we got to sleep.
Beckie had promised me a wake-up call, but forgot until they were leaving the hotel, so we were an hour later than we had hoped getting over to the folks. I'd called the last sausage, so I got to have that for breakfast with an egg on toast--no one makes 'em like Mom! After hugs all around I got in the car and zoomed across the Pike to make it home in about two and a half hours.
Jason, Beckie and Neil stayed and helped Mom & Dad with a few tasks and then went down to Hudson, where both Neil's brother and Jason's great-uncle and aunt live. They had good visits and got home around 7:30pm. Meanwhile I managed to get the bulletin and newsletter done, so felt it had been worth it to make a break early.
I'm very much looking forward to hosting Christmas here, but it was nice to swoop in and back out with only the drive and one meal's dishes to do. And it was very special to all be together for the holiday--this will be one to remember when this era is past. Hope you all had good celebrations of your own.
