Yes, I posted it. We still make it every holiday. Have started cleaning and shopping. Will set the tablescape up sometime today to get that out of the way. It won’t stay pretty for long as my family wants food on the table rather than flowers and candles.
missypie where are you? Have missed hearing from you!
Yes,mp…?
A lovely 5 night trip to San Diego.
Big rains late tonight…we leave tomorrow to go to rain…
I have not yet embraced the holidays. Not sure why but the idea that Christmas is so soon is shocking.
I use to mail 27 gifts and hoped to have shopping finished in Sept.
Silly is what I think now.
All but a few no longer need to buy for and just order online.
I am wondering if it due to living in the PNW and being socked in with rain on Thanksgiving so being restless the best ones are when we can take a hike.
But I really do not like Thanksgiving. I do not like any of the food! I use to make broccoli or/ mushroom strudel so yummy but so labor intensive
…my poor kids!!!
But this is my least favorite holiday 
Ok–our people are lovely. I am going to insist in games this year.
Oregon, my S doesn’t care for most Thanksgiving food either. I feel bad because we always celebrate his birthday at Thanksgiving. In addition to the smoked turkey I ordered, I am making a beef roast because he doesn’t really care for turkey.
Winter finally arrived here - over a 20 degree drop from Saturday to Sunday! We have a wind advisory right now. Areas at higher elevations are getting snow.
Yesterday I ordered groceries through Amazon Fresh, which just recently became available for my zip code. They are delivering this morning. Prices/variety much better than the grocery stores I can walk to, and I didn’t have to walk uphill in a wind advisory and carry all the bags home myself!
The winds have also arrived in DC. It was gorgeous on Saturday morning when I walked, but the winds arrived that afternoon. Really chilly today.
I am fortunate that we all like the traditional Thanksgiving fare. It is the favorite holiday in our house. We always host (H is head cook and I bake pies and make a few sides) and we have very close friends who join us every year. We also invite others as we love having a crowd. This year it will only be the 5 of us and 5 of them, but that is OK too.
We celebrate Christmas but I have never liked it since I have been an adult. H and I have always lived far from family and all of our friends end up with other plans. Even our friends who do not observe Christmas get together with their families. We tried getting our families to visit, mine have done so once or twice, H 's never would. The few times we went back to the midwest when the kids were small were a disaster with being pulled between two families. I also disliked all of the gift buying and shipping to family members we rarely saw.
Things got better as my kids got older. We started our own thing of dinner and church on the eve and then eating at a Chinese restaurant and then going to a movie on Christmas Day.
That said, H, S and I are going to Illinois this year. My parents and MIL are aging and who knows. H also has a cousin who will likely be having her last Christmas and we want to see her. My sister and her family will be there also.
Just a shout out, NM…I’d never heard of corn casserole until this thread back in 09 and now my fam here and afar look forward to th treat every holiday, so thanks! 
This TG my mom and sister are coming down, which will be nice, but slightly more hectic than usual since we’re usually semi low key for TG. However, mcson and gf are gon to MN for Xmas, so this will be their early Xmas celebration with mom, sis and mch’s folks.
I’ve warned the Canuks that I DO NOT SHOP on Black Friday, so now they wan to go to the casino on BF. guess ill find out which would have been worse
We will have the girls/spouses here on Thursday. D2 and her H will be here at noon for apps. D1 and her H will arrive at 2 after going to his parents. Turkey dinner here around 2:30. We usually play a game or two after we eat. D2 and her H then leave for his house. They don’t eat there but have fun playing games with his three brothers and cousins. H and I will head over to his brother’s house to watch the evening football game. Friday we meet up again to go to a movie together. If/when there are grandkids I believe we will have to adjust schedules.
Good Monday morning to all! Yes, where is @missypie?
H just bought tix to Book of Mormon. He found this new app/site called “Headout” that had the lowest prices. (They also do museums, tours, and more in several major cities around the world.) He bought 2 tix in the front mezzanine. We received an email confirmation. Shortly after that we received another email saying they couldn’t fulfill the order for that date. At that point H figured we were getting scammed or being led to higher price tickets. BUT, about 5 minutes later we had a phone call from them. Result? We now have orchestra tickets at the same price PLUS a $25.00 credit on our next purchase through the site. We’re quite impressed.
Thanksgiving - I’ve never had to host/cook the entire meal. (And that’s actually very OK with me.) I bring my fair share of sides and desserts, and H is in charge of the wine. It’s our most enjoyable holiday. I’m kind of with you on Christmas, though, @FallGirl.
Any Holiday when the girls can be here is my favorite Holiday! 
Hello, everyone. My new job and the longer commute take up most of my time. I like the job and the people, but there is no such thing as ever catching up with the work.
Two weekends ago, we went up to see D in the big city but first spent a day with H’s parents. MIL’s memory had faded so much in the year since I’d seen her last (dementia). She could still dress, eat, etc. but could not put more than a few words together. Several episodes in the last few weeks of her leaving the house at night and going to a neighbor’s. The Saturday after we saw them on Thursday, the neighbors called the police and they told FIL that he had to figure out a way to lock her in. H talked to them both from the airport the next night and by the time our flight home landed, she had passed away! Heart attack, which was such a blessing. They were living in her parents’ old farm house and amazingly, she died in the bedroom in which she was born. How’s that for full circle?
I had already scheduled a trip to see my mom this past weekend, so I changed my return ticket to a ticket to O’Hare. Amazingly, H, Son and his wife, older D and I all met at the rental car place within 10 minutes of each other and (due to all of us except D getting up at 2 am), made it out to the country in time for the 9:30 am church service at FIL’s church. I could go on and on about the logistics required to make it all work, but you get the idea.
The service was fine. The inlaws are members of a very small church with contemporary service, so there was no real altar - just a stage with a keyboard, drum set, etc. They put the urn and flowers and a picture on a folding table with a white table cloth over it. H and his brother sang and H delivered a very nice eulogy (most of which I wrote) and each grandchild told a short “grandma” story. Lots of folks came - it was like our Christmas card list come to life.
Younger D didn’t attend because the logistics just wouldn’t work to get her back to school for an exam this morning.
She will be home for Thanksgiving, which I have barely thought about. I can’t get my mind around doing Big Christmas.
We did see Hamilton and Fun Home while in Chicago.
Is that too much of a catch up? I try to read everyone’s posts and so sorry I haven’t commented more.
Be kind, everyone. I think this is a very kind, considerate group so please don’t hide your compassion.
Sorry to hear about your MIL, MP.
Thanks for checking in.
Good to hear from you, missy. We were going to send the bus to find you Sendin you the light for a nice TG holiday and condolences to your family.
Thanks for checking in missy. I was starting to worry. So sorry to hear about MIL’s passing. Hope all will find strength in their faith as they move forward. Be kind to yourself and don’t worry about having a “big” holiday season. {{{HUGS}}}}
Went to the grocery store yesterday and they were out of fresh herbs! I need some for herb butter for my turkey. Will head out to another store today as long as the freezing rain holds off. Just need that, some bread, dipping oil from a family favorite restaurant, flowers and some type of appetizer. Today is also laundry day. Tomorrow is baking day. H is out of town on business so I guess it is all on me. Wednesday is also son in law’s birthday which we will celebrate on Thursday. Still need a gift for him!
I am grateful and thankful for everything in my life this Thanksgiving and am praying for the safety, understanding and empathy for those who need it during this turbulent and divisive time in our country.
MP, glad you are well. Sorry to hear about your MIL. Again, given the psychological pain that the dementia-afflicted suffer as they decline, her early passing may have been a blessing for her.
We have all of my family coming to Thanksgiving except for the one sibling who is helpful and proactive. The others sit back and you have to direct them (against their will) to be helpful at all. My mother does 110% of everything when we are at her house, so she expects the same when she visits us – which is fine with us.
On Friday, we are on the way to Toronto to celebrate my MIL’s 85th birthday over the weekend. I had to change my reservations as the CEO of a Canadian company who is considering engaging us asked to meet for lunch. Fewer flights run on Friday AM. So, I have to get up before the crack of dawn to get there in time to wait around for several hours before lunch. [( already have some European conference calls scheduled as they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving).
And, in the it’s a small world, a neighbor’s granddaughter lived with her grandparents when she was in HS (after her mother’s divorce). We hired her to babysit for her kids. She graduated from college in the midst of a recession and her grandparents asked my wife if I could find a spot for her in our business. She was a stellar employee. During that time, she had some weird ovarian thing and a local surgeon said he could remove it but she would lose the ability to have kids. I called a friend who ran one of the major hospitals here and he connected her that day with a guru surgeon who said “I understand why the other surgeon said he couldn’t save your ovaries (?) but if I operate tomorrow or the next day as time, I will fix the problem and you will be able to have kids.” Complete success. She later got married, left with her husband to move for his job, and I wrote her a very good rec and she got a job as an analyst at an insurance company and has two or three kids. Now, she has gotten a job with the local NFL team and they are moving back. Her grandparents know that we are going to Sausalito again for the winter and were planning on renting out the house. They asked if she could rent it (at a low rate or zero) while we are gone. They’ve been great to us (and ShawWife and I have been great to them) over 20 years). A few years ago, they just gave us a 3’ x 3’ parcel of land that enabled us to have a second buildable lot on our property. This is probably worth $500K-$600K. So, we’ll probably say yes. In addition, the hospital CEO friend has since joined my firm. Small world.
Cool story, Shaw. Needed a lift today
Whether one agrees with pipelines or not, protests or not, I am feeling profoundly sad at the conduct at Standing Rock. Using water canons in this weather is unacceptable to me for any reason. If anyone’s interested, the council of medics and healers have posted a wish list on Amazon for emergency supplies they need to treat the protesters, many of whom are suffering hypothermia. If you use the search bar to look up their wish list, anything you select can be shipped directly to the medics, just so you know. I think this Thanksgiving I’d rather give our hosts heat than smallpox
Happy Thanksgiving to all! However you spend your day, I hope it’s a good one.
We’re off to BIL and SIL’s house, about an hour away. D and her fiancé will be with us; S doesn’t have enough leave to fly up from FL. For the first time our pup is NOT coming with us – I made an executive decision to board her for the day. She can be quite a pest, and is not calm. (Good thing she’s cute!) This year there will be 2 babies as well as a toddler, so our pup would just add to the general chaos. Plus, since H disappears to the LR after dinner with all the guys to nap/watch football, I’m the one who ends up being in charge. I, for one, will have a much more relaxing day. If/when the pup calms down as she gets older, we can bring her again.
So good to hear from you, @missypie – although sorry to hear about your MIL. Dementia is difficult: we went through that with my mom. As a friend said to me, when your loved one dies, it’s like losing her/him for the second time.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Our favorite family will be over late today. It is raining and 22 MPH so ugly.
I get a trapped feeling on days like this so am trying to think of games or activities.
They bring all of the traditional food so I just have assembly for appetizers and such.
I wonder if the pecan pie that H bought a few days ago should have been refrigerated. It was not in the store
and has a life date of 12-01-16. Just thought of it last night.
Hope no one gets sick! Nothing on the box about how to store it.
CB, D has her dog with her at her BF’s parents. They have brand new hardwood floors on one level.
Dog has boots on! Guess they adore her but she is a lot of work.
After having her 5 our of her 7 years we miss her but then again are enjoying the freedom.
Hope your S is not too lonely today.
Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We hosted as usual and D, SIL and I ran the Turkey Trot in the morning. Lots of leftovers but no corn casserole, NM. That has become a favorite and we need to double it next year.Both kids were home and left yesterday. I love having everyone here but it is tiring with someone always coming and going, lots of meals, dishes and laundry. As much fun as it is, H and I are both exhausted.
H is traveling for work this week and then will be gone on the weekend (family football game trip- I’m not going). So I will have some down time and a chance to get a few things done.
Well I survived another in-law TG. I will say that for me TG is my least favorite holiday – probably because it’s a couple of nights away at my MILs and well she and I do NOT get along - never have – never will. H doesn’t even really get along with her.
For me it’s Christmas. I just love the season and all the hustle and bustle. House is almost decorated. Still need to get the snow village set up and the live tree bought and up but for the most part we are good. Started making my Christmas cards yesterday. Going to take a bit longer than I planned as they are a bit labor intensive - more than I thought but oh well I really like the outcome.
I’ve started my shopping but still have quite a bit left to do but it will all get done. I seem to finish every year.
Hi all – been crazy busy, but did take a week vacation with the extended family in St. Petersburg vicinity for Thanksgiving. Really enjoyable, and beautiful boating weather. There were sixteen of us ranging in age from 10-61, so quite fun. Rode a wave runner for the first time in my life – it was a blast.
I was sent to the grocery store Thanksgiving -1 with a list. It included asparagus, green beans, chard and red cab among other items. Later that day I asked s-i-l what she was planning to make with the chard and red cabbage, and she looked perplexed. It was supposed to be chardonnay and red cabernet. Luckily, we’d also picked up wine.
MP – I am sorry for the loss of your MIL.
The Thanksgiving with my family was a lot better than expected. They didn’t help much but were a lot more socially acceptable than normal.
@arabrab, I love the chard and red cab.
Just got back from weekend-long 85th birthday celebration for my MIL. Great, especially so because MIL hired a long-time family helper for 6 days to clean/wash dishes/cook in addition to all of the chefs in the family cooking. This took away lots of stress and didn’t give the bossy sibs fodder to boss others around (who would then feel resentful). Interestingly, the only sibling who didn’t get a cooking assignment was my SIL, who is the health/nutrition/mindful living/healthy relationship to food/body coach for women. She was hovering around telling people what to do, but everyone else cooked. Maybe my nephew who organized it didn’t want to eat a full vegetarian dinner (in fact, all of the other sibs are really good to excellent cooks and despite her profession, she is not as good).
The event was on the farm on which ShawWife and I were married 32.5 years ago. This summer, my nephew (who is the oldest grandchild and 4 years old than ShawSon) will get married there. He came with his radiant, tall, blonde Dutch fiancee. Radiant in that she just projects warmth in a very nice way.