It’s been very busy here—Dale’s parents arrived a little over two weeks ago (right around the time my blogging dropped off!), and the time always seems to speed by when there’s company around. More people to have a chat with, more places to go, games to play in the evening . . . we’ve done lots of Yahtzee this time.
Today we got everything for Thanksgiving dinner, and hopefully for the next few days afterwards as well. It’s kind of amazing how much preparation it takes to have a calm holiday dinner (at least for me). Yesterday, on Monday, I made my menu and then my shopping list. Today I went shopping and found a home for all the food in the fridge & pantry. Tomorrow I will do nearly 10 things in advance of the big day (make cranberry sauce, saute veg for stuffing, get items ready for making the giblet gravy, prepare veg for making stock from the carcass, set the table, plan the timeline for what needs to be done when on Thursday—including when I can fit a shower in!, etc.) . . . I guess once I’ve done a few more of these, I won’t have to do the timeline, but otherwise it’s still a lot of work. And I wouldn’t skip it for anything! I read in the paper last weekend that fewer and fewer families are having a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal these days and are going out instead, and I think that’s a shame. I’d miss the wonderful smells and the leftover stuffing. One nice thing about Thanksgiving is that Dale and I don’t have to hide the stuffing from Mom & Dad—at Christmas time they both tend to get up the day afterwards about 6 a.m. and have a plate of stuffing & gravy for breakfast, and by the time Dale and I get around to looking for some for lunch, there’s barely any left!
I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving, and I wish Meredith especially good luck in hosting her first dinner—I’m sure it will be wonderful.
Posted by elizabeth at November 25, 2003 09:44 PMAgree that people miss a lot by not preparing and/or having a holiday meal at home. Even when it doesn't all go "according to plan" (such as when the bird caught fire in our oven), it is still one of those warm, fuzzy traditions that becomes a pleasant memory. Looking forward to my breakfast stuffing.
Posted by: Cynthia on November 26, 2003 07:44 AMI second that. Once you grow up in a family that really celebrates the holidays (and looks forward to them just so they can see their family as opposed to dreading them), it's hard to get used to anything else.
Posted by: Meredith on November 28, 2003 01:03 AM