Jive Turkey

It's Thanksgiving weekend.

Our usual Thanksgiving gig was cancelled due to the stressiness of my aunt that would have hosted. My grandfather broke his hip and had surgery, and she's been the one helping her mother out and getting her back and forth to the hospital. When she called on Sunday to tell me, I was similarly stressy from the party that was shortly due to start at my own home to celebrate Luka's birthday. His birthday was the Sunday before but I just couldn't do it then, too much going on. So when my aunt called, I shrieked, "I know where you're comin' from sister!"

So the boys and I spent Thanksgiving at home, and I rather looked forward to it. I like to hang out with my family, but it's been so chaotic here that I was glad to be able to just come to a screeching halt for a second. I planned a beta-carotene Thanksgiving--I was going to make stuffed acorn squash with veggie sausage, smashed potatoes, turnips and baby carrots with faux chicken gravy, and carrot soup. For some reason I bought what seems like a bushel of baby carrots at Costco for Luka's b-day party and I have to use them up. I figured my kids wouldn't be thrilled with the pervasive carrot theme, but we all like fake meat. Boca makes good stuff, and so does Tofurkey. I don't really like their fake roast, but their sausage is good and I was going to chop up some of their Italian sausage to put in the squash.

Late afternoon, I took the boys to see Bee Movie. I am not a huge fan of going to the movie theater, and became less so when I had to fork over $21 for the three of us. I thought there was a discount for getting there early, but I think they were gouging us for the holidays. I brought my knitting and two little flashlights to knit by that turned out to have dead batteries, so for a good portion of the torturous movie I was holding up my knitting to be silhoutted against the screen so I could see what I was doing. We discussed the movie afterwards, and I taught them a new word--"formulaic".

I was starving by the time we left, too hungry to go home and cook the planned dinner that they probably wouldn't appreciate anyway, so we decided to search out an open restaurant. I figured our best bet was Asian, but Tuptim and DaLat weren't open. We stopped at Pita Pita and ate there. I'd been there before, but I never noticed how dirty it was. I took Luka to the bathroom, and started immediately telling him "don't touch that! don't touch that!" He grabbed the door handle before I could wrap it, and so I made him rewash his hands. I know from Microbiology what would grow on some agar if any door handle were swabbed and cultured, and normally I don't make a big deal about it but this place was gross! Then I noticed everything that needed to be cleaned and I started getting a headache thinking about how disgusting the kitchen might be. I guess that was kind of a depressing Thanksgiving dinner. We went home and had a nice time playing board games, though.

Yesterday I took the boys to their Grandma's and they're staying for two blissful nights. There is so much I want to get done, but unfortunately I discovered that the furnace wasn't kicking it out as it should. I had a heating and cooling dude out and found out that the fan is broke and it can't be replaced until Monday. Well, it could have if I coughed up an extra $100 because the supply house was closed for the holiday and they would charge extra to go open up. Thrifty as I am, I said nah, I'll wait. So it's currently 51 degrees, calm wind, barometer steady in my living room. When I was drinking coffee, I could see my breath. Now I just want to sit here swaddled on the couch, but I can't let some good freedom go to waste so here I go. I'm going to try to warm up this place with some cleaning energy and I suppose it's a good time as any to fire up the oven and cook that squash.