Thanksgiving
For the Thanksgiving holiday we Got up early to do some things around the house. We had to shower early as we were due at Amanda's by 1:00 PM. Valerie made her Orange Fluff, a jello thing made with Cool Whip instead of water and manderian oranges. I made acorn squash we had bought when we were pumpkin shopping in Michigan in October. The acorn squash were rather large and only cost 50 cents. I used a maple syrup and soy sauce marinade with fresh ground ginger.
At about the time we had planned on leaving a friend called up with a "family crisis", looking for support and advise from Valerie. So, of course, we got off late. We had to hurry to get the stuff to the car and take off. We were driving a 1995 Honda Accord LX that we thinking about buying from a dealer. The car was nice but when we got to a piece of road that was less than perfect (we have a lot of those here in Indiana) the rear of the car started to hop to the left with each bump. I had to slow down to 35 mph in order to keep it on the road. Also the transmission was not shifting into overdrive so the engine raced at speed.
Once we got to Amanda's we realized that we had left the bag with the Orange Fluff, the cans of cranberry sauce and the corkscrew. Oh, well at least we had my squash. But we were almost an hour late. Not to worry, Jon's parents came 15 minutes later. We set up and ate soon after. Keith, Jon's dad said grace. Valerie, her daughters, Jon and I held hands in a semi-circle while the Gaisers; Keith & Faye, Ben & Jessica, Tony & Jessica, LaToya & Isiah and Mark; each stood about three feet apart. The babies; Sam and Jeremy made baby noises. The food was good. The turkey was great. My squash had a great carmelized flavor from the maple syrup and a tang from the fresh ginger.We missed the Orange Fluff and the cranberry sauce. Mashed potates, stuffing, green bean caserole that Marlana had made using a different recipie (thank God!) that I really enjoyed, and artichoke heart spread bread made up the rest of the dinner. The meal was complemented with several wines I brought. This followed with some great pumking pie. Noone brought any whipped cream. We mixed up the seating and had good conversation.
After dinner the fellows watched some football, the ladies gossiped the young men went outside to shoot bow & arrows at targets and the young mothers compared notes. The Gaisers had to leave early, they needed to get ready for a trip to Minnesota to see his father. Tony & Jessica left becasue it was snowing between Valporaiso and their home in South Bend (the famous Lake Effect snow). Ben & Jessica wanted to get Sam to bed. Mark was going with his friends. So Jon, Amanda, Marlana, and Valerie played Scatagories while I fell asleep on the couch. There are pictures to prove I was asleep with my belt undone. I awoke to take over for Valerie at the game so that she could take care of Jeremy. Of course I won. A good time was had by all thought the girls did get a little baudy at the game.
We drove home the long way so that we could take the smooth roads and drove slower than traffic. We were home by 10:30 PM.
If this sounds like a normal Thanksgiving, you have gotten the idea. No drama, no family fights, no burnt buns, a few forgotten items, good food, bouncing first graders, cute toddlers, nice conversation, brothers and sisters giving each other a few verbal pokes, yelling at the footbal games and talk of the weather.
Now it is time to return to my normal life, less exciting than the holiday.
At about the time we had planned on leaving a friend called up with a "family crisis", looking for support and advise from Valerie. So, of course, we got off late. We had to hurry to get the stuff to the car and take off. We were driving a 1995 Honda Accord LX that we thinking about buying from a dealer. The car was nice but when we got to a piece of road that was less than perfect (we have a lot of those here in Indiana) the rear of the car started to hop to the left with each bump. I had to slow down to 35 mph in order to keep it on the road. Also the transmission was not shifting into overdrive so the engine raced at speed.
Once we got to Amanda's we realized that we had left the bag with the Orange Fluff, the cans of cranberry sauce and the corkscrew. Oh, well at least we had my squash. But we were almost an hour late. Not to worry, Jon's parents came 15 minutes later. We set up and ate soon after. Keith, Jon's dad said grace. Valerie, her daughters, Jon and I held hands in a semi-circle while the Gaisers; Keith & Faye, Ben & Jessica, Tony & Jessica, LaToya & Isiah and Mark; each stood about three feet apart. The babies; Sam and Jeremy made baby noises. The food was good. The turkey was great. My squash had a great carmelized flavor from the maple syrup and a tang from the fresh ginger.We missed the Orange Fluff and the cranberry sauce. Mashed potates, stuffing, green bean caserole that Marlana had made using a different recipie (thank God!) that I really enjoyed, and artichoke heart spread bread made up the rest of the dinner. The meal was complemented with several wines I brought. This followed with some great pumking pie. Noone brought any whipped cream. We mixed up the seating and had good conversation.
After dinner the fellows watched some football, the ladies gossiped the young men went outside to shoot bow & arrows at targets and the young mothers compared notes. The Gaisers had to leave early, they needed to get ready for a trip to Minnesota to see his father. Tony & Jessica left becasue it was snowing between Valporaiso and their home in South Bend (the famous Lake Effect snow). Ben & Jessica wanted to get Sam to bed. Mark was going with his friends. So Jon, Amanda, Marlana, and Valerie played Scatagories while I fell asleep on the couch. There are pictures to prove I was asleep with my belt undone. I awoke to take over for Valerie at the game so that she could take care of Jeremy. Of course I won. A good time was had by all thought the girls did get a little baudy at the game.
We drove home the long way so that we could take the smooth roads and drove slower than traffic. We were home by 10:30 PM.
If this sounds like a normal Thanksgiving, you have gotten the idea. No drama, no family fights, no burnt buns, a few forgotten items, good food, bouncing first graders, cute toddlers, nice conversation, brothers and sisters giving each other a few verbal pokes, yelling at the footbal games and talk of the weather.
Now it is time to return to my normal life, less exciting than the holiday.
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