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Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West, |
Thursday, November 27, 1997
The morning of Thanksgiving Day is a nice quiet time, especially if the feast is not at one's own house and one isn't the main cook. I did some things online, loaded some of my dining room chairs into my brother-in-law's car, then wandered over to my sister's house a little later. My part of the feast: "Bring a dessert that isn't pie," was my sister's request. I fulfilled this by going to Trader Joe's (a kind of specialty grocery store chain) on Tuesday and getting two mousse-cakes, one chocolate, one berry. I really like Trader Joe's; they have their market nailed! Dried fruit, imported this or that, wonderful frozen things. The only thing I haven't been pleased by was some shampoo that was hard to rinse!
I helped out at my sister's house by ironing some tablecloths. The turkey was well underway, and all the people who were coming were bringing food. I think we sat down 24 for dinner! My brother-in-law is in an Irish band, so the other band members were there, plus their families and friends. We also had salmon, kibbeh, several kinds of dressing, good salad, pumpkin muffins, and mashed potatoes down in the new Kitchen-Aid mixer bought specifically for the event. My mother's old mixer finally gave up the ghost, and my sister bought this one to replace it. Since my family tends to keep things for a long time, it makes sense for us to buy the best!
After a good feast, we played charades. This was notable because the game was suggested by two teenage girls who have been going through several years of being extremely anti-social. They even prepared by writing up the items to be guessed ahead of time, all either movies, or childrens' books. At first my six-year-old nephew said he didn't want to play, because he wasn't clear on what the game was and he has concerns about doing the "right" thing. But it was right up his alley so he was shortly in the thick of things. We gave up on the idea of scoring and having teams, and just took turns acting out the riddles. Fun for all ages, as they say, since we let smaller folks combine with adults who could read the slip of paper or give advice on what to mime, as needed.
I slipped away about seven o'clock, and went over to Jane, Luke, and Vonda's house. A good-sized crew was reclining sommnolent on the couches, sipping whiskey and port. Downstairs the newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom looked great! Very bright (painted bright white by Tami) even if it is in the basement. It was fun chatting with lots of folks. I discussed fannish topics with Andy Hooper and observed the regrowth of Jerry Kaufman's mustache. Luke, Tami and I talked about what we've been reading or not reading lately. Don't be the last on your block to read Patrick O'Brian!
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