The Family Thanksgiving...

We had a very nice Thanksgiving get-together; 25 of the 63 we invited came - some couldn't get away, and Grandma Anne is suffering from severe bronchitis, so she stayed up on Sugarloaf Mountain. Some of the younger married couples have already split up since last year and are getting divorced. I spent most of my time with Edna, one of the sisters-in-law's mother. Edna is 78 and has an attention span of less than 90 seconds, so I was worn out by the time the feast was finished. But we had all the normal Thanksgiving dishes, except yams. Sister Kathy cooked the yams with pineapple rings and a little bit of brown sugar, and placed the large pan on top of the range to cool. Something slipped in one of the cabinets, the cabinet door popped open, and a brown glass bowl fell out onto the counter stop beside the range. The bowl shattered. Most of the fragments went into the yams. Luckily, the glass shards didn't cut any person or the two dogs - but the yams were a mess, so they were unceremoniously dumped into a trash bag and into the trash can. Jim, my brother-in-law, was going to "look through" the dish and remove any glass he found, but Kathy and son Mike were able to over-rule him. We had one table of gluten-free snacks and appetizers; and another table of gluten-free main dishes. Then was another larger table with all the goodies that contained gluten. My two fruit and berry platters and the corn pudding was gluten-free, but my brownies were on the other table. I brought home one brownie and a little of the fruit - nothing else....

   There were cheese and crackers, chips and dips, the fruit platters (seedless green and black grapes and pomegranate-infused craisins; and berries: raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries); a 28-pound turkey, with gravy and two kinds of stuffing; a 15-pound ham; mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffed mushrooms, corn pudding, corn bread and orange rolls; and then brownies, white chocolate walnut fudge, apple pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. That's not mentioning the coffee, tea, mulled hot cider, sparkling apple juice, sodas and water that we also had in abundance... Since we were at the Grange building, alcoholic drinks were not allowed - otherwise there would have been wine and beer, too. I walked with brother-in-law Dave over to his house and brought back a couple of floor lamps for more lighting; and was able to view the new gazebo he built last month, and was able to meet the new dog - a pale golden guy with what looks like white wings on his shoulders. His name is Gabriel, and he's part dachshund (and, I think, Corgi); 10 months old and a package of bouncing, active pup.

   My kits were upset with me yesterday because I wouldn't let them out to play. They've been out for 2 hours now, and both have come back inside asking for love. I can't wait to sleep and snuggle with them again. - Today is the last CU home football game for this season (poor guys have won only 1 game so far). I didn't get to see any of the pro football games yesterday, but I've looked at the scores. I was happy to see that the Lions and Redskins were winners. I blew a raspberry at the monitor when I read that the Patriots and defeated the Jets... Tomorrow I'll be cheering for the Gators and the Gamecocks.

   I hope that your Thanksgiving was wonderful, and that this weekend will be even better!