Thanksgiving 2010 Recap

WARNING: Long post ahead.

5:45 a.m. Wake up and realize I need to use the potty.

5:46 a.m. Notice the light is on and the bathroom door is partially pulled up. Assume Papa Bear is on the toilet. It will just be a minute or two. I decide I can wait.

5:50 a.m. STILL waiting. Could get up and go to the kids bathroom, but veto that for some reason. Decide to wait it out.

5:51 a.m. About to explode. Patiently waiting to hear the toilet flush.

5:52 a.m. Can’t hold out any longer. Race to the bathroom, shove the door back, only to realize that Papa Bear isn’t even IN the bathroom. Immediately take care of business.

5:53 a.m. Notice the outdoor light is on; Papa Bear must have the smoker going already.

5:54 a.m. Aimlessly grab my Snuggie and stumble to the den. Lay on the couch and watch mindless morning news tv.

6:00 a.m. Greet Papa Bear as he comes in from the cold smelling of smoke. The 23 lb. turkey is officially smoking on the smoker.

6:05 a.m. Decide I might as well have some breakfast. Fix some sandwich thin toast and have a “moment” at the kitchen table thinking about my Daddy.

6:15 a.m. Finish my toast and dry my eyes. Wander to the bathroom to shower up and officially start the day.

7:00 a.m. Come back to the den fully dressed, showered, and ready for the day. See Cousin Doug walking up with keilbasa sausages and buns in hand for the mens’ midday snack.

7:15-8:15 a.m. Get card tables set up and piddle with tablecloths and centerpieces. Rearrange tables half a dozen times before I’m satisfied with the arrangement.

8:20 a.m. Greet Scooby as she makes her way to the kitchen ready for her cup of coffee. Fix her some bacon and eggs. Thankful I picked up more of the Belgium Chocolate Toffee creamer just for the Scoobs.

8:30 a.m. Greet Squirt as he makes his appearance to the kitchen – showered up and ready for breakfast. He dutifully eats the breakfast I serve him, but he’s really holding out for the hot sausages that will be served at lunch.

8:45-11:30 a.m. Wander from room to room, checking things twice. Debate moving the card tables AGAIN, but decide against it. Hop on Facebook and see what other people are doing on Thanksgiving. Tune in to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Look for BJ and Lynn and kids on tv, but don’t spot them. New York, I’m sure, is a big place.

12:00 Noon The men bring in goods from the smoker to be enjoyed for lunch. Squirt dives right in for a smoked sausage. Scooby turns her nose up and retreats to the fridge to find something to eat. I opt for a chicken quarter. It was awesome!

12:30-2:59 p.m. I mix up my Corn Casserole and Macaroni and Cheese dishes. I veto 2 sticks of butter in the Mac ‘n Cheese and go with just one. No side dish should have THAT much cheese AND butter. We’ll never miss it. However, I might should invest in a bigger Pyrex dish – my biggest one is not quite big enough to accommodate this massive dish. I make it work.

3:00 p.m. The men return to their respective houses for a nap before the big dinner tonight. Papa Bear brings in the glorious 23 lb turkey. I recommend he go ahead and carve it, but he insists it “must rest.”

3:01 p.m. I decide another shower is in order. I’ve perspired while fretting over the card tables. I take another shower and feel much more refreshed.

4:00 p.m. Fully dressed and ready for dinner and a glass of wine. I’ll wait for the guests to arrive though. I remind Papa Bear that maybe he should go ahead and carve the turkey. He puts me off again. It’s still resting (as is he – watching football!).

4:01-4:20 p.m. I watch random tv with Papa Bear. We flip back and forth from game to game, really not seeing much of any one game. I’m still pondering over my card tables – wondering if they are strategically placed where people can walk through to their seat and be able to get back up for seconds. I decide to quit thinking about the card tables.

4:21 p.m. Papa Bear hops up from his chair. I assume he’s heading to the kitchen to carve the turkey, but nope, not yet, he’s off to shower. I decide to preheat my oven.

4:40 p.m. Papa Bear comes back to the den, showered, smelling fresh, and dressed nicely in a polo and shorts. I INSIST it is now time to carve the turkey. This task MUST be completed before guests start to arrive. Mamaw is already here. The herd will soon follow. CARVE THE TURKEY!

4:41 p.m. I follow Papa Bear to the kitchen. He uncovers the turkey and I stick my casseroles in the oven. I sneak pieces of turkey as Papa Bear goes at it with the electric knife (a long time ago wedding gift from Aunt Barbara – we love it!).

4:50 p.m. I smell a funny smell. Open the oven door and find smoke pouring out of the oven. My biggest Pyrex dish is indeed NOT big enough for the massive amount of Macaroni and Cheese I have tried to pour in there. It is spilling out and hitting the bottom of the oven. Papa Bear suggests I get a sheet pan and put the pyrex dish on top of the sheet pan. This is tricky, but I manage to do it without dumping the whole dish on the floor. That would be tragic!

4:53 p.m. Low and behold, the smoke alarm goes off. I key in the code and turn it off. I open the door to let fresh air in. The pups are standing at the door, curious.

4:55 p.m. The smoke alarm goes off again. The kids are amused. Squirt runs outside to hear it firsthand.

4:57 p.m. Yeap – yet again – the smoke alarm goes off. Papa Bear demands we open the sliding glass door as well. Scooby slides it back.

5:00 p.m. The turkey is carved. There are pieces of turkey everywhere and Papa Bear has a big greasy spot on the belly of his nice polo – the result of leaning over the carcass. He doesn’t care – he proclaims he’s not changing shirts (and he doesn’t!).

5:01 p.m. The smoke alarm goes off again. I decide to just hang out at the controls and key in the code to turn it off.

5:02-5:25 p.m. The smoke alarm goes off (approximately) 17 more times. True story. Mamaw thinks it’s funny and she giggles at the kitchen table, but it’s getting a little old. I don't see the humor.

5:30-6:00 p.m. Family by family, our guests arrive bearing box lids filled with casserole dishes, desserts, and bottles of wine. We soon realize there is not enough room on the island for all the prepared dishes, so we spill over to the back counter. This will create a "bottleneck" effect trying to get the line moving, but so be it. It can't be avoided.

6:15 p.m. All the guests have arrived, so I gather all 24 of the troops around the island and ask Uncle Willie to say the prayer. We all hold hands. I have to turn loose twice to wipe the tears from my eyes. After the prayer is finished, I step outside on the patio to get myself under control. It’s all good, though, my Daddy is watching from above and smiling I’m sure.

6:30 p.m. Come back inside the house and it feels like an oven. It is SO HOT in that house. I round the island with my plate and fill it up with a dab of all my favorites. I pour myself a healthy glass of Snobby Weathervane wine (love this stuff!) and take a seat at a strategically-placed card table in the sunroom. I did an okay job after all of placing those tables.

6:31-9:30 p.m. Enjoy the company and fellowship of my immediate and extended family. I love this family so much. We had a total of 24 eat with us, with a few dropping by with boyfriends/girlfriends. One by one, family by family, they leave, and I silently say a prayer of thanks for the blessings I have received with this family.

9:31-10:59 p.m. Papa Bear declares he’s going to bed. I visit with Uncle Van, Aunt Pat, and Mamaw – our last remaining guests. They leave and I decide to tackle what’s left of the kitchen. I stuff the dishwasher silly and hand-wash the items that won’t fit.

11:00 p.m. I plop into Papa Bear’s chair and try to watch a little tv. Obviously, not happening. I finally get up and go to bed.

Another successful holiday has come and gone. Sadly, I didn’t snap any pictures (who AM I?), but I have memories that will last forever.

Bittersweet

Tomorrow. I'm excited for this:


But will dearly miss this:

Oh, Scooby says she will read my blog if I say that she is awesome. Scooby, you are AWESOME with a capital A. Thank you for your continued housecleaning (cough, cough, tomorrow - the bathrooms)!

Hidden Treasures

When I was growing up, I loved going to my Memaw and Pawpaw's house. Pawpaw would work in the garden in the mornings, then he would come in and watch Price is Right until Memaw had his lunch ready.

Pawpaw didn't do sandwiches -- he expected a full course meal for lunch every day. I loved going to visit them right around lunch time so I could cash in on one of these home-cooked meals. A typical meal would be some sort of meat - usually fried chicken, lima beans, okra and tomatoes, and homemade rolls. I LOVED Memaw's rolls. I always checked her bread basket the minute I would walk in the door. If there were a dozen rolls in that basket, or only one, she would insist that I have one -- even if it was the last one in the basket. It didn't matter if the roll was a day or two old, it was still fantastic. I watched her make them several times, but sadly, never asked her for the recipe. Out of 3 daughters and 7 grand-daughters, none of us ever got her recipe. I can picture how she made them, but I have no idea on exact measurements. This past weekend, I was at Mama's house and she gave me 2 cookbooks that she had received when Memaw died. Flipping through them, I could see that they had been well loved and used often. There were stained pages with handwritten recipes stuck in between pages here and there. I happened to find a recipe for Light Rolls and, as I read over it, thought how it sounded like it may be THE recipe. Memaw's rolls were not very sweet, and this recipe only has 3 teaspoons of sugar in the whole batch. Could I possibly have found THE recipe? I can hardly wait to give it a try.

Another little treasure we have stumbled upon is this seatbelt violation ticket that my Daddy received several years ago. It looks like the date on it was 5/4/93, which would have been 8 days after Squirt was born. Papa Bear found it tucked away in the glove department of the little Ranger. We all got a kick out of this. I can't wait to ask Mama if she ever knew anything about it.

New Member of the Family

Finally! We found the perfect fit! Isn't she pretty?! We drove all the way to Elkin to pick her up. No more driving the Big Red School Bus to work and trying to park it in a spot meant for a volkswagon. We had looked at a (very) nice hybrid Camry, but it had over 125,000 miles on it. It was in mint condition, but I was still concerned about the mileage, and it was also about $1,500 over budget. Then we found a 2002 Honda with 51,000 miles on it in Kernersville. It was okay . . . it drove good, price was right, mileage was excellent . . . but it just didn't quite "feel" right. It was a dark blue color -- definitely not a color I would ever pick out. It felt old and it was built in an "even" year. I'm not sure of the exact reason why, but my Daddy always preferred "odd" year vehicles. He just thought they were better cars if they were built in an odd year. I never really asked him to elaborate on that theory, but now I wish I had. Anyway, last night, we were still surfing the internet for vehicles when this one popped up. It's in great shape, has a sunroof, is white, AND was built in an odd year. I love it. I drove it home from Elkin and it drove like a dream. I'm sure my Daddy is smiling!

Happy Veteran's Day to My Veteran

I can't believe I've never done a military scrapbook page for Papa Bear. I should be ashamed. There's several pictures in particular that come to mind that I need to scrap. There's one of me and him in Fort Lee, VA, right before he was sent over to Saudi. It felt like the end of the world to me. We had been married one month when he was called up to duty, and married 4 months when he was sent to Saudi. The day he flew over was the day the ground war started. I was so worried - but my Daddy was beyond worried. Between the 2 of us, Mamaw had her hands full. But then, there's another picture that comes to mind. One of happy faces the day he returned from overseas. Me holding a goofy little heart-shaped sign with tinsel around the edges of it.
Anyway, until I find those pictures and do something with them, I'll have to enjoy these 2 pages of Papa Bear and the sweet little picture of him in uniform. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the "Smoking" page fits right in. He'll be firing up the smoker in just a few short weeks. Can't believe it's almost here!

Pawpaw's Pride and Joy

I'm not sure why I only think to update my blog on an anniversary date, but that seems to be the case for the past few months. Today was 3 months. If Pawpaw can see us from heaven, he was smiling today. Right here is his pride and joy.

And we even got Mammaw in the back yard for a few pictures.

Nobody mentioned it, but of course, we all remembered. There's not a morning, noon, or night that goes by that I don't think of him. So much I want to tell him; so much I want to ask him.
But I know Pawpaw was smiling today.