Thanksgiving - How It Went

I was too busy to take any pictures until afterward.
This was the only thing left before I remembered.

Some of you have asked how the big Thanksgiving dinner for 30 people (and two babies) went. In a word, WELL. We had a good plan for both before and during that minimized the hitches.

Here are some of the details. These are probably more than you want to know. It's more of a brain dump for my benefit.

Parking: We reserved a space up front for my FIL and told others where to park to minimize the effect on neighbors. We also contacted the neighbors to let them know that several cars would be at our house. Luckily, they were all going somewhere else for the day.

Coats: We cleared out two closets for them and stocked them with ample hangers. This kept the guest room bed free for diaper changing, etc. 

Tables and Chairs: Among banquet tables and table tops fashioned by Ward, we had four tables that comfortably sat 30 people. We had two upstairs and two in the basement. Miss Landers loaned us enough white tablecloths for them all, and Aunt Martha helped by lending us things to help decorate them. We borrowed chairs from 4 different people to get enough for everyone. We had planned where a few extra people would go if they showed up, but we didn't need to use the plan.

Name Tags: Since this was a diverse group of people, several of whom had never met, I printed up nametags ahead of time. In the beginning, I was able to introduce everyone and explain the relationships, but as time went on, I was too busy for that.

Food and Drink Staging: We put all the drinks on our porch. Luckily, the temps were in the 50s, so some people stayed outside on the porch or explored the yard for a while. Afterward, we made coffee. However, we forgot to offer the tea we had prepared for. I don't think anyone missed it. 

Ward fashioned a tabletop for the washer and dryer, where we put all the desserts. The food was served buffet-style from the kitchen counters. I had wrapped silverware ahead of time that was on the tables. We left the kitchen table clear for a drop spot, which was handy. We had tags available for people to label their dishes since the crowd had some dietary restrictions.

Food: Ward smoked two turkeys the day before and sliced and picked the meat. We reheated them in the oven the next day. This resulted in some tasty turkeys, but I underestimated the amount of time it took to reheat them. Dinner was about 1/2 hour later than intended, but that wasn't a problem. However, the minimal appetizers that we put out were almost gone. I had made 15 lbs of make-ahead mashed potatoes that I put in two crock pots. The rest of the guests brought dishes. If anyone asked (and almost everyone did), I suggested what they could bring to round out the meal. It was a typical Thanksgiving with plenty of food.

The craziest part of the day was trying to get everything hot when it was time to eat. Luckily, we have two ovens that we had going with reheating stuffing, baking rolls, etc. Aunt Martha was a big help as she ran the oven in the basement while I ran the one upstairs. We also had two warming trays from Aunt Martha. And luckily, we have two fridges to keep things cold that needed to be. I think most of the food was served at the desired temperature.

People continued to mingle over dessert, and a few set up in the living room with guitars and mandolins to play some music.

Overall, I say it went well. We had many comments about the good time people had and what a good party it was. We didn't think of it as a party, but I guess it was. :) 

The next day, I was tired but had to go to work. Ward started the clean-up, and we finished yesterday (Monday). 

Would I do it again? Maybe, but it was a lot of work. However, as usually happens, it forced us to clean up some things we had been putting off - especially since people were all over the house. We couldn't just shut off most of the rooms or the garage. So now the house is in order, and we're enjoying the clean-up we did beforehand. 

Now, onto Christmas preparations.

Until next time...

Procrastination

The Thanksgiving cactus is blooming right on schedule.
 (If you look carefully, you can teeth marks on the leaves from the cats.)

The morning is shrouded in fog, but yesterday's blustery, rainy day has passed. Tomorrow promises to be clear and in the 40s. A good travel day for all who are coming here for Thanksgiving. And a good day to put the drinks outside.

The current count for Thanksgiving dinner is 30, and it's time to kick it into gear. So what am I doing? Talking with you all. I can procrastinate with the best of them. :)

But we're reasonably under control. We have figured out enough tables and chairs for everyone, and this was no small feat. We've done some cleaning and hope to do more today, but we shall see. This may be an area where good enough is good enough. Silverware is wrapped, and nametags are ready. Quiet rooms are ready for the two newborns and their parents, who might need some time away from the crowd. Emails have been sent about parking. And last night, I made 15 pounds of make-ahead mashed potatoes. 

Today, Ward is smoking two turkeys, which will be reheated in the oven tomorrow. He did a test run a few weeks ago, and this method worked well. Tomorrow, we will bake the ham. And we need to get ice, figure out hot water for tea, decorate the tables, figure out staging for all of the food, how we will reheat the dishes people are bringing, etc. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what all needs to be done today. Thank goodness we made a list a couple of weeks ago. 

So before I'm off to be distracted by something else, I am wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving, whether you spend it by yourself watching the parades or with others and a big meal. And it may sound cliche, but when I count my blessings they will include you. I am genuinely thankful for the friends I have made here in blog land. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next time...

Again?!

It's happened again. Our credit card has been compromised. It seems like we have to get a new one every six months or so. And what a pain entering our new number into all the places it has been saved. Which, by the way, is probably not how the number was stolen. Most likely, it is a clerk we handed it to who had a reader in their pocket or some other discreet place. But who knows? Theives are often some of the smartest people around and work hard on outsmarting the system. We're waiting for the new one to be mailed. At least, that's going to cut down on our spending for the week or so that it takes for it to arrive. :)

But before our credit card number was stolen, we bought new furniture with it. We got two sofas and a loveseat. This is the most furniture we have ever bought at one time, and we approached the shopping in a whole different way. Instead of agonizing over whether we were choosing the right one, we chose what seemed reasonable. We went to the clearance room of a couple of decent furniture stores and chose what was in stock and marked down. No gnashing teeth over picking the "right" fabric. Good enough was good enough.

The new sofa

However, this was a very difficult exercise for us, especially me. But I kept thinking about what a friend told me years ago. She doesn't worry too much about whether she is getting the very best quality or style when she buys a sofa or other furniture because, in 10 years or so, she will be tired of it and want something new. And if she had spent a lot of money on it, she wouldn't feel like she was able to do that. But even with that philosophy, I know us. We will probably have these new sofas for decades to come. At least, that's our history.

The main sofa we sat on was 30+ years old. The fabric was worn through, and the springs were popping up. They had been for years. We got a cover for it and put a piece of plywood under the cushions to help. Then, it just felt like we were sitting on a board. Ward finally said enough is enough. We had been waiting until we didn't have cats anymore, but we are fortunate to have some very long-lived ones. However, Annie is old enough that she is not able to do most of the furniture-destroying things cats do, so we decided to take the plunge.

And the sofa shuffle went something like this. The very old sofa in the family room is gone. The sofa that was in the living room was moved to the family room. It's in good shape except for the sides that the cats shred. A good cover has taken care of that. The sofa and loveseat that were in the basement were Theo's are now in his new place. Those have been replaced with a new sofa and loveseat. Which, BTW, are the same as the living room sofa. We have the option of switching things around if we want. 

New furniture that's not beat up or uncomfortable is a wonderful luxury to have, and we are enjoying the newness of it all.

There. I'm sure that's more than you wanted to know about our furniture when I could have just said, "We got a new sofa." And "Our credit card was compromised."

But unfortunately for you, you had to read to the end to get the shortened version. :)

Until next time...

Kris's Kittens

Kris, a regular friend here, recently got two kittens, and I asked her if she'd like to do a post to tell us about them. Because as you all know, I'm a cat person and love to hear stories about them. If you've ever had cats, or pets for that matter, you will be able to relate to many of Kris's experiences. So many things she said made me think of stories of my own, but I will save them for another time. 

Pippa and Stuart

 How old are your kittens, and how long have you had them? 

Pippa is 7 months old, and Stuart is 6 months old.  We got them in mid-September.  It was a 2 week wait to get them, but in the meantime, the shelter had Stuart neutered, so we were glad that detail was done before we brought them both home.  We had considered bringing Pippa home first and then getting Stuart after his procedure, but I think it was best to bring them home at the same time. All of you cat lovers know that cats can be territorial, and bringing two home at once minimizes the territorial issues.  

Where did you get your kittens, and how did you decide that these were "the ones"?

There are multiple cat shelters in our area.  The challenge was choosing which shelter to go through!  The one closest to our house proved to be the best option. At the time, they had 15 kittens all in one room, which gave us plenty to choose from.  My daughter and I went for the first visit to scope out the situation. Pippa immediately deposited herself in my daughter's lap, so that was a done deal.  :)    We went back a few days later with my husband in tow.  We wanted to make sure that Pippa was a good fit for us.  While we were there, my husband kept rubbing the tummy of another sweet kitten--you guessed it, that kitten was Stuart.  At that point, we had a dilemma.  

Pippa

Before we ever made a visit to the shelter, we had discussed getting two kittens.  I had always thought that if we were to have multiple cats, it would be easiest to do it at the kitten stage rather than introducing cats to our home at different times.  After thinking about adopting two, I got cold feet and said that we'd get one, not two.  And then .... along came Stuart. I went to the front desk at the shelter and asked if they could ID who he was and told them that we were having a hard time choosing between cats.  "Just get them both!"  said the worker.  I told her that she was a problem and I was going to report her.  Good thing she had a good sense of humor.  Her words ended up being prophetic, and we decided to take the plunge and get both of them.  

Stuart (with Gollum and Ragnar, the Viking Gnome)

We had talked about traits we wanted to see in our pet(s)--friendly and affectionate were high on the list.  I also didn't want any that were aggressive to other cats (or humans) or who were too acrobatic, leaping on things all the time.  During our first visit, a fly was in the room.  The fly ended up being an excellent test to weed out some of the ones we were considering--one sweet girl was able to make astounding leaps trying to attack the fly, so she moved from my "maybe" list to my "no" list.  

Did you use the names they came with or choose new ones?

My kittens are named Pippa and Stuart.  Pippa's original name was Coco, but my daughter didn't care for that name, so she and I decided on Pippa.  Stuart came from a different litter of kittens, and they were named after the minions from Despicable Me.  We liked the name Stuart and kept it.

Have you had cats before, and do you have any other pets? 

We had to put down our amazing cat, Max, in June.  We had him for almost 15 years, and he was a perfect fit for our family. That was a hard day (as I'm sure many of you know!).  We had a busy summer, so I didn't want to consider getting another cat until after summer was over.  Our house was feeling empty, though, so by September, we were ready to take the plunge. 

Max with the Grinch

What did you do ahead of time to prepare for them? Are your preparations helping? Are the kittens doing things you hadn't planned for?

Well, Pippa just knocked over a fake tree that I have in my living room! Max had knocked it over before, too, so that wasn't unexpected.  I think that we expected some wild behavior from them, but I hadn't realized quite how long they could spend wrestling with each other or how vicious their play-fighting would appear to be.  

We had a lot of the basics for a cat already, but I stocked up on cat food, litter, toys, and bought another bed. I also bought the double-sided tape sheets that you can adhere to your furniture to prevent them from clawing it.  Pippa was trying to chew it off from the sofa, so we decided it was causing more harm than good and removed it.  I bought lots of scratching boards and a post, as well.  We never had a cat tree for Max, so I was on the fence about getting one for Pippa and Stuart, but after having them home, I decided they needed one. I did a lot of internet searching to find one that was fairly tall but took up a small footprint in our house, and that wasn't covered in carpet (I don't love the shards of carpet that you find everywhere from where cats shred it off).  I was finally successful locating one that I liked, and it's proven to be a success.  In answer to your question, yes, I do think that our preparations helped a lot.  Flexibility is also helpful, as they each have their own personality, and you can never quite predict what each of them will do. 

I have no idea what Pippa was up to on the cat tree.

Have the kittens taken to any one person in particular?

The kittens are leery of other people coming to our home. Pippa is more likely to check them out, but Stuart is our scaredy-cat.  We were surprised by that because she is more hesitant to enter new situations, and Stuart will barge right into a room and not appear to be frightened.  They are bonding well with the three of us; I'm not sure they have favorites.  It will be interesting to see how they react when my son comes home from college for Thanksgiving. 

Are you seeing distinct personalities between them? 

Definitely, and right from the get-go. Pippa is more high-strung and, as I mentioned before, gets nervous about entering new areas. We started them out in my son's room for a couple of weeks and gradually started opening up the rest of the house to them.  Stuart was very curious, but Pippa needed extra time to get used to the idea before she would go explore.  She likes to be a mother hen to Stuart, and I think she feels that she has to keep track of us humans, as well.  She's very friendly and likes to rub against your ankles (and get underfoot when you are walking). She makes the funniest chirping sounds, which we get a kick out of. Stuart, on the other hand, is more laid back.  He lets out a very hoarse, funny-sounding bleat and rolls over on his back to have you rub his tummy. He has super soft fur, so that's a pleasure.  He purrs really loudly and will let you pick him up, unlike Pippa.  

Where do they sleep at night?

We started them out in my son's room because it's a smaller space.  That's what was recommended to us to do.  After a couple of weeks, we transitioned them to sleeping in the basement, which has gone well.  

Stuart

What makes you smile the most about your kittens?

So many things!  I love how they enjoy being together and will play together; they also snuggle up and sleep together, and that melts my heart!  

Pippa and Stuart

Thank you for the opportunity to share my kittens with all of you!  

Thanks, Kris. I can see that you have many years of cat fun and love ahead.

Reflections

 Well, the Reflections title for this post sounds like I have been doing some deep thinking. Not really. It means that I've been doing some reflecting on what's been going on recently. And it's harder than you might think.

I'll start with Halloween since I'm looking at a Burger King Halloween crown right now, which I wore while I passed out candy. The weather had turned colder, so we didn't have as many kids as we might have. We had 20, while Wally and Theo had 46 at their house. I think they were a little disappointed that they didn't have more candy left over. :) I noticed something interesting this year. The majority of kids who came to my door said, "Happy Halloween!" instead of "Trick-or-Treat." Wally said it was the opposite at his house. Did anyone else notice a change? 

Earlier that morning, I did a Halloween storytime, which was a lot of fun. The kids came in costumes, and at the end, we did a parade around the library and the senior center, which is located in the same building. My favorite costume was a little girl who came as Santa Claus. She had on pajamas with a Santa suit printed on the front and wore a Santa hat. It was easy to do, and she loved it. Her mother said that she has been talking all the time about being Santa for Halloween. It was the first Santa costume I'd seen in October. :)

Last night, we had our first hard freeze. (BTW, the pictures you see scattered about the post are before the freeze.) We brought several pots into the garage so those plants would live to see another day. I have high hopes of overwintering them, but we shall see. I haven't figured out the logistics to make that happen yet. I know the basil is not going to last, so I hope to make pesto this weekend. We still have a good supply of dried basil and frozen basil from last year, so pesto it is. I might even spring for the more expensive pine nuts which I like the best, but usually get substituted with a cheaper nut. 

We usually go to someone else's house for Thanksgiving, but we are hosting it this year. The crowd is bigger than we've ever had inside for a sit-down dinner. Most of our entertaining of bigger groups (which we don't do very often) is in warmer weather where we can be outside. After some initial panic as the numbers grew, I think we can handle it. There are still many moving parts to figure out, but we're working on it. We may have a few overnight guests, also, so that's another wrinkle, but I know I am very lucky to have so many people around that I can share the holiday with. 

I just got home from work a little while ago, so it's time for some comfy pajamas and mindless TV before bed. What will it be tonight? The Beverly Hillbillies or The Big Bang?  Decisions, decisions. :)

Until next time...