Cranberry Friday

Began a gorgeous, sunny fall morning with breakfast, noisy cursing downstairs, and an episode of Good Eats. I thought "Cran Opening" was appropriate, since cranberries are in season and are very much a part of both Thanksgiving and Christmas cooking in the US. Alton Brown shows how the tart cranberry, a nutritional powerhouse, can become a tasty one as well, with everything from a home-made version of traditional canned cranberry sauce to Cosmopolitans made from Cranberry Granita.

I only had a little time for writing. Jeff is looking for Victor. They're supposed to check in with each other, and Jeff needs to get information on the Shadow Realm to the Rebels. Unfortunately, he finds the former prince regent in the clutches of evil Candy Witch Pavla Nemcova. She'll turn Victor to gingerbread...if Jeff doesn't do what she wants...

Did a Thanksgiving special while I ate lunch fast and got ready for work. Garfield's Thanksgiving doesn't start off well when Liz the Veterinarian puts the fat cat on a diet the day before the holiday. Worse yet, Jon invites her for dinner, then ruins the turkey! Good thing Grandma from the Christmas special knows how to set things right.

Work was on-and-off steady, not nearly as bad as I thought it would be the Friday before Thanksgiving. The fact that it was the nicest day we've had all week may have contributed. People may be holding off until later in the weekend or early next week to do their big Thanksgiving shopping. Other than some cranky people, there were no major problems, and my relief was right on time.

I had considered eating dinner at home, but I was too hungry. I went out to Arby's instead. They're only right around the corner from the Acme. I was able to walk there in less than a minute. They were surprisingly quiet for 6 PM. I had your basic Turkey Club Sandwich, Curly Fries, and Diet Dr. Pepper. I also saw another possible reason for the slow day at work, at least later on. The traffic on the Black Horse Pike going south was bumper-to-bumper. Folks may have decided they'd rather go home than risk that mess.

Went back to the Acme to do this week's grocery shopping. Took advantage of a Perdue chicken sale to pick up the cheapest chicken breasts I've seen in years. Got two of those crab cakes with a manager's coupon for a quick dinner sometime next week, too. Restocked canola oil, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, no-salt diced tomatoes, crushed pineapple, brown sugar, corn starch, and grapefruit. Found McCormick's coffee extract on the clearance shelf. I don't drink coffee, so this might come in handy. Needed heavy cream for the icing for the Cranberry-Lemon Cupcakes and orange juice for the Cranberry Bread I'll be bringing to Mom and Dad's house next week.

Because...yes, I did get the requested Thanksgiving and Black Friday off. This is one holiday they don't usually mind letting me go for. It's the day of and the day after the biggest food days of the year. The last place anyone will want to be is a grocery store! What I'm disappointed about is not getting more hours the rest of the week. I don't know what the managers are thinking. Other than a late morning day Sunday, it's all afternoon and evening work. Normal for this time of year...just not enough of it to handle pre-Thanksgiving crowds.

When I got home, I did one more quick holiday special while I put away the groceries. The Bernstein Bears' Christmas Tree is going to be one to remember, if Papa Q. Bear has anything to say about it! Papa takes the cubs up into the mountains to find the perfect specimen. Trouble is, they keep picking trees that are already occupied. It takes one family to remind Papa of the real Christmas spirit. There's an even bigger surprise for the trio when they arrive back at the Bears' tree house!