Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I began mine with the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. They feature a short story on the first Thanksgiving, as well as several poems and the old song "Over the River and Through the Woods."
The Disney anthology Storybookland has a short story set around Thanksgiving, "Pilgrim's Party." Mickey and the gang decide to do their Thanksgiving the old fashioned way and head into New England to have dinner with the pilgrims and Indians at Plymouth Rock. It's all fun and historical cosplay, until Pluto steals the turkey!
Kit Kitteredge isn't feeling too grateful in the last two chapters of Kit Learns a Lesson. It's the height of the Great Depression, and Kit is upset that they've taken in boarders that have invaded her home and worried that her father will have to leave town to find work. When she and her friends Ruthie and Sterling bring the food from their class charity drive to a soup kitchen, she makes a shocking discovery there...and learns how much she really has to be thankful for.
Had a quick breakfast while watching Garfield's Thanksgiving. Garfield's not too happy with his holiday celebration, either. Liz the Veterinarian put him on a strict diet, right before John invited her for Thanksgiving dinner. Jon has never cooked a turkey dinner in his life, and his mind is really more on romance anyway. Good thing Grandma Arbuckle from the Christmas special comes around to make things right.
Watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on YouTube for the next few hours. A lot of folks were worried that the high winds today would discourage them from using the balloons, but they did eventually let them fly. They just kept them low to the ground. My favorites of the new balloons I hadn't seen before were the adorable Green Eggs and Ham one with Sam I Am and his buddy driving the ham and Astronaut Snoopy, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in his bright colored space suit.
Worked on writing for an hour after the parade ended. Donald is happily watching his date eat every bit of seafood at the booth, in their shells, when the others arrive. Gene tells her that they know she's the Princess Patti and that the queen is after her. What they don't know is how she ended up on land. Patti reveals the reflection in a rain barrel to tell them what happened...
Headed out for Rose's house around 12:30, with the two loaves of bread and the box with the remaining Kimberly-Clark items I wanted to give her. At least it was a nice day for a stroll. While it was just as windy here as in New York, it was also mostly sunny and warmer than you might think, probably in the lower 50's. (Definitely better than the lower 30 degree temperatures we had at Thanksgiving last year.)
Rose's small house was full when I arrived. Mom, my brother Keefe, and his new wife Julia had arrived from Cape May County earlier this morning; Keefe and Julia drove up to Mom's house in the Villas from Virginia a few days ago. Evidently, Keefe and Julia decided it would be easier to not go through all the hassle and cost of a big wedding and got married in front of a justice of the peace a few months ago. (No one around here tells me anything.)
There was a huge spread out in the dining room. Everyone gathered around plates of cheese and Triscuits and Vegetable Thins, a vegetable tray with home-made ranch dressing, a home-made cheese ball, and pumpkin butter and blackberry jam. Khai mostly hung out on the bunk beds in his room, watched cartoons, and avoided us. Kelsey the Miniature Pincher tried to snitch food, while Lynx the striped cat wound through ankles and his sister Toothless the black cat kept out of sight as much as she could.
Two-year old Finley woke up as the first football game of the day between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears was on its second half. It was a real nail-biter of a game, too. Both teams played very well, but the Bears finally managed to push ahead in the end, 24-20.
Craig decided Finley needed to let off steam, so he, Keefe and I took her out into the backyard. She showed me her big blue sandbox and her brother's hula hoop. Craig and Keefe discussed where they want to put the new fence that will replace the ragged wooden one that currently sits on the property.
After the game, Rose switched on a show called Bubble Guppies for Finley to keep her occupied and away from the food. Bubble Guppies revolves around six mer-kids and their mer-puppy who discuss either discuss a top relevant to toddlers, like fire fighters or dentists, or do a spoof of adventures or pulp fiction. The first one we saw was a fairy tale that had two of the mer-kids figure out how to gather the ingredients to restore their Bubble-Puppy after a witch turns him into a frog.
Finley found the contents of my purse to be more interesting. I showed her my wallet, coupon holder, cell phone, and my "lucky piece," but she really liked my note pad that I mainly use to write down story ideas when I'm in a restaurant or have to wait somewhere. I let her scribble her own "story ideas" on several of the blank pages.
We finally ate dinner around 4. It was an absolute feast. The turkey was huge, juicy, and so, so flavorful! Along with favorites like sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, and rolls, Rose made brown sugar baby carrots and replaced the gunky green bean casserole with sauteed green beans with fried onions and bacon bits. Oh, yum! She really outdid herself. I loved it all, especially the sweet potatoes and green beans.
Mom, Julia, and Keefe joined Finley and I for Bubble Guppies after dinner. They weren't terribly amused. As cute as the show is, it never addresses the problem that many of the activities shown - like fighting fires and chasing dragons - simply can't be done under the water and aren't logical. I say they were over analyzing things a bit. It's just a show for young kids. They can learn what's real and what isn't. I ignored them and showed Finley a Match Game marathon on my cell phone.
Everyone was more than a little worn out by the time dessert was on the table. Mom is still getting the hang of her smaller stove and burnt the crust on her pumpkin pie...but the filling was just as tasty. Rose bought apple and cherry tarts and Italian cookies from Desserts By Design in Audubon. I enjoyed the pie and apple tart with real, home-made whipped cream.
Finley went into the shower after we finished eating, allowing the rest of us to switch to the last quarter of the Bills-Cowboys game. The Bills were already kicking their rears when we came in, 26-7. The Cowboys managed to get a touchdown and a two-point conversion shortly after we started watching, but it wasn't enough. They ultimately lost 26-15.
Craig and Keefe drove me home. Rose deemed the old microwave cart in the basement too grimy to be saved, but she was able to give me a book shelf and a computer chair. The chair is sort of rickety and I may not keep it, but the shelf is perfect for my bedroom and will work just fine. I'll put the books in it tomorrow. She also gave me a huge bag of leftovers to take home.
Finished the night with Meet Me In St. Louis. I go further into this classic tale of the year in a life of a family preparing for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Meet Me In St. Louis
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