Monday, Home, Crazy Thanksgiving!

 We started out our Thanksgiving prep with more than our share of disasters.  Non-life threatening I might add.

Hubs and I arrived at his mom's place about 4:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday with good weather and roads all the way.  Of course, she insisted on making food for us, but we begged off as we wanted to go out and see Hub's sister.  She cannot be around crowds of people.  I thought she looked good. She is thin, but she is beautiful and has a great attitude. She will have another cat scan on Dec. 2nd to tell if the chemo is working.  We are all praying hard for her.

When we returned to mom's she insisted we eat.  She had made clam chowder, but she thought she had turned down the skillet when actually she had turned it up, so it was burned to the bottom of the pan.  No worries just scrap that burned stuff off and mix it in and serve it. It was not edible, but she ate hers.  The rolls were hard as rock and tasted bitter.  Well, she could not find the corn meal as son in law had tossed it (he said it was more bugs than meal) so she used corn flour and then later found the butter in the microwave, so the batter had no butter.  Luckily Hubs and I had cheese and crackers to sustain us.

Wednesday, daughter showed up and we went to pick the kids, Signe', Kelsa, and Will at the airport.  Well the flight was 2.5 hours late so we wandered around Boise.  His mom kept calling and asking what we wanted for dinner offering all these things she had to feed us and we told her no and picked up Chinese.

We all set to work, making dishes ahead.  I did the stuffing, and daughters did other sides, which we stored in the fridge so all we had to do on the day was the turkey and the rolls.  I started to make pumpkin pies last.  Daughter had made 4 of her famous vodka piecrusts.  I made two pies, and some left over pumpkin in a side dish.  I pulled them out at midnight.  The girls had already left for the hotel with the kids as they all wanted to swim.  I tasted the pumpkin, and it was awful.  It actually burned my mouth and throat and upset my stomach.  I went to check the spices.  The cinnamon was fine and so were the cloves, but I noticed the ginger was in a bottle that had been relabeled.  I smelled it and it did not smell like ginger.  It looked like ginger.  We suspect now it was old Alum.

Anyway, hubs and I were back at Winco after midnight buying all new ingredients and I was in tears. It was two o'clock when I got to bed.  I actually bought those crappy piecrusts as I was not going to make more that late at night.  I called Jethelyn and told her about the fiasco and she said Danny (her eldest was running a fever) and Kelsa had just vomited all over the bed.  So, they were having about as much fun as I was. 

Now it is Thanksgiving morning, and the kids are back, and Danny is better.  J pulls the turkey out of the cooler so I can stuff it and I tore the bag wrong and all the brine it had been soaking in poured out all over me and the floor.  Finally got that sticky mess cleaned up and I changed clothes.  Jess started to make her famous chocolate creme pie.  When she was pouring it into the shell, she tasted the spatula and said, "Mom come taste this something is really wrong!"  Well mom had put salt in her sugar container and J had used salt instead of sugar.  So run to the store again for all new ingredients for pie. J was so mad.  I just took it with a grain of salt.... Okay bad pun.

We had thrown away three lovely pies. Finally, while J and I were out getting replacement ingredients, Carolyn (Jethelyn's mother-in-law) showed up and we all tasted everything we put into anything.  We threw away so many things out of the kitchen. AS upsetting as it all was, we still found a way to laugh about it because that is what we do.

Here is J wishing there was really alcohol in this bottle.

All of us at dinner well except for the lunatic who has the solo picture.  We had a wonderful time.  Lots of laughs and great food. Mom had such a good time.  We used all her lovely China and did all the work, and she was just in her element.

The girls went shopping Black Friday and I stayed and watched the kids. Then we all piled in cars and went our separate ways. We brought Signe', Will and Kelsa home with us.  We left Roscoe with J and her boys until we get back.  It is weird not having him here.  He is such a presence. But he will enjoy his time with the boys.

I have a house that has been destroyed by the grandkids, Signe' and Nate just came and got the two little ones. I brought the leftover turkey and the scraps from the boiled carcass home and have a pan of turkey enchiladas for dinner tonight and then I froze the rest for later.

I ordered J and Paul's present this morning and I just have two boxes to mail this week and I am done with Christmas. 

Now I have to get my butt in the shop as I have two wedding dresses due out tomorrow!  Will this year ever end?  

I am also turning down all work until the first of the year.  Well except for the policeman that just came. I have 4 wedding dresses to get out this week.  That is all I am going to do and then just remember all the things I have to do to get out of town again.

How was your Thanksgiving?  Any disasters to report?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim