Last Minute Thanksgiving Post

So has everyone else been chopping and peeling and prepping and baking for tomorrow? I got off work at noon today and am off for 5 glorious days and have some wine in me so who knows what this post is going to be about, but I had to write something since it's been a full week since I posted.

And that was a really long sentence.

Anyhoo, back to the prepping for Thanksgiving because I think that's what we were talking about. We have all the traditional favorites at Thanksgiving, but we like to throw in a "wildcard" (as my brother calls them) or two just to mix things up. You know, something different like a new recipe or side dish to make things exciting. Yeah, we live on the edge over here.

So this year we have two wildcards - a squash dish and a stuffing made with dates and kale.

Mind you, I'm still making the traditional stuffing without any added stuff my husband doesn't like. He likes his food boring predictable, especially at Thanksgiving. He's very stuffy that way. (see what I did there?)

But I found this recipe from a newsletter with a link that someone sent to me at work. The link is Thanksgiving recipes from chefs and famous restaurants. There's several good ones, but the sourdough stuffing with dates and kale and almonds sounded really good. Here's the link. You'll have to scroll down a bit for the stuffing.

The second wildcard is the squash, which involves brown sugar and roasting and carmelizing and I hope it comes out as good as the reviewers said it was. Here's the link if you need a last minute squash dish. Because it happens.

It's just our family this year for Thanksgiving. No wildcard guests. Just us. Me and the hubby, my brother and his wife, my sister and her hubby and kids, my kids (splitting their time between me and their dad) and my uncle who is a new widower (3 years ago) and has come out every year since my aunt passed away to spend Thanksgiving with us.

I'm lucky because my brother loves to cook so we split the Thanksgiving cooking. He does the turkey. His wife does the candied yams (and they are best damn candied yams you'll ever taste!), I do the wildcard stuffing and squash and the mashed potatoes. Brother does the stuffy stuffing. I do green bean casserole because it's my hubby's favorite. Brother does apple pies and I do pumpkin. It works out splendidly.

I'm thankful to have help with the Thanksgiving cooking.

I'm thankful my family is together and healthy and all here to enjoy Thanksgiving together.

I'm thankful for my daughter's sobriety.

I'm thankful my hubby helps me in every way possible, especially now with my back injury. He even backs my truck in the driveway for me so I don't have to twist around in the seat to try to see to back out when I leave for work in the morning.

I'm thankful we're both employed and I have a boss that lets me off early the day before Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful pumpkin pie martinis were invented by Rachel Ray and plan to have a couple one tomorrow.

I'm thankful there's good in the world to outweigh the bad.

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you have much to be thankful for, big and small.

I leave you with a song by John Denver, "Hey It's Good to Be Back Home Again", which I know is corny, but when my uncle comes out we listen to a lot of John Denver because...well, it's just what we do. And I love this John Denver song.

It's a fitting song for Thanksgiving, I think.

If you don't have your loved ones home with you at Thanksgiving, then I pray they find their way home to you soon.




I did warn you that I've had a little wine, didn't I?

Lushly and Thankfully,
Lori

Linking this post up to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for the prompt "Write about something you're thankful for." I guess I cheated because I didn't pick just one thing. But hey, I'm happy to have gotten a post written this week!

Haiku...Gesundheit.

I love Haiku. It says so much with so little. Every single word counts. I especially love Peyton over at Suburban Haiku because she is the queen of saying volumes with a few words. And the result is hilarious.

So she's my inspiration for taking on this topic from Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop this week: Write a Haiku about what you see out your window. I couldn't stop at 1 haiku though - I wrote 4.

Those aren't Tootsie Rolls

lying on the balcony.

Bad, lazy doggies.

****

I see the mountains.

Wish I were there camping out.

Where is my trailer??

"Next weekend," he says,

as I view our jungly yard.

I won't hold my breath.

****

I like our feeder

but bird seed = bird poop.

 I might rethink it.

Oh, these are fun. Every person, pet, and issue in my household is now fair game for Loriburban Haiku. That's haiku written while I'm drinking bourbon. Or...drinking anything alcoholic.

Try it yourself (the Haiku, not the bourbon. Although...) then go over to Mama Kat's place and link up!

Poetically,

Lori

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!

It's Okay...

...To play the "I have a fractured back" card and give my two grown kids who live at home right now a chore list of cleaning tasks to help get the house ready for Thanksgiving.

...For one of my kids (*cough* the boy *cough*) to offer to pay the other one (Sissa, who just returned from romping in Kauai and is now broke) to do his chores. She accepted and is now $40 richer and I get a clean house. Win Win.

...To clean and organize my closet, then google "fall/winter outfit ideas" and become obsessed with having a "capsule wardrobe," a phrase I was completely oblivious to just moments before. It's further okay to make a list of clothing items I need to complete my capsule wardrobe and go shopping for those items, but buy two things from Maurice's that were not on the list but will go with the other items on the list as soon as I buy them.

...To binge watch Grey's Anatomy on Netflix on my tablet while lying in bed on a heating pad. Furthermore, it's ok to binge watch any show you love and not feel guilty about it, because damn it, I do enough stuff for everybody and if I want to veg out for a few hours, I deserve it!

...To not care about Kim Kardashian or her ass.

...To write a very short It's Okay post on my lunch hour so I can have something new up on my blog which I've neglected for two weeks.

Thanks to Amber, at Airing My Dirty Laundry for her It's Okay Tuesday meme! Write some quick It's Okays yourself and link on up!

12 Lines A Whiner

So I mentioned before that I have weak bones suseptible suceptible prone to fractures.

Since I found out,  I've been taking care of myself with vitamins, green drinks, and exercise.

Then I fractured another bone in my spine a couple weeks ago. That makes 4. WTF??

It's painful. It's debilitating. It's depressing. It makes me feel old and afraid and sad.

Eventually, I'll be a hunchback which will be a real wardrobe challenge.

On the upside, my shoes will always match because I'll have a great view of my feet at all times.

The downside is it means more doctors and tests to find out the one thing I want to know.

Why?

If I could just know that, then I can know how to fix it. I could know how to fight this disease.

This disease that makes my lifespan 30% shorter.

And speaking of shorter, I'm shrinking.

Thanks for letting me whine. I'm done. I leave you with this uplifting thought:

**Participating in Mama Kat's pretty much World Famous Writer's Workshop where I chose writing prompt #5 - Write a Post in Just 12 Lines. And these two lines don't count.**

Succinctly,
Lori