Just me and the cat again

My sister and her dog Daisy just left here a little while ago.  My brother-in-law and his folks left yesterday morning after breakfast (which was had at Perkins, down the street from the hotel where they stayed). Mom, Ditter, and I went to a little yarn and quilting shop the next town over, ostensibly because Mom needed a particularly large size of double-pointed needle, but mainly to drool over, maul, and eventually buy yummy, fancy-schmancy yarn.  Mom and Dad and Pip left when we got back from that little trip.

Ditter and I hung out on the couch, she knitting, me petting the dog and/or the cat (whoever demanded attention at the time), watching movies (In Her Shoes, The Family Stone, 27 Dresses), and eventually ordering a pizza.  Yes.  All this food in the house, and we ordered in.  What?  She offered.  I couldn't remember the last time I'd had pizza.  Did you know that the big chains have online ordering?  All you need is a computer and a credit card and bam! Pizza.  This is probably news to no one but me.

I only made it partway through 27 Dresses before I succumbed to a wave of tired, tired, tired and went to bed.  It was maybe 9 o'clock.  Lame-o.  I spent most of yesterday in a dazed stupor, like someone had whacked me over the head.  Come to think of it, that may be why I leaped at the offer of a pizza.  I'm pretty sure if I'd tried to cook I would have set the house on fire.

Today?  Feeling much better.  That determination to keep the house clean(ish) is still with me.  Let's see if it lasts.  Time to start acting like a damn grown-up.  Right?  Right.  First order of business: dishes.  Dishwasher needs unloading and reloading.

I'm having trouble believing it's only Saturday.  It feels like Sunday.  And I have Monday off, which is the day I plan to start my Christmas shopping.

Well, anyway.  Time to go clean up.

Next year's target

Next year's goal: to have the place clean before my parents get here, so my mother doesn't have to help me clean before the rest of the guests arrive. I'm forty(mumble) years old.  Why do I still approach the idea of housework like a sullen thirteen-year-old?  I'm ashamed of myself.

Which is part of the problem, I think.  Part of the reason the house is usually so messy is because I am so messy.  Part is because I am lazy.  And part is because I'm comfortable living with disorder.  Then when Thanksgiving appears on the horizon, I see the place through other peoples' eyes and am horrified.  That's when I panic, but not the kind that makes one go "move! move! move!" It's the deer-in-the-headlights, stare at the problem and wonder what to do kind of panic.  I don't get spurred into action until a day or so before people turn up.  And, since my folks arrive first, that means Mom winds up helping me clean.

I can't let that happen again next year.  Her hands hurt her.  I forgot about that.  It's a relatively new problem, so I can maybe kinda sorta almost be forgiven for forgetting.  She wears these blue elastic (?) braces for support with some tasks.  She said she should wear them more often, but she doesn't want to call attention to herself.  

Anyway.  The cooking part of Thanksgiving went fine.  I just need to do better on the cleaning front.  A whole lot better.  Like, next year my folks will come in and not have to do anything but put their feet up, that kind of better.  That's the goal.

Also?  The public areas of the place look great, but there are two rooms that are complete chaos.  That's where I dumped all the stuff I didn't know what to do with.  I have no idea where anything is any more.  Christmas vacation (well, the bit between Christmas and New Year's Eve, I guess) is going to be spent unloading and sorting out the "craft room," aka lumber room #1.  Then I'll work on the little lilac room in the back (aka lumber room #2).  If I do that, then hopefully by next Thanksgiving everything will have a place to live.

The parents are coming! The parents are coming!

Just got the call (that I asked for last night) telling me that my parents have left the house and headed my direction.  They expect to be here by 1 pm--they have to gas up the car, run some errands (like, "throw some books at the library," according to my mother.  I suggested she slow down and make sure they catch them all), and then they'll be on their southeastward.

What am I doing sitting here blogging? I have bathrooms to clean, a bedroom to tidy, a bed to make, all sorts of junk to clear, iced tea to brew (because I just realized that even though I bought stuff for lunch, the only thing I have to drink in the house is tap water.  I don't go in for other beverages much when I'm alone.  Except coffee in the morning, out of necessity), laundry to do, floors to sweep and some floors to wash!  Gaah!

Bye.

Oh, hey, one more thing.  At some point this week I hit 500 posts.  I'm not exactly sure when, because there are a couple of drafts lurking around, and Blogger counts every entry, not just the ones you post. Anyway, yay, 500!

Recipe reviews

I made that Bob Andy Pie I mentioned a few days ago. After everyone called or texted in to say they made it home OK I sat down and had a slice. Boy is it good. It's a custard pie with a very thin layer of cinnamon on top and another on the bottom. I couldn't see how the cinnamon stayed on the bottom, considering that it floats so well, but I think I just now figured it out--you brush the crust with egg whites. The cinnamon probably sticks to that when the custard gets poured into the shell.

The three recipes I introduced for Thanksgiving were all greeted with general success. Mom and my sister really liked the corn with sage. After Mom took a bite, she told me that she'd been a little worried about the amount of sage in it, because sage can be so strong. You don't add that until the very end, though, so I guess the affect is minimal (or do I mean "effect?" I can't decide). She copied down the recipe before she left yesterday. Here it is, along with a few comments:

Sweet Corn with Sage

3 T butter or margarine
1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 c.)
2 bags (12 oz each) frozen corn
1/4 c. half-and-half
2 T chopped fresh sage leaves
3/4 tsp salt [I used kosher salt]
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

In a 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion and corn 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is tender. [I wound up turning the heat up to medium high after melting the butter because it was taking forever for the corn to thaw out. I'd suggest thawing the corn ahead of time, and then maybe cooking the onion first before adding in the corn.]

Stir in remaining ingredients; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until flavors are blended. [Turn the heat down before adding the 1/2-and-1/2, or you'll have to add more]

I think this recipe's a keeper. And I thank my sister for finely chopping the onion. I don't chop things fine, and I said so. She heard me from the other room and offered to do it for me. I watched her, so I think I know how to do it now.

Pie, anyone?

Apparently I fed my family so well yesterday that no one had room for dessert. They all wanted to go to a local waffle house for breakfast this morning, so my suggestion of pie for breakfast got rejected. I tried to get my Mom to take home the pumpkin pie, but she didn't think it would travel well.

So now I'm sitting here in houseful of food, two pies calling my name, and no one else to feed them to. Dear me. Someone's gonna be a whole lot fatter come Monday.

Extra post--the ranting edition

I am getting really mad at the radio right now. As I was drinking my coffee and trying to organize the day, John & Yoko's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" came on the radio. It didn't register for a moment, and then...what? Christmas music? It's not December! We haven't even gotten to Thanksgiving yet! Dammit, marketers, quit rushing Christmas!

And then I calmed down. This station is on a satellite feed until 6 am. Maybe once the DJs come on we'll get sensible music.

Nope. Ten minutes ago they played some schmaltzy pop-duet version of "Silver Bells." That's it. I'm going to iTunes, where I can control the play list.

Look, I get that the economy stinks, and that retailers are running in place waiting for Black Friday to get here to save them. I have to say, though, that the more they ram this "Christmas is coming! Buy! Buy! BUY!" crap down my throat, the more I want to give everyone homemade cookies, handmade soap and scarves I knit myself. Part of it is the mulishness that is me. I find that even if I'm half inclined to do something, if someone tries to push me into doing it I will balk just to prove I won't be pushed. This got me teased a lot in high school. I didn't dress "cool." I got teased for it. So I went out my way to not dress "cool." Screw them, I thought. Same with music. I liked classical music. In middle school someone found out about it, and passed the word around. I then refused to listen to anything but WFLN (which was Philly's classical station at the time) or WXPN (for The Thistle and Shamrock, or for their in-house folk program called The Unicorn).

But another part of it is that I'm really tired of all the tinsel and the sparkle and the plastic and the piped-in music. "Victorian" Christmas may be more picturesque, but I'm sick of that as well. That's just commercialism from 200 years ago. It looks more dignified because it's older, that's all.

I used to think of Halloween as the last firewall between Christmas and the rest of the calendar, but that's not true any more either. It's starting to bleed through. This year I saw a lot of Halloween and Christmas displays side by side.

Maybe I'm just grumpy because I'm tired. I don't know. I do know that I'm not ready for a month of Christmas carols, and now they're starting early! I want to smack someone.

I guess I'll go scrub the tub. I'm in a bad mood anyway.

Thanksgiving Eve

It's 5 am. I have a lot to do today. Sophie, for reasons known only to herself, is tearing around like a mad thing.

I'm going to spend 15 minutes with my nose in my coffee cup and then it's back to putting the finish touches on the house. My parents will call right before they leave home, at which point I will keep one eye on the parking lot, ready to chase off anyone who tries using my parking space. It's not likely to happen. The lot (the whole town, really) is pretty empty since the kids have a week's vacation around Thanksgiving. When I was a student (back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth), they only gave us Thursday and Friday.

The cat's last dose of eye medicine is this morning, and a good thing too. I think she's getting pretty tired of this.

All right. Breakfast time. Enjoy your day, folks!

Busy

The plan today: get some coffee in me, medicate the cat, then finish this house. Not much to blog about at the moment.

Here's another picture I pulled off my hard drive from 'way back:

Background: I was at a crafting day thing in a friend's basement, which she had made over as her workshop (jealous!). A bunch of other people were over as well, some that I'd never met before. One of the women made miniatures--for dollhouses, I think.

Aren't they amazing? I took a close-up of the cutting board to emphasize how very small these things are. That olive jar was pretty neat, too. I cannot for the life of me remember their creator's name. Maybe the Chief Loon knows--she was there too, and I think she knows these folks better than I do.

All right, that's enough fun. Time to go squirt ointment at the cat. Whee.

Countdown begins

It's Thanksgiving week! That means I'm furiously cleaning and stressing about my house in preparation for the feast on Turkey Day. The parents arrive on Tuesday evening, Wednesday is for shopping for the stuff I need to get and any prep work that needs doing. Ditter arrives Wednesday evening. And then it's Thanksgiving Day.

I think I'm ready. Sort of. Maybe. Well, no. I forgot to ask my Mom what time to expect them tomorrow. Same with my sister. Also, I need to rent a carpet cleaner. Though I may wimp out and use Resolve or something. The downstairs is still a bit untidy, same with my bedroom and I just now remembered I need to do sheets and towels. I think next year I'm going to ask Mom & Dad to come on Wednesday.

Actually, between that last paragraph and this one, I did call my Mom and ask them to come Wednesday. I think I can handle the shopping and prep work by myself this year. There are only four of us this time around so I don't feel quite as liable to burst into tears or flames at the thought of pulling this off. Turns out Wednesday would suit them better anyway. They can get a good night's sleep and leave in the morning instead of leaving after work and driving in the dark when they're tired. Good idea, me!

Now I need to give myself a stern talking to about not relaxing because I just got a little more time before company shows up. Must keep going at this pace (or a little faster) if I am to get done what I intend to. I really wish I could work at this pace all the time, but apparently I need the panic of a looming deadline to get the lead outta my keister. Sigh.

Well! Back to work! Fridge to clean! Junk to stash! Laundry to do!

Menu for Dad

My Dad just got all of his teeth removed in anticipation of getting dentures. The dentist removed them one-quarter at a time. He said if Dad wanted them all out at once he'd have to go to an oral surgeon. This probably has something to do with Dad being on blood-thinners. The last quarter just got pulled earlier this week, I think.

This presents an additional challenge for Thanksgiving this year. I'm trying to avoid serving chewy foods or anything with sharp pointy bits (the sweet potatoes have chopped pecans in them. I think instead of putting them on top of the casserole I'll put a little bowl of nuts on the table). And I think instead of the apple or cranberry thing I was going to do, I'm going to try this pie from Three Many Cooks (and I thank the Pioneer Woman that link. She's doing Pie Week this week, and she mentioned them). It's a cinnamon-flavored custard pie. No sharp or chewy things there.

I called Mom tonight to see what she's been feeding him, and to see if my ideas were right: I have oatmeal to serve for breakfasts, and I'm going to buy fruit and yogurt for smoothies for him. Dinner on Wednesday will probably be spaghetti. I definitely need to make that tomato soup. I think I'll do that tomorrow.

T minus one week and counting

By this time next week I should be in my kitchen, unloading perishables into the fridge and prepping for The Big Day. I am so not ready. Also? Even though I really have enough on the menu, I sorta kinda want to make this as well as a pumpkin pie. I must be nuts. But it looks really, really good. Doesn't it? It'd have to be an "as well as" pie because my dad's blood thinner reacts badly to cranberries, and if I just did this one he'd have no dessert choices. Or maybe I could do this one, and no one would be excluded. I can always do the cranberry one later. I should stop piddling around and get stuff done, is what I should do. Tonight's mission: find the kitchen table under all the junk. And clean the fridge. And maybe the freezer.

Because it's never too early to stress out about Thanksgiving

I just spent part of my lunch break writing a preliminary to-do list of things I need to get done before Thanksgiving, complete with parenthesized notes and commentary:

• Fix downstairs commode (parts already purchased).
  
• Fix kitchen chair that you broke with your toe, for pity's sake (need wood glue, twine, brown paper).
• Refinish craft room chairs (supplies hiding in craft room).
  
• Compose and distribute Thanksgiving menu (consult your shiny new copy of The Joy of Cooking).
• Test some recipes for Thanksgiving (use up that frozen turkey breast that's been hanging around for a year; try the apricot whosit you want to make for Dad because he can't eat cranberries. Need cumin).
• Shampoo sofa and "freecycled" recliner (rent upholstery cleaner).
• Either shampoo or replace living room rug (Resolve and a long-handled scrub brush might do for this year. But really, it should be replaced with something that looks more like an area rug and less like the jagged-edged remnant it is. Something that isn't packing-taped down in the doorways by the previous owners might spruce the room up a bit, you know?).
• Rearrange furniture in living room (because now you have some, and it's all huddled together in one corner like a group of people sharing an umbrella. In other words, get rid of the boxes!).
• Is there time to sort out and arrange the craft room? (Probably, but what does this have to do with Thanksgiving?)
  
• Fix cracked, spackled bit under window (need spackling tape).
• Buy a new roasting pan & rack (preferably one where the finish from the rack doesn't rub off on the food. Gross. And possibly dangerous).

Yes, I really do write myself notes like I'm writing to someone else. It helps. And it amuses me when I look at them later.

Snapshot Sunday -- Thanksgiving edition

Thursday's bird, just after basting:



Seasoned with poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, and paprika. Stuffed with monk's bread (made by Trappist monks. Mom really likes it), celery, apples, sage, and onion. Basted in apple cider and its own juices.

...and I'm spent

Everyone just pulled outta here about 20 minutes ago. In the original plan, my parents were going to stay another day, but I guess when Mom said that she forgot to run it by Dad. He has stuff at home he wants to do tomorrow.

It went well. Very well. The turkey was yummy, all the side dishes were eaten and liked; that would be: stuffing (made with apples and monk's bread), corn pudding, glazed carrots (with apple cider in the glaze), sweet potato casserole, mashed turnips (rutabagas, according to the sign in the produce section), Brussels sprouts in mustard butter, broccoli and cauliflower, rolls, gravy made from the drippings from the turkey, and homemade cranberry sauce using Average Jane's recipe. The turkey was basted with apple cider partway through cooking. Apple seems to have been a running theme--it was in the cranberry sauce, the stuffing, the turkey, and the carrots. "Gas" was another theme--the sprouts, the turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, bacon in the carrots--all guaranteed to contribute to the mushroom-shaped cloud over my house.

My sister brought wine (whee!) and pumpkin cheesecake. Half of it is still in my fridge. I feel like Mom did most of the work, but when I said that, she disagreed most vehemently. Okay. I'll take some credit.

I have a fridge full of food, a turkey carcass in the freezer waiting to be made into stock, 12 bottles of beer (no one wanted any. I was surprised) and a sink full of dishes waiting to be loaded into the dishwasher. I already did 2 loads yesterday. Well, 2 1/2. The garbage disposal choked on something and the dishwasher had to be stopped partway through because the water was backing up into the sink. One trip to Wal-mart for purchase of a plunger and drain cleaner, and the sink was clear. I already have one plunger, but I really didn't want to use it in the kitchen sink since it's usually used...um...elsewhere. So now I have one for Kitchen Use Only.

Everyone says they enjoyed themselves, and apparently my sister has been sharing my stressed-out emails with her in-laws. Mr. S kept apologizing for putting me in a tizzy, to which I responded, "Freaking out is what I do best. Remember Ditter's bridal shower?"

A little incident from her shower came back to me this morning. We were staying with Stretch's parents 'cause the shower was supposed to be a surprise. The morning of the shower I sat bolt upright in bed and said,

"I need balloons."

"Right now?" This from my Mom, groggily. She'd been asleep right next to me.

"No, we can have breakfast first. But I need balloons." I wanted them to decorate the chair Ditter would be sitting in while she opened gifts.

And then I sat there in the semi-dark, thumbing through my "Everything Bridal Shower" book, checking to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything (else). It wasn't even 6 a.m. yet.

So anyway. I've survived my first large dinner party. Hurray!

In cat news, I took Delilah to the vet this morning to have them look at that lump. She has a rotten infected tooth, as well. The vet said it could be one of two things: tooth decay that's gotten infected, or something something-oma (cancer) that also attacks the teeth. That lump I'm feeling? That's her lymph.

Dad drove me. I managed to get out of the vet's office without bursting into tears, but then I lost it after telling Dad what was said. Sorry, Dad. He's very uncomfortable around tears. Got myself under control a couple of blocks later, and am now trying very hard not to think past the dose of antibiotics she's to get every 12 hours. We go back next week, when they might have to biopsy/X-ray if there's no change, and they'll probably have to take the tooth.

All this time I thought it would be her kidneys that would kill her, and now it might be her mouth.

Well, enough of that. I'm going to go get one of those beers no one wanted, curl up on the couch, and watch Pieces of April. I ordered it from Netflix especially for when I had my place to myself again.

Phew!

Done! *Pant, pant, collapse on sofa*

I took pictures of the bird and the table, but in my cleaning frenzy I accidentally hid my card-reading USB drive thingie from myself. Soon as I find it I'll post them.

I'm beat. I'll post more tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who celebrates it!

Holiday checklist (subject to change and addenda)

Need to get this down somewhere more permanent than the white board on my fridge. Since I'm on this blog everyday this month, figured I might as well put it here.

• Dinner menu planned, distributed, offers of help gratefully accepted from guests? Check!
• Hotel reservation made for sister's in-laws? Check!
• Turkey breast I bought this summer (to practice on but never did) examined and found to be too small to feed 7 people and probably 2 dogs? Sigh. Check.
• Shopping lists created, divided into "stuff I can buy now" and "stuff to buy fresh?" Check!
• Day picked to get "stuff I can buy now?" (including a bigger turkey, which I will freeze) Check! Tomorrow, as it happens.
• Menus planned for additional meals? Parents are coming Wednesday, leaving Saturday. Chh-no. Sort of. Maybe. Wednesday dinner, not at all. Thursday breakfast I'm going to do a crockpot oatmeal recipe I found on the internet -- steel-cut oats, dried fruit, water, put on low for 8 hours. Ka-blam! Breakfast! Friday morning I think we're going out to breakfast (if I have my way) at the hotel where Stretch's parents are staying. Friday lunch? Maybe I can make that carrot soup I made a few times this summer. I could make it ahead, even, and freeze it. Set it out to thaw Saturday morning. I wonder if I can get my father to eat that. Friday dinner, probably leftovers from Thursday. Saturday morning? No idea. Saturday lunch? Don't know when my parents are leaving, lunch might not be necessary. Probably can drag out the turkey again. I will be sprouting feathers by the end of the month and answering the phone by gobbling like a turkey.
• Bought and/or refinished extra chairs? Not yet. This weekend. Or maybe next weekend. Soon.
• Straightened this place up? HAhahahahaha! Oh, that's funny.
• Painted that section of the living room that desperately needs it? No, 'cause I have to straighten up first. Duh!

Okay, that's it for now. I have to go load the dishwasher. My, what a glamourous life I lead!

Holiday plans continued

Thanksgiving plans are shaping up.

I sent out a tentative menu to my mom and sister, and they've offered to bring: sweet potato casserole & dessert (Ditter), stuffing, baked corn (also called corn pudding), olives, pickles, and rolls (Mom). This frees me up to do a little more here. Along with the turkey, I'm going to make Brussels sprouts with mustard butter (found the recipe here when I was looking for instructions on how to blanch them). And I'm going to do some sort of glazed carrots thing. And mashed turnips, which seems to be another family tradition. I've never seen them anywhere but my family's table. And someone at work gave me a recipe for stuffed acorn squash that I may or may not use.

My sister thinks the Lancaster contingent will only be here until Friday morning. I'm going to book a room at a hotel around the corner for her in-laws. Things are kind of tight here. I still have very little furniture, and Mrs. S. had trouble with stairs anyway -- the big bathroom is upstairs. The downstairs powder room is so small there isn't room to change your mind in it.

My parents are staying until Saturday, I think. I'm hoping Friday morning before 1/2 of my family heads off to Lancaster we can get together for breakfast at the restaurant attached to my sister's in-law's hotel.

I need to buy some folding chairs. And some sort of tie-on covers for the two chairs from the craft room so they look a little more festive. Or less shabby. Whichever.

I also want to buy some sort of armchair or recliner for the living room. I need more furniture than I have, but dang! Furniture's expensive. We have a couple second-hand shops around here, but most of them are actually antique shops masquerading as used furniture places. It's frustrating walking into a store and seeing a beat-up armchair for the cost of a new one. And not feeling able to afford either.

But hey! Back to holidays! Dinner for seven! Two dogs! Overnight guests! Three weeks (more or less) to prepare! Yeeeeee-haw!

I need to lie down now.

Holiday planning on election day

Today I made up a tentative Thanksgiving menu and emailed it off to my mom and sister to see what they thought of it. Nothing earth-shaking, though there are one or two things I've either never made and/or have never been part of our Thanksgiving tradition.

Sweet potato casserole, for example. Ditter's mother-in-law served that on the Thanksgiving immediately before Ditter and Stretch got married (and I do mean immediately. The wedding was two days later). I liked that a lot, and am heartily sick of candied yams every year, so I'm going to try this. It's not the yams I dislike, really, it's cleaning the electric frying pan Mom makes them in. It's full of this hardened caramel goo that practically takes dynamite to get rid of. Ugh. No thanks.

I'm also making baked corn from a Weight Watcher's recipe, and I'm gonna try making Average Jane's Cranberry Sauce instead of the canned stuff -- I may even do the spiced up version.

I was going to make a carrot leek soup I've been playing with all summer, but I think I've talked myself out of that. I'll save fancy stuff for another year, after I have the basics down.

Oh, and I voted today. We had some judges to elect for the PA supreme court, some local judges, a planning commission, a district attorney, and a mayor to elect for the borough.

I'm interested to see whether Maine votes to allow same-sex marriage.

And now, even though it's only 9:30ish, I'm heading off to bed. I think I'm coming down with something.