Thanksgiving dinner(s) and Black Friday 2009

Well, I didn't plan to go out this year.... you see, I had a VERY busy two days to start the Thanksgiving weekend, so I CERTAINLY wouldn't have time.. (HA!) Well, my pleasant experience last year at Kohl's made me think I could do this!! And besides, I was home last year by 7am... plenty of time to get stuff done for today.

Well, let's back up.... a little history of our recent Thanksgivings. About 6 years ago, our two daughters were going to respective boyfriend's homes to eat turkey dinner. Well, I for one, wasn't cooking a whole turkey dinner for just Lee & I, so I told the girls we'd have it on Friday when they were home. Worked for everyone involved. Since my dear husband always worked that day, it would give me the whole day to plan and make dinner. (What a treat!) Our church recently started having a 'blessing of the bread' service on Thanksgiving eve, so while I was waiting for my better half near the church doors, I spotted a newspaper article asking for volunteers to work at a bread company on Main St in town. The owner of Great Harvest Bread Co, of Manchester, was baking hundreds of loaves (this year was 500) and turning them over to the director of MACC (local charity) to be sold-- all profits going to them. They would sell coffee, water, cookies, scones (leftovers from the baking on Wed at the bread place), the loaves at $5 a loaf.

There is always a HUGE turnout of spectators and runners on Thanksgiving Day at our local (shall I say international) road race (photo courtesy of the Hartford courant) where the start/finish line is a few stores up from the bread store, and while we haven't ALWAYS run/walked in it, or even watched it every year, this would be the perfect place and the perfect day to help out AND watch the race! (And isn't that what He put us here for? Helping each other?).... Well, let me tell you what a wonderful time we had!!! We met some great people, volunteers and customers and decided right then and there, THAT is where we would spend our Thanksgivings (as long as the bread place continued this).... Six years later, we love it still! And it works out fine, now that one daughter lives out of state and goes to her fiancee's family's for T-day.

Okay, so our Thursday is set... work at the Bread co, come home and relax, work on pies for our dinner the next day, watch Survivor (maybe)... until my mom decided she was able to put on a dinner for all her kids (4) and their families-- now she's 81 yrs old, and of course, we'll all help. Okay, NOW I have to do some prep work for THAT dinner. Of course, I'll bring the bread (helping mom AND the charity), I'll get some cheesecake, and I'll make my cranberry orange relish--easy!

Maybe that's why I figured I'd be able to do the Black Friday thing. And I think I did pretty well.... I automatically woke up at 3:15am. Maybe because I was thinking about it when I got home from my mom's... in any case, I was up, dressed, and out the door by 3:35am (who needs a shower to shop?)! I didn't even grab my tea, because I knew they would have  my friend's lunch truck there. I brought an umbrella, because it was a little drizzly. ...DRAT! The lunch truck wasn't here...a little drizzle scared them away? Oh well, the line was around the store (per usual), but within 10 mins, the doors were open and in we went rather quickly. I got my DEALS (!) and was out in 45 mins!!
Are you ready for the deals? Digital Camera for my mom (and my present from dear hubby), reg $130, BF sale $60; GPS for youngest daughter $200, BF sale $70 ( I bought an extra one at that price- not sure for who!); riding toy for my 1 yr old grandson- reg $50, BF sale $20...a few other odds and ends....minus $5 cpn, plus I now have $60 to spend of Kohl's cash by next week. Saved $501.00!!!! Great!
Now, I thought I'd just be driving home now.... awww, why not go to Best Buy? Hubby wanted a boxed set of DVD's (Firefly) and following movie (Serenity). Found both in BB, not realizing they were both on sale... When I got home at 6:10am, I met my husband Lee coming into the kitchen for his coffee. As I got on the computer in the den, he starts showing me the 'great deal' on Amazon for 'his gift'. "Honey, it's on sale from $49 to $38 and the extra movie is on sale from $20 to $15". Nice.... (I went in the other room to see what kind of a BF deal I got on the receipt). His $55 boxed set (Amazon), which was $39 in BB... on SALE for $13 (even though the online site quoted $10.99-- not going back to store for $2)!! and the additional movie was $9.99!! Whoooo Hooooo! (Damn, I'm good!)

Now I have to go finish MY Thanksgiving dinner making...Hope you all had a great holiday so far (I hope to even get in some quilting!!)

Sewer Interruptus...

Now, I know that title (of this post) could be sew-er (as in sewing) , and it WOULD make sense, because I'm always getting interrupted with that. However, it really is the sewer... as in the toilet. And it DOES have to do with sewing, or rather, fabric buying in a real distant way.

Okay, here is the story. And I'm sticking to it. Last weekend, I had to babysit my grandson (he's 3 1/2yrs old)while my daughter worked. (She had two jobs, but lost one, so is trying to put in as many hours as she can with the second one). Now, he lives with us, so this makes it even worse.

After a long day of watching him on Sat, I needed to get to a fabric store badly. I had some material I needed to get to finish a quilt our church group is working on. Once Jules came home, I scooted out fast!! I lingered among the bolts and 'auditioned' numerous fabrics for two tops I brought with me. As I walked through the back door, I was greeted by my grandson (sweet as he is...) and my husband who was muttering something about underwear going down the toilet (???). My daughter soon clarified it. (Unbeknown to me, my grandson WAS paying attention to me 'dunking' his size 4 'big-boy' pants in the toilet when he'd pooped in them).

He is really good about saying (loudly!) "I HAVE TO PEE!!!"-usually with "Gramma" attached to the end of that statement, and he still needs help pulling down (or up) his britches, but he's not good about going poop in the potty. Not yet. He'll hide in the dining room (great room choice, huh?), or on the stairwell to 'go', then when you ask if he needs to go poop, he'll say, "I did already". I usually walk him to the bathroom to 'flip it' into the toilet, then clean his underwear (dunk-toilet, scrub-sink, and wash-washer) and go on our way... I had done this earlier in the day and hung the undies on the laundry closet doorknob to 'dry to damp, before sending it down to the washer in the cellar.

Well, I guess ,while I was shopping, and mom was on the couch, and Papa was on the computer, he was hopping around and his mom said "Go pee, if you have to Kai". The next thing she heard was the 'flush'... then, "I DID IT!! I flushed 'em!!" With a stunned look on her face, she ran in and said "You flushed WHAT??", "My underwear!... I flushed 'em!" (I'm sure looking very proud of himself!). My daughter said the water was SLOWLY moving in a circle, but didn't overflow. That was good, right? She reprimanded him and thought she'd gotten the message through to him. Shortly after she goes back in and sits down, she heard another flush! She ripped into that bathroom in time to yank her sock, before it swirled down the hole.... "Malakai!!" I now understand why the toilet has been slow (I really wonder what he's flushed that no one heard before this?) I figured it must have been the undies on the doorknob (darn!, those were Buzz Lightyear ones! My favorites!) Thank God, we don't have a septic system, or I'm sure we'd be digging it out... I guess mom will have to keep a better eye on him and the rest of our clothes.

Quilting Interruptus

This is not the time of year I really have much time to do anything but work (work at a photo lab), however, having a quilting group at church that meets once a month, keeps me on my toes. I also have a 10 yr old with lung cancer that needs this quilt we're working on. So, I'm making a major effort to get this quilt to a top. Hopefully, we can sandwich it and tie it at the next mtg.

What interrupted my quilting this time?? Let's see.... an adult daughter who got a job where I have to bring her son to pre-school (hence no quilting early in the am BEFORE work)-they live with us(however, she's just lost her job so I may have my mornings back) ... recently, Halloween.....working until 8 or 9pm at night (hence no quilting late in the evening-even if I had some time before bed, I'm exhausted).... moving 4yds of topsoil from the driveway to the backyard (took two solid days of my weekend, and killed my back)

... getting away on a couple of weekends with my hubby (much needed)... a few church events (I'm on the Vestry and 'required' to support the events attended), ... renovations in the house kind of stalled, but still in the halfway stages (enough to keep the rooms being worked on in shambles)... I guess that's enough. Thankfully, my dear hubby does the laundry (and pretty well, I think), but I still have to feed everyone (I think I should've switched that one, since grocery shopping takes me OUT of the house and laundry could get me sewing between loads...drat!)

I think this may be the last couple of weeks of overtime, so maybe I can get in gear. I also have gotten myself involved in two applications on facebook that are VERY addicting. They keep me from doing much of anything but that and the basics. Looks like I'm gonna have to 'make an appointment' to quilt!