Thanksgiving 2011

Virginia and Bob

I was talking to a friend I have known for 20 years. When he asked what I was doing and where I was going for Thanksgiving, I told him I would be here, by myself. A few minutes after we hung up, he called me back, saying his girlfriend, riding in the car with him said I should come to his sister's house.

Since I did not make the chocolate pound cake yesterday, I got up this morning and made three. One for Bob and Virginia, one for the dessert table today, and the other for me.

adorable baby--concentrating on elimination

Blogger decides where on the post to put pictures lately.

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Hostess gift

From my stash of gifts, I decided to give the hostess a set of cards. Since they are blank inside, these can be used for many occasions. The cards and envelopes, 10 each, cost me about 10 cents. The ribbon is leftover from something else, satin cloth ribbon, not paper ribbon. The gift did not get wrapped since I was in a hurry and could not locate proper wrap in my stash at a glance. I was tired before I left...lol. Hmm, the borrowed camera puts dates as it pleases, apparently! The picture was taken as the cards rested inside the basket where my pound cake was lying as I carried it to my destination.


The plan was for me to meet Bob and V at Arby's and they would lead me elsewhere in Birmingham or just pick me up and take me, returning me to my car later. I thought Bob said "quarter to eleven." No, it was "quarter after eleven." I arrived at "twenty to eleven" so I would not keep them waiting.

In the meantime, I had to go to the bathroom. Arby's was not open, so I had to walk next door to McDonald's, which was open.  After I got back to the car, hunger struck. I scrounged around for money. Nope. I had wayyy less than $1. So, I started searching my purse to ward of hypoglycemia and all the confusion that follows.

Finally, I found a jar of half-eaten peanut butter, brought in the car on another occasion for exactly the same reason--hypoglycemia. My plastic bag only contained forks. It was impossible to get a forkful of pb, so I sat with my feet out the door, eating pb until they arrived. Okay, I contaminated that jar, and might not want to eat from it again after I put lots of germs in and it sat in the sun, incubating them.

Another baby that never made a sound until all was over. Have you ever seen such a monstrous walker? The high chair in grandma' house was huge with a footprint to match a small car! Obviously, I have not been around the newfangled baby equipment. I never saw Brianna playing with the gadgets and toys. She is eating some sort of cereal or baby kibble, as you can see.

Philip

This man was the highlight of the day, well, except for turkey. I overheard a snippet of conversation and joined in. He is an English teacher who was discussing his month-long trip to England as a grad student and the low price of rail fare. As it turns out, his favorite Romantic poet and mine is the same--Wordsworth. We quoted snippets of poems and discussed the Lake District and Tintern Abbey "Intimations of Immortality," "The World is Too Much With Us," and other relevant-to-Wordsworth material. No, we did not bore everyone since they just ignored us...lol.  Neither of us remember anything completely, but we were nonetheless enthusiastic.  Neither of us was a poseur who tried to top anything discussed and who had perfectly memorized poems and facts for the amusement of others, spewing them continuously.

For the last twenty years I have spent wonderful Thanksgivings at the home of a friend. Conversation was always rife with politics. Political activists and attorney abounded at my friend's home on most occasions! This day was different and pleasant. Between babies and Wordsworth and varied conversation along with an abundance of food, I left feeling filled in many ways.

I did not get a picture of the table, spread with delicious dishes. Everything was gone by the time I thought of taking pictures...lol....and I was eating with gusto. There was a dessert table, jam-packed with goodies. The picture below was taken as I sat since my back does not like to be bent for a proper picture.

My chocolate pound cake is behind the little bowl in the center of the dessert table. Wow, with the pictures placed willy-nilly, this post is all over the place and I am in no mood to make it more coherent or to tighten it up.

OOPS! I have been reminded that I did take a picture of the food on the table and my hostess. I have no evidence on my camera. Something happened to the most important photos of the day. Oh well.

THE END

Your turn

Did you spend Thanksgiving in the midst of friends or family? Did you overeat as I did? Did you travel far? Do you have any unusual stories to tell?