Thanksgiving with Pocahontas
My day started off with a bang. Or, really, a plunge. For the second time in less than a week, my toilet had issues. This is really how I want to begin a holiday. The good news is, this was the crappiest (*cough*) part of the day. I mean, we had our usual bickering, but it's not a holiday without it, and most things went fine.
Grandma had told us on Sunday during our weekly call that she'd be in touch on Thursday. Knowing she doesn't like to drive in the dark, and that she does like to spend a few hours here when she comes, we figured she would be here maybe noon-ish. However, we hadn't gotten a phone call for quite a while; mom and I had both showered and dressed and were waiting. It wasn't until about 10:45 when the phone rang; grandma hadn't slept well and had only just gotten up. She probably wouldn't leave for an hour, and it takes about 1:15, 1:30 to get out here. She said she'd try to move it along and get out here a little sooner, but there you go. She did arrive a little before 1 PM, and we were still cooking, but the turkey had just come out of the oven so she wasn't late for dinner or anything.
She had gone to Eli's to get cheesecake, plus a chocolate cake for my birthday. It was funny; she had me bring in these two bags from her car, one of which held birthday stuff and the other which held desserts. She pulled the cheesecake sampler out of the one and carried it to the counter, but you know how most people would carry such a thing flat, either with their hand on the bottom or both hands on the sides to keep it parallel to the ground? She'd grabbed it by one of the plastic tabs that help you open it and it was perpendicular to the ground. Uh, grandma, what are you doing? Luckily it was fine; the toppings and such were on there pretty good and it was quick enough that nothing slid around. Still…really. Pay attention, silly. And she said she wore clothes to "remember the Indians," and had on this red dress with yellow-beaded fringe. We kept calling her Pocahontas. There was so much fringe that she kind of clanked as she ate; I found it kind of distracting. It sounded like when we had the dog and he would hit the vertical blinds as he tried to look out the sliding doors to the yard. Dad heard it; mom didn't.
Overall everything was fine; the weather was good, sunny and even a little warm (50s), so her drive went well. She did call when she got home so we know she made it. For my birthday, she got me a card and an unlined journal, and she claimed to have a gift from my grandfather. I actually got that first. Yep, a day shy of two years since his passing, his legacy remains in the form of an As Seen On TV microwave crock cooker. It's a little one-person thing that I'd seen in the one bag when I brought it in. Great. Because this is useful to us. Now, my mother, forgetting this was in fact a gift for me, likely saw my lack of enthusiasm over it and grabbed it like she now owns it. She even pitched the styrofoam packaging from inside the box because she had a hard time getting it out. Lucky for me, it went in the recycling bin, not the actual garbage, so I was able to retrieve it, because I have no plans to keep it. Better, there's a "2" written on it, like grandma tried to sell it at one of her senior center sales, and it didn't sell. Nothing like the best for me! Yes, well, Goodwill is down the road; perhaps someone there would like it. Because our house was complete before it came here. Beyond complete, if we're being honest.
Grandma had told us on Sunday during our weekly call that she'd be in touch on Thursday. Knowing she doesn't like to drive in the dark, and that she does like to spend a few hours here when she comes, we figured she would be here maybe noon-ish. However, we hadn't gotten a phone call for quite a while; mom and I had both showered and dressed and were waiting. It wasn't until about 10:45 when the phone rang; grandma hadn't slept well and had only just gotten up. She probably wouldn't leave for an hour, and it takes about 1:15, 1:30 to get out here. She said she'd try to move it along and get out here a little sooner, but there you go. She did arrive a little before 1 PM, and we were still cooking, but the turkey had just come out of the oven so she wasn't late for dinner or anything.
She had gone to Eli's to get cheesecake, plus a chocolate cake for my birthday. It was funny; she had me bring in these two bags from her car, one of which held birthday stuff and the other which held desserts. She pulled the cheesecake sampler out of the one and carried it to the counter, but you know how most people would carry such a thing flat, either with their hand on the bottom or both hands on the sides to keep it parallel to the ground? She'd grabbed it by one of the plastic tabs that help you open it and it was perpendicular to the ground. Uh, grandma, what are you doing? Luckily it was fine; the toppings and such were on there pretty good and it was quick enough that nothing slid around. Still…really. Pay attention, silly. And she said she wore clothes to "remember the Indians," and had on this red dress with yellow-beaded fringe. We kept calling her Pocahontas. There was so much fringe that she kind of clanked as she ate; I found it kind of distracting. It sounded like when we had the dog and he would hit the vertical blinds as he tried to look out the sliding doors to the yard. Dad heard it; mom didn't.
Overall everything was fine; the weather was good, sunny and even a little warm (50s), so her drive went well. She did call when she got home so we know she made it. For my birthday, she got me a card and an unlined journal, and she claimed to have a gift from my grandfather. I actually got that first. Yep, a day shy of two years since his passing, his legacy remains in the form of an As Seen On TV microwave crock cooker. It's a little one-person thing that I'd seen in the one bag when I brought it in. Great. Because this is useful to us. Now, my mother, forgetting this was in fact a gift for me, likely saw my lack of enthusiasm over it and grabbed it like she now owns it. She even pitched the styrofoam packaging from inside the box because she had a hard time getting it out. Lucky for me, it went in the recycling bin, not the actual garbage, so I was able to retrieve it, because I have no plans to keep it. Better, there's a "2" written on it, like grandma tried to sell it at one of her senior center sales, and it didn't sell. Nothing like the best for me! Yes, well, Goodwill is down the road; perhaps someone there would like it. Because our house was complete before it came here. Beyond complete, if we're being honest.