Thanksgiving et al.
This is a minor update for the people who keep bugging me to write something: So, I had to work today. Today, the day before Thanksgiving. For those who don't know, I work in a retail establishment- a bookstore. I'm not looking forward to Friday, I know all about Friday. Black Friday they call it, as it is the day that most of the retail world works it's way back into the financial black- it's also the day that most retail employees get the shit kicked out of them, and want to end their day by taking a hand full of quaaludes, putting on an Eliot Smith album, and just hope to God the world fades away to a simple nothing.
But that's Friday. I'm ready for Friday- a lifetime in retail will get you ready for days like that. Today, Wednesday, was a different story. I expected today to be a bit busy, people are off work, but they should be out buying green beans and yams and things of the like, not hanging around a bookstore.
Five people asked me what time we opened tomorrow. Not, "Are you open tomorrow?" but, "When do you open tomorrow?"
I'd already resigned myself to work the day before and after Thanksgiving, which means I'm not making any food this year (something we'll get back to), and I think Grandma wanted me to make a little something this year, as she's getting up there in her years, and she maybe could have used my help in making one of the side dishes. Last year I made the stuffing. This year I'm just going to boil one of my old shoes.
"Here grandma, try this."
Then Uncle Bill's going to get all bent out of shape, "Are you feeding her one of your old shoes?"
and I'll have to say, "What? I didn't have time to stop at the grocery store to buy anything. Don't worry the shoe's clean. I boiled it. And you know Grandma's getting up there in her years- it's not like she's going to notice anyway."
And which point Grandma will chime in on the conversation with a hearty, "MMM. Tastey!"
Now I know that as worshipers of the almighty dollar, we should want to be open all the time, ready to cater to anyone who wants to give us three dollars for a book... but damn, I like grandma's mashed potatoes, her turkey, her green bean casserole- and I'll be damned if any old person wanting to read "S is for Silence" is going to keep me from that.
Really, it's not the assumption that I don't have anything better to do with my Thanksgiving other than work at a bookstore. I'm wondering why these people don't have anything better to do on that day. Why do they want to come in and shop? Is the food that bad? Watching football isn't their thing? Don't bring me down to share with your misery man. I got enough of my own.
I did call Grandma earlier today to get the scoop on the food situation. I know there'll be turkey, and green been casserole. She said she was going to, "...try something different, and make mashed potatoes." This concerned me a bit- as I remember nothing but mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving. She swore that last year she made potato salad. This maybe true. I don't remember. I hope we don't have potato salad. That doesn't seem very Thanksgiving-y.
One of the things she didn't mention was broccoli rice casserole. I love that stuff. So I decided that I would indeed stop by the grocery store after getting off work. Maybe I'll make the broccoli rice casserole. Maybe I'll make the stuffing I made last year too (Country Stuffing- a Paula Deen recipe), heck maybe I'll make some mashed potatoes- just incase Grandma thinks about making potato salad (which is clearly an Easter/ 4th of July holiday food. Potato salad has no place at the Thanksgiving Day table).
So there I was walking around the grocery store. The store was still pretty crowded with food shoppers, even though it was 11 at night (usually it's empty after 9:30). I looked at my recipe for Paula Deen's "Good Old Country Stuffing" It calls for 2 loaves of white bread, 2 cups of rice, 1 sleeve of crushed saltines, 1 pound of breakfast sausage, 2 cups of chopped celery, 1 large chopped onion, 7 cups of chicken stock, dried sage leaves, 3 eggs, and other things. I have none of those things. I would have had to buy it all- then made the stuffing, which isn't actually going to get stuffed anywhere (except my gullet). Then I looked at the recipe for Alton Brown's (yes I was on Food Network.com) Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, which didn't call for much but potatoes, garlic, half and half... but I thought about having to make mashed potatoes on top of the stuffing- of which neither was something I promised to bring. I simply said I "MIGHT" bring some broccoli rice casserole- which I couldn't find a recipe for.
Last year I watched The Food Network for a week straight going into Thanksgiving. I was pumped. I wanted to cook last year. I wanted to cook the whole thing. This year I didn't watch one minute of the food network. This year I watched "Will and Grace" repeats. I've been eating microwavable meals and take out. I had no inclination to cook this year. So when I found myself standing in the middle of the grocery store with an quickly expanding list, I decided to chunk the whole idea of contributing to this year's meal. I started to walk out of the grocery store.
"Grandma will provide." I said to myself.
It turns out I was walking down the instant rice isle. It turns out they make broccoli rice casserole in an instant rice box. And it turns out those boxes were only a dollar. So I bought four boxes. I'm going to wake up tomorrow- boil me some rice, toss in the contents of whatever the hell packet comes in the box, and call it a day. Maybe next year I'll get back to my master chef ways. Who knows, maybe I'll kick it into high gear by Christmas.
Speaking of...
Last year people made a big hub-bub about the word "Holiday" replacing the word "Christmas" in most retail establishments (the things we choose to wory about). Aparently it's not as big a deal this year.
I think that we at the bookstore should go the total opposite direction. As every customer leaves I'd like our register people to say, "May the blood of Christ save your spirit from eternal damnation. Merry Christmas!"
That may not go over as well... but then, you get what you ask for. Or that's what they tell me.
But that's Friday. I'm ready for Friday- a lifetime in retail will get you ready for days like that. Today, Wednesday, was a different story. I expected today to be a bit busy, people are off work, but they should be out buying green beans and yams and things of the like, not hanging around a bookstore.
Five people asked me what time we opened tomorrow. Not, "Are you open tomorrow?" but, "When do you open tomorrow?"
I'd already resigned myself to work the day before and after Thanksgiving, which means I'm not making any food this year (something we'll get back to), and I think Grandma wanted me to make a little something this year, as she's getting up there in her years, and she maybe could have used my help in making one of the side dishes. Last year I made the stuffing. This year I'm just going to boil one of my old shoes.
"Here grandma, try this."
Then Uncle Bill's going to get all bent out of shape, "Are you feeding her one of your old shoes?"
and I'll have to say, "What? I didn't have time to stop at the grocery store to buy anything. Don't worry the shoe's clean. I boiled it. And you know Grandma's getting up there in her years- it's not like she's going to notice anyway."
And which point Grandma will chime in on the conversation with a hearty, "MMM. Tastey!"
Now I know that as worshipers of the almighty dollar, we should want to be open all the time, ready to cater to anyone who wants to give us three dollars for a book... but damn, I like grandma's mashed potatoes, her turkey, her green bean casserole- and I'll be damned if any old person wanting to read "S is for Silence" is going to keep me from that.
Really, it's not the assumption that I don't have anything better to do with my Thanksgiving other than work at a bookstore. I'm wondering why these people don't have anything better to do on that day. Why do they want to come in and shop? Is the food that bad? Watching football isn't their thing? Don't bring me down to share with your misery man. I got enough of my own.
I did call Grandma earlier today to get the scoop on the food situation. I know there'll be turkey, and green been casserole. She said she was going to, "...try something different, and make mashed potatoes." This concerned me a bit- as I remember nothing but mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving. She swore that last year she made potato salad. This maybe true. I don't remember. I hope we don't have potato salad. That doesn't seem very Thanksgiving-y.
One of the things she didn't mention was broccoli rice casserole. I love that stuff. So I decided that I would indeed stop by the grocery store after getting off work. Maybe I'll make the broccoli rice casserole. Maybe I'll make the stuffing I made last year too (Country Stuffing- a Paula Deen recipe), heck maybe I'll make some mashed potatoes- just incase Grandma thinks about making potato salad (which is clearly an Easter/ 4th of July holiday food. Potato salad has no place at the Thanksgiving Day table).
So there I was walking around the grocery store. The store was still pretty crowded with food shoppers, even though it was 11 at night (usually it's empty after 9:30). I looked at my recipe for Paula Deen's "Good Old Country Stuffing" It calls for 2 loaves of white bread, 2 cups of rice, 1 sleeve of crushed saltines, 1 pound of breakfast sausage, 2 cups of chopped celery, 1 large chopped onion, 7 cups of chicken stock, dried sage leaves, 3 eggs, and other things. I have none of those things. I would have had to buy it all- then made the stuffing, which isn't actually going to get stuffed anywhere (except my gullet). Then I looked at the recipe for Alton Brown's (yes I was on Food Network.com) Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, which didn't call for much but potatoes, garlic, half and half... but I thought about having to make mashed potatoes on top of the stuffing- of which neither was something I promised to bring. I simply said I "MIGHT" bring some broccoli rice casserole- which I couldn't find a recipe for.
Last year I watched The Food Network for a week straight going into Thanksgiving. I was pumped. I wanted to cook last year. I wanted to cook the whole thing. This year I didn't watch one minute of the food network. This year I watched "Will and Grace" repeats. I've been eating microwavable meals and take out. I had no inclination to cook this year. So when I found myself standing in the middle of the grocery store with an quickly expanding list, I decided to chunk the whole idea of contributing to this year's meal. I started to walk out of the grocery store.
"Grandma will provide." I said to myself.
It turns out I was walking down the instant rice isle. It turns out they make broccoli rice casserole in an instant rice box. And it turns out those boxes were only a dollar. So I bought four boxes. I'm going to wake up tomorrow- boil me some rice, toss in the contents of whatever the hell packet comes in the box, and call it a day. Maybe next year I'll get back to my master chef ways. Who knows, maybe I'll kick it into high gear by Christmas.
Speaking of...
Last year people made a big hub-bub about the word "Holiday" replacing the word "Christmas" in most retail establishments (the things we choose to wory about). Aparently it's not as big a deal this year.
I think that we at the bookstore should go the total opposite direction. As every customer leaves I'd like our register people to say, "May the blood of Christ save your spirit from eternal damnation. Merry Christmas!"
That may not go over as well... but then, you get what you ask for. Or that's what they tell me.