Stuffing and Shopping

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner for my mom's side of the family. It was so great to have most of that group together - it had been a long time. It was just so fun to have everyone around the table, remembering old times, and carrying on traditions. I wish I'd thought to take some pictures during the day - but I was just having too much fun to remember the camera! We had 15 people for dinner, plus two more for dessert. Our house was full and I loved it! Another reason I'm glad to be living in Olympia is how close we are to our families and how easy it is to host family events.

The day after Thanksgiving was quite a day in itself. My sister had stayed over at our house so that she and I could hit the sales on Black Friday. And boy did we hit the sales! Yes, we're the crazy ones who got up at 2:30 AM so we could be at Kohl's at 3 AM. (Well, I got up a little earlier to make coffee - see below.) I'm not so crazy to go earlier than that and stand in line waiting for the doors to open. That's where I draw the line. No, I prefer to be fashionably late and arrive about ten minutes after the doors open. Sure, it's harder to find a cart but I prefer not to get trampled.

I have to admit though, that I almost lost my mind and my manners at one point. I was looking for the Toy Story Mr. Potato Head pack at Kohl's that was a really good price. My sister and I both were unable to find it, and I was bummed. And then I saw one just sitting there, in an unattended cart. The thought went through my mind that maybe someone else changed their mind and just left it there. And maybe I could take it. And then I came to my senses and realized that no one got up at that hour to just leave a cart of goodies behind. Whew! That was a close one.

Anyway, after Kohl's, Target, and Fred Meyer we were shopped out and headed home for a nap. After my nap the crazy hadn't worn off, and I got on a ladder and hung up our exterior Christmas lights. Ernie told me I was crazy, and he was partially right. But the sky was clear and I had no plans for the daylight hours - it was a perfect time to hang Christmas lights in my opinion.

I think on Saturday I finally was able to get most of the Thanksgiving dishes washed, thanks to help from my sister. It is my rule to wash the dishes the day after a big dinner. My motto is "The dishes will be here tomorrow, my family will not." I choose to put off washing dishes so that I can spend time with my family. I clean up just enough to serve dessert and not attract flies, and then leave the rest until later.

We had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. One thing I was thankful for was being able to share time with family.