Leftovers Friday Five

This week's questions are brought to us by Singing Owl and the letters P and T, for Post-Thanksgiving!

1. Did you go elsewhere for the day, or did you have visitors at your place instead? How was it?
We went down to my mom's house, which was nice. She hosted a couple international students from the local university, so we totaled out at 6 people.

2. Main course: If it was the turkey, the whole turkey, and nothing but the turkey, was it prepared in an unusual way? Or did you throw tradition to the winds and do something different?
The turkey was pretty much straight-up turkey, though my mom found one at Whole Foods that is bred to be smaller - helpful, when we were at one point only expecting 4 people! Our dinner is usually traditional with a few twists: mashed potatoes, two kinds of stuffing (one with apples, one with something else), green beans cooked with parmesan, pine nuts, and carmelized onions (think gourmet version of green bean casserole), homemade cranberry jelly, salad with dried cranberries and honey-roasted almonds, and pumpkin pie. You can see why going to Mom's is such a good idea...

3. Other than the meal, do you have any Thanksgiving customs that you observe every year?
We mostly just hang out. Usually we watch at least part of the Lions game, and usually they lose. This year was no exception to any of that.


4. The day after Thanksgiving is considered a major Christmas shopping day by most US retailers. Do you go out bargain hunting and shop ‘till you drop, or do you stay indoors with the blinds closed? Or something in between?
We did some shopping, but Christmas shopping. More like "we have a whole day to get stuff done, lets go get some things" shopping. If you wait til mid-afternoon, the crowds aren't bad.


5. Let the HOLIDAY SEASON commence! When will your Christmas decorations go up?
Probably not for a couple weeks, until after Luke's term is over. Though, two of the nativity sets I've recently added to my collection are already on the mantle. The tree and lights and the other dozen nativities will come soon enough!

Sick Day Amusement

I've had a cold for two weeks now, but also a lot on my work agenda. Today, being the day before Thanksgiving and all, my pressing agenda items are complete, and I'm staying in bed. Sick days always sounds like they'll be fun, but really, when coughing fits interrupt you every few minutes, its less exciting. Luckily, the blog doesn't mind coughing breaks.

Yesterday was a day of mailings and copies. We have a great copier at my far-away office. Still, it has one feature that drives me crazy. When you press the "clear" button - it doesn't actually clear the settings! I'm not really sure what the function of the button is. Maybe there is some computer screen in another state that keeps going blank everytime I hit that little c. All I know is that if your previous job was 15 double-sided stapled copies, and you hit clear, and then try and run one copy, you'll get 15 sets anyway.

Happily, the comic people at toothpaste for dinner like copiers about as much as I do.

toothpastefordinner.com

Clergy Day Quote

"The problem in America is that people borrow money they don't have, to buy things they don't need, to keep up with people they don't even like." - Will Rogers

And last night's How I Met Your Mother was all about massive credit card debt. This week seems to have a theme.

Dinner for One

Put a cup and half of water and about 3/4 of a cup of oats and a pinch of salt into a pot with a lid. Be careful not to mix up the amounts for water and oats, or you'll be confused and have to start over. I'm just sayin. Anyway, bring to a boil and stir until its just a little thinner than you'd like. While that happens, toast some almonds. I like the slivered ones because they are easy to chop. When the oatmeal is almost done, stir in a spoonful or two of raspberry jam. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and a little brown sugar.

Sit and eat, and think about the great day you had: a full church with nine baptisms, your new goddaughter, her fabulous parents, her awesome twin brother and his supercool godparents, and how fun brunch is when all those people are in the same place.

Enjoy the quiet of your own house, especially since you broke your cell phone so no one can call you anyway, enjoy watching your football-boyfriend beat the Colts again, enjoy your Sunday night tv that your husband wouldn't ever watch. Appreciate the fact that your dinner is good for you, and isn't pizza, unlike five of the meals you had the previous three days.

Really though, after the brown sugar part, do whatever would make you as relaxed as I'm feeling tonight.