For those of you in the U.S., Thanksgiving is tomorrow, at least as I write this (by the time you read this, it is probably today or yesterday for you). Rather than retell the story of organizing for Thanksgiving past, I will post links to my prior Thanksgiving posts at the end of this post.
This year is rather worse than even most recent years. Until this past Monday we were still debating - cook dinner or go to an Asian buffet (they do put out a turkey for carving - and each person carves their own serving).
On Monday we bought our turkey. It is from the same specialty supermarket that we bought from last year and the year before. Due to our letter about our problem last year with the turkey not being fully cooked (the breast was blood raw) after following their directions, they sent us a gift card for about 3 times the price of the turkey. So this year’s turkey (and next year’s and part of the year after’s turkey) was free. Due to the warnings this year about problems with turkeys and salmonella, I was concerned about putting the turkey - even though it is still in its packaging - on the right hand top shelf of our refrigerator, the only one tall enough to hold the turkey - even though it is lying down. So I was going to put it on one of my platters - but then realized that they are pottery and might absorb any leaks and any salmonella in the leaks. I thought and thought where I might have a large enough glass plate to hold it. So it is sitting on a lovely large dessert serving plate that we received as a wedding gift. (Yes, we have used it to serve dessert over the decades.) That left 2 small corners at the front of the shelf to put anything on it. Husband, a few weeks ago, had decided that the caffeinated diet soda he has at lunch made his shoulder/arm feel better. So we have a started bottle of decaf soda and one of caffeinated soda in the fridge. I put the decaf one on the right corner of the shelf. I then went to put the caffeinated one on the left corner of the shelf - I had forgotten that one of the reasons I hate this fridge (even before we bought it, but it was the closest to what I wanted that we could find in the emergency situation of our old one - around 30 years old - dying) is that the light bulb is in the front of it - in the middle of the fridge and one cannot put anything tall there - so the soda bottle could not go there. I managed to balance it - 3/4 of it on the center of the shelf and the front end sticking off. I warned husband - so he would be careful not to knock it off the shelf - and made him repeat to me what I said - so he cannot say I did not tell him. Of course right after this, he stopped drinking soda and switched to ice tea, so I have been drinking the decaf soda to get rid of the extra bottle. It is down enough that the bottle can lay on a lower shelf as there is so little soda left, it does not reach the neck of the bottle while it is lying down.
Yesterday (Tuesday) we went out shopping for the other things we need for the dinner. Of course the stores (we went to 2 different supermarkets and a Walmart) were jammed and out of things. I am annoyed that since we waited this long items - milk, stuffing, eggs and such - that I would normally buy in Walmart as they are cheaper there, had to bought at the supermarket and we probably blew at least $5 on the difference. (I think I have said that I am cheap.) We had to go out again today for items we did not find yesterday - another Walmart and a different supermarket. I never did get the mixed (green) beans I wanted. Somehow everything we picked is what he wanted, the mixed beans were what I wanted - plain green beans it is.
I have not cleared out the dining room yet. Nor have I cleared off the kitchen counters to have room to work. I guess whatever is in the way in the dining room will be pushed to far end - hey, it’s only us, I would like it nicer, but between dealing with his shoulder and the RV winterizing mess (which will be continued next week) I am soooo behind in getting ready. In reading my prior Thanksgiving posts (I found I already repeated myself at least once, and not repeating myself was why I read them) I was reminded that I have to go to the basement, move all the boxes of Christmas decorations in front of the very small closet that has our gas meter, a blanket cut in half for reenactments (in sealed plastic bags and rarely used kitchen stuff and get the platter for carving out and wash it.
I don’t know if you go shopping on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, we do not. Never found anything worth getting. I have to wonder if people buy new TVs every year as that always seems to be the big draw. Then again, as I have mentioned, we do very little gift shopping, as well as little shopping for us. For us if we are shopping something needs replacing or there is something very new (and not expensive) that husband has decided he needs.
Remember that what you buy has to be paid for and you don’t want to be in debt forever for something that is gone in a year or two or less. Also - everything you buy has to be stored - either by you or the person you give it to - think about that when buying items for yourself or as a gift. For example husband decided last week to buy a chair at Ikea. It is a small kitchen table chair and it has a low back and is smaller than our regular chairs. He had noticed the chairs at Wendys where we have lunch are more comfortable for his shoulder and arm - after jokes about maybe since we go there so office we can borrow/rent a chair from them, he decided to look in Ikea after dinner last week. Now, we are the type of people who can shop for a package of hair pins for a week or two, but he sat in several chairs and then announced one was perfect (and “only $39") and we bought it and assembled it that night and he loves it. This left me with the chair he used before (and hopefully will again). It is now in the dining room against the wall (we keep furniture against the wall in the colonial “room at rest” manner) - out of the way until we need it again and looks decorative.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Those of you in the U.S. - have a nice Thanksgiving.
All of you - think before you shop during the holidays (and in general) before overspending or buying unneeded items which will quickly be unwanted - by yourself or as gifts. One of the movie theater chains we used to go to had a trailer to sell its gift cards for holiday gifts. It has people receiving gifts that were not appropriate and of course those who received their gift cards were happy. I will never forget one sequence - a man receives a sweater as a gift. The sweater is huge - his arms are lost in the sleeves and the sweater covers him to below his knees and he is so sad and upset and shaking his head. You don’t want to be the person who gives a gift like that! (And no, I am not pushing movie gift cards.)
Prior Thanksgiving posts -
http://wheredidileavethat.blogspot.com/2015/11/thanksgiving-and-other-holidays.html
http://wheredidileavethat.blogspot.com/2016/11/
http://wheredidileavethat.blogspot.com/2017/11/semi-unorganized-thanksgiving.html
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