I have got to hand it to people who oven cook their raw turkeys. I definitely don't have the talent or the patience for it. As we have done before, we purchased our Thanksgiving dinner from our local grocery store. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Cranberry sauce (I made my own though). Pumpkin pie. Stuffing (I made my own). But the real essence is the precooked turkey. All we had to do was warm up the bird for 2 to 2 1/2 hours! No cleaning out the guts. No basting. No fuss. No muss. All we did was get a salad together, get some corn and some green beans,fresh cranberry sauce, real stuffing and some yams with marshmallows.
Everyone enjoyed the food. And there was a LOT less work involved going this route. Now that they know our secret, they might try it next year!
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"Wait a second."
That's the thought that crossed my mind.
The Hubs had just announced that the food was ready. The Hubby's cousin's wife (HCW) and I were standing facing the food on the kitchen counters deciding what to put on our kidlings plates.
MIL: "Let's say a prayer."
BIL: "Rub a dub dub. Thanks for the grub."
Then my MIL goes into a half-hearted prayer. I couldn't even tell she was praying. It was more like she was telling us something.
HCW and I stood there next to the food. Frozen. We didn't know what to do. We both hesitated. Then the pseudo-prayer was over. It was like 30 seconds.
It was weird. She could have at least announced that we were going to take a moment to pray. Given us all a second to gather around and THEN begin the prayer.
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My kidlings and their second cousins ADORE each other.I love it when we all get together.
My son followed the girls around like a little puppy.
The girls treated my son like a little baby boy.
The girls treated my daughter like their sister.
FANTASTIC!
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HCW discovered that her first daughter actually ate some new foods at our house. HCW and I sat at the bar next to each other. We wanted a clear view of the kidlings at their kids' picnic table. HCW looked over at one point and noticed something GREEN entering her daughter's mouth.
HCW (oh so casually): "Hey honey, what's that?"
Daughter: "Green beans."
HCW: "Are they good?"
Daughter: "yeah."
HCW: (whispering to me): "What kind are those?"
Me (whispering back): "French cut green beans from a can."
HWC: "I've got to buy some of that!"
A little later on, HWC notice more green stuff entering her daughter's mouth.
HCW (again in a casual tone): "Hey honey, is that good?"
Daughter: "Uh-huh."
HCW: "More beans?"
Daughter: "No. Salad."
HCW: "What kind of salad leaves are those?"****************************
Me: "Spinach."
HCW: "She ate spinach?"
Me: "Yeah. I guess she did!"
HCW: "We've got to come for dinner at your house more often!"
After we'd had our fill of food. I let everyone relax for at least 20 minutes. I then started some coffee and warmed the pie.
Me: "Anyone want dessert?"
"Whatcha got?"
Me: "Pie. Pie with vanilla ice cream. Pie with whipped cream. Chocolate chip cookies. Chocoloate chip cookies with ice cream. Chocolate chip ice cream with ice cream and chocolate syrup. Brownies. Brownies with ice cream. Brownies with ice cream and chocolate syrup. Take your pick!"
"Oh...no!"
The kidlings? They chose the brownies with ice cream and a little whipped cream on top. Kind of like what you get over at DQ.
My FIL, MIL, HCW, and I all had a large cup of coffee along with something sweet.
FIL: "What kind of coffee do you use?"
Me: "Just this regular Folgers"
FIL:"It's good. It's strong."
Me: "Thank you. I like strong coffee."
FIL: "Me too. But (pointing towards my MIL) she doesn't."
HCW: "I like strong coffee too."
Me: "Yeah. I just use about 3 TSP for 4 cups of water (I have a 4-cup coffee maker)."
FIL: "Wow. Really? Maybe I should try that."
HCW: "That's a good idea. It's not like you can make a weak cup of coffee stronger! She can let you have some strong coffee and dilute hers (pointing to my MIL)."
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The kidlings played in the backyard after dessert. They had to run off all the food and the sugar they'd consumed. They kicked the balls around. They hit the t-ball. It was enjoyable letting them run and laugh while we (HCW and I) sat on the patio chairs drinking another cup of coffee.
What was pathetic was that I had so much electric static on me that whenever I touched the patio chair, I would get shocked. I mean, HCW even heard it!
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My ILs house still hasn't gotten any offers on it.
There are a bunch of homes that are for sale in their area. They've even lowered the price since I last mentioned it. Still nothing. Definitely a buyer's market where they are located.
The only sucky part of the situation is that once they sell their house they're going to buy my BILs house. So the delay in selling their house is delaying my BIL & his fiancee moving.
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Now you might wonder why I only talked about the kids and HCW. It's because the rest of them sat on the couch facing the tv. Watching football! So HCW and I spent quality time together with the kidlings. Now THAT is the kind of family gathering I enjoy. Just like if I was with my sisters and parents.Sitting around together. Talking. Not sitting in front of the tv. Oy!
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