Post Thanksgiving Thoughts

fifteen years ago i gave up meat. cold turkey, so to speak. i was a freshman in college and the first time i went home after becoming vegetarian was the thanksgiving holiday.

my mom was very cute. assuring me that turkey was not bad for me and that a little bit wouldn't hurt me. fifteen years later, i still have not had turkey. luckily, my mom now understands and doesn't push.

having said all of this, i think i can easily say, thanksgiving is not one of my favorite holidays.

but this weekend was one of the best thanksgiving holidays i've had in some time.

did everything go perfectly? no... texas lost to the aggies, to begin with.

but i had so much fun that i look forward to attempting the same holiday next year and maybe, just maybe, finding a way to enjoy the annual death day for turkeys.

the family

my younger brother and his wife drove in wednesday night. the temps in houston dropped quickly that night and provided a fabulously chilly thanksgiving. my brother, unfortunately, hit the cold front as it made it's way down i-10 into louisiana. his drive was not fun.

i spent the evening finishing the cleaning of the house and baking a beautiful, double-crust apple pie. i also made my mother's celery and sage dressing.

thanksgiving day...i cooked. roasted garlic and potato soup with smoked gouda grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. my friend sally joined us and we watched the packers go 10-1 for the first time in franchise history.

that evening... my brother and his wife made some turkey concoction for the omnivores. i had the dressing, garlic mashed potatoes, an uber-yummy corn casserole and some cranberry sauce and dinner rolls. unlike last year, the dinner went off on time and without a hitch.

we cracked open the chardonnay from the wisconsin winery and had a very nice dinner. classical music playing... a slow dinner. the four of us got along so well... laughed, talked. the wine was very tasty. it was...a perfect dinner.

that night we had the pumpkin pie i made that morning and went to bed full and happy.

black friday

not because of shopping... there's no way in hell you'd catch me out shopping the day after thanksgiving... but it was not a good day for college ball in my apartment.

my older brother and his wife joined us with their dog, sadie. not only were they both in burnt orange to show their support of the 'horns... but sadie is a natural burnt orange.

the younger brother's wife is an lsu alum. ummmmm...lsu blew it this weekend. i've said all year that lsu has been some lucky motherfuckers. well, their luck ran out in the fourth overtime. not a fun day for kelly#2 (both brothers married kellys. i'm on the look out for a male kelly, just fyi).

then the texas game... my younger brother graduated from UT. the rest of the family merely supports. for me - it's mainly an anti-a&m thing.

well...the overrated texas team also collapsed. there was not enough beer for my older, married siblings... the younger brother drowned himself in his chocolate pecan pie.

which he was making for...

the first annual pie off!

mmmmm........ pie.

13 people. six pies. a lot of alcohol.

it was a delicious evening... coffee. hot chocolate. a very tasty riesling from the wisconsin winery.

side note: i normally hate riesling... but this was delicious. i made everyone try it.

the pies broke down like this: two double crust apple pies. a chocolate pecan pie. a pumpkin pecan pie. a chocolate silk. a blueberry cream.

the judges were the individuals that did not bake.... 3rd place was the chocolate silk. very yummy. congrats. 2nd place: the blueberry pie. i hate to disparage a pie...but the crust was bought. that's all i'm saying. first place... don't get all excited. it was the fucking chocolate pecan. as my friend enita said: adding chocolate to anything simply speaks to our basest natures. double crust apple pies take talent.

i think we canceled each other out.

at least everyone really enjoyed the evening. they all thought it was a great idea and it was all well-executed. i couldn't have been more pleased.

well...unless my pie had won.

farewells

my older brother and his kelly left early saturday afternoon. they had to get back out to her parents' house and had dinner plans that evening.

before my younger brother left, he saved my life. not only did he give me his old laptop that i'm writing on right now (i fucking love this thing), but he also worked on my old computer that crashed a couple of months ago.

that computer had my life on it.... everything i had ever written. all my new play ideas. the start of my new full-length play.

and no...i've never been smart enough to back up.

he saved it all. my computer still needs help...but i got all of my writing back. safe and sound on this laptop and a backup cd.

i swear to you...i could've cried. and i'm not a cryer.

i mean.... put terms of endearment or carrington in the dvd player.... i lose it. but in real life, i tend to fight it.

then another odd thing happened. younger brother and kelly#2 left mid-afternoon. when i hugged them good-bye..... i nearly cried.

i fought back the tears.

isn't 34 too early for menopause? why so emotional? i'm terribly confused by it all.

but as i said...it was one of the best thanksgiving holidays i've had in a long time. everything just went beautifully. no stress. no tension.

just a wonderful time had by all.

sunday i put up my christmas tree and began decking the halls. talked to my friend jason for nearly an hour after not speaking to him in months (except the odd email).

the entire four days were emotional, satisfying. a little unsettling.

to quote my favorite thanksgiving movie, home for the holidays: "i can't wait for goddamn christmas."

happy holidays.

e.