December 2, 2003 - Turkey Day

For awhile, as my sister helped Mom roll out dough, there wasn't much to do. I took the opportunity to inflict my baby pictures on The Gryphon. Being the first-born, I have two baby books and a photo album with funny captions. I made sure he looked at all of them, while I worked out on my mom's exercise machine.

When the pie crust was ready, we were each asked to make a decorative leaf shape to place on top of the pie. The Gryphon made a pumpkin, winning compliments from both my mom and my sister.

I helped my brother's wife cut up potatoes for the mashed potatoes.

Then it was back to my dad's place, and my sister put the turkey in the oven. We'd discovered years ago that it's better to have Thanksgiving dinner at Dad's, because he has more room for a big table.

Once Mom arrived, I suggested this would be a good time to do a portrait of everyone there for the dinner. The lighting outside, I thought, would be best. The Gryphon agreed to take the shot, and then my sister's boyfriend took one with him in it.

I also took some candid shots of people (and dogs). My sister did, as well. She was trying to finish off a roll. I guess we went a bit insane with the pictures. A little later, my brother was mashing the potatoes with a coffee mug because no one could find Dad's potato masher. I suggested it would make a good picture.

"No more pictures!" he screamed.

Talking about my brother reminds me that both he and my sister asked me this weekend if I'd been listening to NPR on the drive home. It seems they aired a segment on one of my favorite bands, the Bonzo Dog Band. I'd only recently discovered that the lead singer, Viv Stanshall, died in a fire back in the 1990s. Bummer. Still, it was cool that both my siblings know me so well.

The dinner itself was delicious, of course: turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, yams, cranberry sauce, stuffing and salad. I managed to break The Gryphon's wine glass (for which my brother yelled, "Mazeltov!") I'd been trying to set down a bottle of red wine on the crowded table, after pouring myself a second glass.

After I saw that the glass had broken in neat sections and hadn't endangered anyone, I was concerned about breaking one of Dad's nice wine glasses. He assured me that he had a second set anyway, and that it was no big deal. Everyone shared stories about times they'd broken nice glasses, to make me feel better.

We had started dinner fairly late for us, at about 6 p.m. I didn't have a whole lot of time to hang out with people before work. But I'd been told that there might not be as much work to do and that I might even be done early. So when everybody else decided to go out and rent a movie, I told them to give me a little time to see if I could finish early.

By the time 9:30 rolled around, I could tell there was no point in them waiting. I went upstairs and told them the news. That's OK; they'd rented Bruce Almighty, which I'd already seen. Of all the movies I'd like to see a second time, Bruce Allmighty doesn't even crack the top 20. Or the top 40, come to think of it. Maybe the top 100. I'd mainly been interested in socializing.

I did finish a little early, though, right after they'd finished the film. So I hung out with people for a little bit before they inevitably began making their ways to bed.

The Gryphon and I were asked to sleep downstairs, since his snoring had been keeping some others awake. We set up a mattress in my dad's front office, hung a blanket over the windows for a little privacy and went to sleep.

More on the Wilson family Thanksgiving:

December 1, 2003 - The Family Thing

December 3, 2003 - Shopping Expedition

December 4, 2003 - Alyce's Eye for the Straight Guy

December 5, 2003 - Sunday Socializing

Musings an Online Journal of Sorts By Alyce Wilson
December 2 , 2003 - Turkey Day
Pulsar as Hunter S. Thompson	My dog assumes that as soon as I sit up in bed in the morning, it's time for everybody else to get up, too. And so she begins to make the rounds, sniffing and licking faces. A little dog alarm clock. My dad had to make his rounds at the hospital anyway, but the rest of us got up reluctantly, took showers and ambled over to the local convenience store to get flavored coffee, or as my brother termed it, "Crackoccino." Then began the big crazy Thanksgiving Day preparations. First, everyone but Dad drove over to Mom's and helped her make some pies and gather up some other things, like cranberry sauce, that we needed.
For awhile, as my sister helped Mom roll out dough, there wasn't much to do. I took the opportunity to inflict my baby pictures on The Gryphon. Being the first-born, I have two baby books and a photo album with funny captions. I made sure he looked at all of them, while I worked out on my mom's exercise machine. When the pie crust was ready, we were each asked to make a decorative leaf shape to place on top of the pie. The Gryphon made a pumpkin, winning compliments from both my mom and my sister. I helped my brother's wife cut up potatoes for the mashed potatoes. Then it was back to my dad's place, and my sister put the turkey in the oven. We'd discovered years ago that it's better to have Thanksgiving dinner at Dad's, because he has more room for a big table. Once Mom arrived, I suggested this would be a good time to do a portrait of everyone there for the dinner. The lighting outside, I thought, would be best. The Gryphon agreed to take the shot, and then my sister's boyfriend took one with him in it. I also took some candid shots of people (and dogs). My sister did, as well. She was trying to finish off a roll. I guess we went a bit insane with the pictures. A little later, my brother was mashing the potatoes with a coffee mug because no one could find Dad's potato masher. I suggested it would make a good picture. "No more pictures!" he screamed. Talking about my brother reminds me that both he and my sister asked me this weekend if I'd been listening to NPR on the drive home. It seems they aired a segment on one of my favorite bands, the Bonzo Dog Band. I'd only recently discovered that the lead singer, Viv Stanshall, died in a fire back in the 1990s. Bummer. Still, it was cool that both my siblings know me so well. The dinner itself was delicious, of course: turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, yams, cranberry sauce, stuffing and salad. I managed to break The Gryphon's wine glass (for which my brother yelled, "Mazeltov!") I'd been trying to set down a bottle of red wine on the crowded table, after pouring myself a second glass. After I saw that the glass had broken in neat sections and hadn't endangered anyone, I was concerned about breaking one of Dad's nice wine glasses. He assured me that he had a second set anyway, and that it was no big deal. Everyone shared stories about times they'd broken nice glasses, to make me feel better. We had started dinner fairly late for us, at about 6 p.m. I didn't have a whole lot of time to hang out with people before work. But I'd been told that there might not be as much work to do and that I might even be done early. So when everybody else decided to go out and rent a movie, I told them to give me a little time to see if I could finish early. By the time 9:30 rolled around, I could tell there was no point in them waiting. I went upstairs and told them the news. That's OK; they'd rented Bruce Almighty, which I'd already seen. Of all the movies I'd like to see a second time, Bruce Allmighty doesn't even crack the top 20. Or the top 40, come to think of it. Maybe the top 100. I'd mainly been interested in socializing. I did finish a little early, though, right after they'd finished the film. So I hung out with people for a little bit before they inevitably began making their ways to bed. The Gryphon and I were asked to sleep downstairs, since his snoring had been keeping some others awake. We set up a mattress in my dad's front office, hung a blanket over the windows for a little privacy and went to sleep. More on the Wilson family Thanksgiving: December 1, 2003 - The Family Thing December 3, 2003 - Shopping Expedition December 4, 2003 - Alyce's Eye for the Straight Guy December 5, 2003 - Sunday Socializing
Moral: Too many chefs? Impossible on Thanksgiving. Copyright 2003 by Alyce Wilson Musings Index
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