In The Spirit

I hope you each had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. We sure did!  My 4 kids came home, so we had a full house to celebrate the holiday. It was a lively, spirited long weekend. Two of my girls volunteered to cook some dishes, which was a welcome treat.  We tried to organize and schedule the kitchen resources so that multiple cooks could produce delicious food, hot and ready at the same time. But, that was less successful than we expected. The crazy mayhem in the kitchen during the final countdown was oddly hilarious. At one point, there were four family members sauteing, stirring, carving, mixing, grating, peeling and doing whatever cooking exercises you can think of. And, one daughter was positioned nearby watching the frenzy and reporting like a floor reporter on Top Chef or Chopped or Iron Chef. She kept up a running dialogue, commenting on each chef’s technique and how likely it was that they would finish their cook and get the food on the table at the right time. We were very busy, but highly amused.

There were pans and pots and lids and casserole dishes stacked on top of pans and pots and lids and casserole dishes stacked on top of pans and pots and lids and casserole dishes. There were spoons and forks and serving pieces strewn around all over the kitchen. There was nowhere left to put anything, yet dishes kept coming out of the oven and the frig. It was absolute chaos. But, in a good way. We laughed and carried on and on.

Here is the Thanksgiving table, once all of our delicious dishes were spread. The food was scrumptious and plentiful.

That was the scene about 20 minutes before The Incident. Here’s what happened. While we were enjoying food and frivolity at our dining room table, my daughter’s sneaky cat Franklin made his way into the kitchen. He decided to sample the turkey from its platter. Only, the bites of turkey did not agree with his little tummy tum tum. That’s why we walked back into the kitchen and discovered, to our horror, a big pile of cat vomit right there on the Thanksgiving serving table. Right between the turkey and the dressing. How disgusting.

But, that about sums up life at our house. Nothing illustrates our experiences more than a lovely meal interrupted by feline throw up. Fun brought to a staggering halt as we scramble to clean up and try to salvage the untainted food. Par for the course. Unexpected, but yet, completely expected. Once The Incident was cleaned up and steps were taken to prevent a repeat, the rest of Thanksgiving Day was quite delightful. When all the kids are home we always enjoy catching up and spending time together. I’m always thankful for the visits.

If you are an avid reader of my blog, then you might remember that I challenged family members to do a charitable act or make a donation for a cause that was important to them. (See The Share) I am happy to say that everyone participated in the Thanksgiving Share. It was great to have everyone explain what they had chosen to do, and why. There was a big variety of charities which covered a wide range of missions. Everyone in my family reached out to help others in some way.

We had such a nice Thanksgiving weekend. And, we ate like no tomorrow. Every time you turned around, we were rolling out a charcuterie board or a snack tray or game-time treats or a signature cocktail. As a result, there may be an extra pound or two around the old waistline. But it was well worth it, because we enjoyed our family time immensely. I am very thankful.

Now, we head into the Christmas season. I have already decorated my house, which is quite a chore. We have large boxes and plastic containers of Christmas decorations stored in our attic. To get into the attic we pull down a rickety staircase which unfolds into the hallway. But, several years ago, the spring on the pull-down door dislodged, making it impossible to fold and close the door. Because we haven’t actually fixed it yet, we devised a complicated procedure for opening and closing the attic door. A procedure which involves a long broom handle, a crowbar, and several people fussing with each other. It takes a minute to get to the Christmas boxes from the attic; ergo, I thought it important to finish carrying and replacing the attic boxes before my kids came home for Thanksgiving.

Here is a picture of the attic trap door with the sign to remind us not to inadvertently pull the door open without following proper procedure. You will find things like this ALL over our house, because, it’s, well, OUR house. Why don’t you guys just FIX it?, you might ask. Good question. I’ve got no answer, except, that’s just how we roll. Anyhoo, I got the Christmas decorating job done last week, and  I am very happy with the results.

I will admit that decorating this year was a tad bit easier, because, for whatever reason, I had been extremely slack in 2022. When I broke down last year’s Christmas decorations, I neglected to put a lot of regular things back in place. For example, I took down an indoor wreath to pack it away, but I never hung the regular picture back on the wall. I boxed up the large wooden Santa carving, but I never put the ornamental vase back on the table where it lived 11 months of the year. After carefully wrapping up the nativity scene, the mantel was bare, but I never brought out the everyday pottery to decorate and balance the aesthetics. I’d look over at the mantel and think that one of these days I needed to put stuff back up there, but not right now. As the year progressed, I’d think, by the time I put things back up there, it’ll be time to decorate for Christmas and I’ll have to take them back down again. The spirit never moved me to pull the bowls and vases and knick-knacks from their temporary storage and put them back in their rightful place on the mantel. I just never got around to it. But, at my house, why would you expect anything different?

Yall can stop rolling your eyes or shaking your head or laughing out loud at me right now. You might hurt my feelings. I might not do things YOUR way, but I know how to do them MY way, OK?

A bare fireplace mantel was quite alright with Frank the cat. During spring and summer and fall, he spent many a day lounging on the mantel and enjoying every minute of it. Sorry, Frank, but you have to share the mantel with Baby Jesus, now. Since I decorated, I love the Christmas-y vibe at our house. It warms my spirit when I see the many reminders of love, hope, and peace that represent the holiday season.

Here are a few of our Christmas scenes that always make me smile.

Aren't those fun?! What about you? Have you started getting ready for Christmas? Are you in the spirit of the season?

I have a few more minutes to squeeze out of my Thanksgiving holiday before I go full scale Christmas......

.........Now, on to Christmas!