Def-y's Categorizing: November 2007 Archives

As those of you who read here know, my mother lives with us. She has been hosting the Empty Nester's Sewing Circle for several years. The ladies decided this year that they would contribute to the Church bazaar, and have been feverishly sewing for the past six months or so. I've contributed four quilt tops to be quilted by another woman. Two of them came back to me just this week to be bound, and we're hoping to have the other two by Sunday.

The ladies have also volunteered to host the monthly Empty Nester's luncheon this month. Elegante Mother and I are committed to providing dinner rolls and an appetizer. I have been pouring over my holiday cook books, trying to settle on an appetizer for tomorrow morning, and simply haven't been able to make a decision. I can see that I'll have to make a dash to the store tonight.

We have spent a very quiet day here today. I SHOULD have put up the Christmas decorations, but I used my time to snooze and bind quilts instead. Hopefully, the guys will bring the fake Christmas trees up from the basement, and EM and I will work on getting them decorated during the coming week. This will be the earliest that we have been ready for the Holidays in years. I'm loathe to give up my fall decorations, but once the Christmas things are in place, it will be okay.

Dear Husband worked for half a day today, and spent half a day snoozing. We had planned to work on the leaves tomorrow, but we'll be going to an open house for his brother, instead. The leaves will hold.

Are you ready to leave Thanksgiving behind and move on? I have just two presents ordered, I'll have to make up my mind and get a move on!

Day is done, Gone the sun.....

Thanksgiving Dinner was a rousing success. As usual, we had enough food left over to send full dinners home with four families, and more than enough so that I don't have to cook tomorrow.

We had most of my oldest sister's family, and all my youngest sister's family with us. Two of Dear Husband's children joined us, and my stepdaughter and her husband brought their daughters for everyone to coo over. I think almost all the ladies had a chance to hold the two month old.

I'm not going to list all the items that made up our buffet. There wasn't a single dish left untried. Even the new dressing that I tried seems to have been a hit.

There was one very sad note to the day. We were in the middle of meal preparation when the phone rang. Dear Husband answered it, to learn that his only brother had just passed away. He is now the only one of four children left in his family. DH is very stoic. Let me rephrase that......DH is VERY STOIC. He doesn't want me to commiserate. He chose not to tell my family what had happened. After dinner, I asked if I could share it with my family. They were very empathetic, and seemed to realize that he didn't want them to go overboard with their response. I'm sure they will find ways to tell him that they are there for him.

Sooooooo.....The good and the bad. I'm glad that my brother-in-law lived to see his granddaughter born. I'm sorry that he won't have a hand in raising her, but I'm sure his son and daughter-in-law will do a good job, and share stories of Grampa Dan.

I hope that you all had a good celebration, with family or friends, and I hope you will remember how fragile and fleeting life can be.

Traditionally, my family comes to my house for Thanksgiving. My brother has a bigger house, but he doesn't have the time to organize the gathering. We have celebrated at other homes, but I can seat most of the family here, and it's now second nature to pull the menu, seating and decorations together.

This year, my second sister announced that she was holding Thanksgiving. She didn't discuss it with any of us to see how we felt about it, she simply staked her claim. Her sons will be coming in from out of state, and she wanted to host them in her own home. Unfortunately, she just had surgery last week for two hernias. We invited her to participate in our celebration, but she was adamant about doing Thanksgiving at home. I really hope this turns out all right. She thinks her boys will cook the dinner....

Dear Husband's kids have decided to share Thanksgiving with us, so I opened my home to any of my family that also wished to participate. We seem to be hovering at roughly 24 people at the moment, but there could possibly be four more. I plan to set three tables of eight, and I have enough room to seat the four guests who have been invited.

I'm excited about having my family here. I love it when they come together for a meal.. The food will be wonderful, but even better is all the chatter and interaction. My youngest sister will bring her family to us Wednesday night, and they will help with the early morning chores, like making dressing and setting the tables. The rest of our visitors will begin to arrive between 1:00 and 2:30 in the afternoon.

Of course, we do all the traditional parts of a Thanksgiving meal, but we're adding a few things this year. DH requested either cold corn salad (in a vinaigrette dressing), or corn with crackers casserole. I think he's getting them both. I found a mashed potato with Gouda cheese casserole, and a cornbread dressing that I want to try. We're also going to ask my nieces to assemble a torte-like dessert made with brownies, chocolate pudding, Cool Whip and Heath bar chips.

I began grocery shopping today, and I already have a list for tomorrow. I'll do some of the baking on Tuesday, and DH will make the lasagna that is traditional in his family. Wednesday, we'll pick up the linens, the rental chairs, flowers, and any last minute things that we've forgotten.

I'm REALLY looking forward to this. I wish you could all share it with us. Adding guests to family is the perfect finishing touch....and I keep saying "They don't bite!"

If I don't make it back....I wish you the Happiest of Thanksgivings!

I saw the doc today. I was working in the gardens a month ago, trying to do some cleanup and get the perennials ready to deal with the coming cold. I worked two weekends in a row, putting in roughly five hours on several of the days. I was having fun, and wasn't uncomfortable at all. A couple of days later it hurt to walk, to sit and to rise from a chair or bed.

I thought that the herniated disk in the small of my back had been hurt. I could function, even go to exercise, but I was getting jabbed in the back with pain on a regular basis. I put up with it for a month before I finally called the doc, and as soon as I made the appointment, I began to feel better.

Doc. G asked me several questions, walked around behind me, and pressed on four or five places across my hips that HURT! He knew exactly where to push to identify what was hurting. He said that if he were to take an MRI of my back, it would show that there were microscopic tears where the muscles attach to my pelvis. He showed me some stretching exercises to do, and gave me three prescriptions. Based on my ability to move, he thought I'd be well in a week.

Heavenly relief! I can sit without being afraid of that awful jab of pain. I can get a decent night's sleep!

The next time I see Doc, I'll have to ask him what to do to prevent this from happening again. Meanwhile, I should be in good shape to host my family on Thursday. YEA!

We're all still alive here, just in the holiday preparation weeds. I love hosting Thanksgiving. It gives me the incentive to get cleaning done as we're closing up the house for winter, and I find that I tend to change over decorations and quilts this time of year, too.

Of course, all of this takes time, and it means that I disappear from the blog scene. Most of the world doesn't even know I'm away from my blog, but for those of you who come to read now and then, we're all fine.

I find as I work I'm composing blog entries in my head. I really need to take a page from Blue Witch and get a voice recognition program. Then, I could multitask! For now, all those entries are lost, like smoke in the air. Early next year, I'll be back to more regular posting AND reading.

Joy, at The Joy of Six, asked how things were going for my family, because I mentioned that four of them had been hospitalized in the past two weeks. It's been a very difficult time.

One of my nephews has clots in his lungs, and he's likely to be on disability for some time while they work to improve the situation. On of my nieces has been diagnosed with herniated disks in her upper back, one of my sisters had surgery for two hernias, and my brother-in-law had a foot amputated.

I've been afraid to answer the phone because the news has been so grim. Another of my nephews cut his hand at work, and required stitches. Elegante Mother was ill over the weekend, and is just now beginning to feel better.

I'm gathering prayers for my family, and hoping that things will get better, SOON! It's simply not possible to think of loosing any of them.

Sooooo.....we're hanging in there, and hope you are, too!

And thank God for that! IT was an absolutely wonderful day, but it's time to rest now.

This morning, roughly half of our exercise class came to a pot luck Soup and Salad brunch at our house. We go out to breakfast once a month to celebrate the birthdays in that month, and this time we decided to try the concept of sharing soup and bread ( and salad, crackers, and DESSERT!!)

For the past two weeks (or more), I've been working to get the house into order so that we could host the event. I spent two weekends working outside to clean up the gardens (It wasn't enough...it's NEVER enough, but we made do.) Something I do when I work on the gardens in the fall always hurts my back, and I've been limping around, wincing when I hit just the right position and pinched the nerves in my back. Since the doctors tell you that you should keep moving through something like this, I've kept moving, but moving slower. I regret that I don't run at the same speed as I did when I was twenty.

I rose at 5:00 and started cooking. I made minestrone, a butternut squash and granny smith apple soup, and Golden Cheddar Chowder. There were at least four other soups: Ham and Bean, Hamburger, Broccoli Cheese and something with Farina dumplings. Added to that were half a dozen salads, every conceivable kind of cracker, bread bowls and incredible desserts. I NEED that coconut cake recipe, and I don't usually eat cake!

It was like having family come to dinner. People began streaming in at 9:30, just after class, and all the early birds helped to set up chairs, arrange a beverage station, and lay things out on the counter. Others answered the door and helped people deal with coats. I finished the cheese chowder and it was time to eat! I set tables in the dining room, and the area off the kitchen we call the Green Room. I also set up a ten foot Samsonite table in the foyer. You could hear conversation throughout the house. This group really enjoys chatting!

After everyone was filled to the brim, and had eaten dessert and had a cup of coffee, they gravitated back to the kitchen and washed the dishes for me. I would have been very happy to do that chore on my own, but they had it done in no time. One washed, one rinsed, and two dried, while I kept them in dry towels, and put things away. The last guest left about a quarter to three.

One of the nice things about hosting a day like this is that there is so much food left over you don't have to cook that evening! Of course, we had soup, and then I went to my chair and napped for a bit. Dear Husband was smarter, he went to bed early. I should have done the same, but I wanted to remember what a great day it had been.

We were blessed with great sunny weather that wasn't too cool, and the pleasure of each other's company. I'm SO glad I know these people....just so glad.