Thanksgiving ’08

The menu:

  • Cornish hens, brined, grilled, basted in a vinegar sauce. Positively succulent. They took longer on the grill than expected, but that’s probably because we grilled six birds rather than the four called for in the recipe. Also because I had the grill open a lot to flip them or check the temperature.
  • Bread stuffing, made from scratch. Just baked in a casserole dish, though, not actually stuffed into the birds. Turned out very crumbly, but oddly enough, not dry. Excellent flavors and texture in the mouth.
  • Baked sweet potatoes. I did these ahead because I thought we might need the oven today. They got a little overdone, and didn’t reheat well in the microwave. They had yummy caramelized bits in them though. We doctored up the potatoes by mashing them with cream cheese, which turned out delicious.
  • Steamed broccoli with garlic vinegar dressing. We have it pretty often anyway, but what it lacks in “special occasionality” it makes up for in flavor. A nice kick to add punctuation between bites of comfort food.
  • With special guest: Store-bought pumpkin pie. It didn’t blow my socks off but it served its purpose.

My mom’s here visiting for the weekend, she got here last night. Riley’s been pretty open with her, right from the beginning, which is great to see. He’s interacting with her on a level that he hasn’t before, it gives me hope that his communication issues are on the way out. Lydia showed some predictable skepticism of Mom at first but is warming to her quickly.

Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday. It’s so laid back, free of expectations. It’s about appreciating, sharing, and food, and nothing else. It’s a pity that it’s perpetually eclipsed by Christmas in terms of travelling home. Hmm, maybe I should stop letting it be.

Remedies are for the ill anyway. :P

So the cover band I was in finally bothered to let me know — by email — that they’ve decided I’m not in it after all. This after no practice for three weeks, and a sudden gig that the four of them took and performed at without even letting me know about it. The lead singer insists that they’re “just looking to scale back” and that they were pleased enough with my playing and liked me personally. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

Basically, either they weren’t being honest about what they’re looking for, or are just too flighty to know. Either way, they communicated badly and insulted me with their disregard.

I’m disappointed, because it’s fun playing music I like with other good musicians. But I don’t particularly want to be part of a group that treats people like this. So, really, it’s just as well.

All Hallows Eve

Been meaning to post this for a few days, but only just got these photos online. Riley did a reprise of his bat costume from last year, since it still fits him just fine. Lydia went as a jack-o’lantern.

We kicked off the day with a party at Riley’s school. Both kids were a little intimidated by the din when we got there, but got into the swing of things pretty quick. Riley and I ran hopped a sack race, and decorated little picture frames with foam stickers, but he was really all about the bounce house. (It’s funny, all those times at Little Gym he never trusted the big air mat, he’d grow extra arms to hold onto me rather than bounce around on it with the other kids. But he could not get enough of this bounce house. Man, what a year will do.) Poor Lydia got pretty worn out exploring the party, she passed out almost as soon as I started the van.

We carved the pumpkins in the afternoon. I got a little round white one from Home Depot, with the idea of doing it as a skull. I drew the face with a sharpie, and it turned out pretty cool, then I couldn’t bring myself to carve it out. I am curious how it would look carved, but it would be rather time consuming to try it with all the teeth.

Some of our neighbors had a cookout in their driveway, so that was our first stop trick-or-treating. The kids had a great time playing there. Eventually we visited all the lit houses on our block, by which time both kids were exhausted.

We had a few handfuls of trick-or-treaters come to our door over the course of the evening, most of whom were delightful. There were a few teens with no apparent costume, some of those weren’t even accompanying little siblings or anything. I gave them candy anyway — I mean at least they’re out doing this instead of drugs or whatever — but it always feels kinda like extortion. Which got me thinking that trick-or-treating really started out that way anyway, so there’s no point resenting them for it.

Vote Cast!

Apparently I left the van on all night (i.e. the key in the ignition, turned to ACC, though the engine wasn’t running of course), and so this morning it wouldn’t turn over. I called AAA for a jump, and while I was waiting I put the kids in the two-seat stroller and walked them around our street. One of our neighbors was able to give us a jump on his way to work. Got Riley to school, albeit almost an hour late. Then Lydia and I went on a little drive to recharge the battery.

After that I went to my nearest polling place, and though I wasn’t 100% sure I was assigned there, I knew my wife was, and I figured even if I wasn’t they could help me find where to go. There was no significant line at all, which was great. But my registration never got processed, which was not. Apparently I wasn’t the only new — hmm, what would you call it, applicant? — to fall through the cracks. I turned in my registration form at the DMV when I got my Georgia driver’s license on October 3. Nobody at the polling place today could tell me whether that was past the deadline or not, but it didn’t matter, they made many calls and eventually got me my voter card. I cast my ballot and was very grateful for all the assistance. Lydia was a big hit there while we were waiting, she charmed everybody. :)

I left feeling really good. It didn’t hurt that it’s a gorgeous day here today, sunny and clear. But given the trouble with the van this morning, and then the bureaucratic slog, I was a little surprised to find myself so at peace with the world.