Thanksgiving Recap
Ah, it was a nice day! I got up fairly early for a run, had some breakfast and blog reading time, and then got to work! I made the rolls (recipe from Nora Cooks)… … and I made the tofu (also from Nora), and made the components for the salad. Then I turned the kitchen over to my son and husband- they made the stuffing and mashed potatoes while I relaxed for a little on the couch. Then more cooking (put the Gardein roast in the oven) and trying to get everything hot at the same time… and then we ate! The salad is the Fall Bliss Salad that Julie recently shared. It was really good, except- I DEFINITELY bought some plant-base goat cheese specifically for this salad, and I couldn’t find it!!! I’m still a little bitter about that- but it didn’t ruin the meal. Here’s a photo my son took of his plate: After dinner we usually take a walk, but it was raining so instead we watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Charlotte came out and joined us in the living room. I know… her eye looks terrible. She’s been great about taking her thyroid meds and her fish oil, but we have trouble getting the eyedrops in her eye. We really have to be better about that. And then it was time for pie! Ha ha… I texted a photo to my sister, and my BIL said my pie looks “scary.” I had trouble getting the first piece out of the pan, and it kind of fell apart. But it tasted great! My second piece (I get two pieces since it’s gluten and sugar free, RIGHT?) held together perfectly. I really liked it, but no one else in my family wanted to try it. Perfect! More for me. Here’s a photo of my daughter’s pie- she would say this is what pie is SUPPOSED to look like. It was a really great day, And, great news- my son was supposed to fly back on Saturday, but there’s a winter storm warning in Chicago that day, and the airline offered to change his flight for free. So now he’s staying till Sunday, hooray! If you celebrated, how was your Thanksgiving? Did you manage to get all the food on the table, hot, at the right time? Do you like pumpkin pie?- I like it once a year. And yes, I plan to eat my whole pie!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Happy day to everyone celebrating! I’ll be back tomorrow with a Thanksgiving recap. Here are some scenes from our Wednesday: We got our Christmas tree! In her post yesterday, Elisabeth said a real tree would cost $40 for them. AHEM. Put a “1” in front of that and add ten dollars, and that’s how much we paid for our 7-8 foot tree. Here’s how much you would pay for a 13-14 foot tree: Back at home, I made a charcuterie board! I used vegan meat and cheese… …and Muffin got her own plate. We put the lights and tinsel on the tree… … and then we made pies (I made the two pumpkin, my husband made the pecan). One is a sugar-free pie with a buckwheat crust (for me)- yes, I’m also wondering how it will taste! I’ll let you know. Foxy is being so good- he’s intrigued, but hasn’t wrecked the tree yet! If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope your day is filled with gratitude and pie. And if you’re not celebrating, I hope you have an awesome Thursday! Top photo by Preslie Hirsch on Unsplash
Holiday Mashup
I used to be so stubborn about keeping Thanksgiving separate from Christmas (why? Why was that so important to me? I can’t even remember). Now I happily embrace the Thanksgiving/Christmas vibes! Today was quite a day. When I left for work, my daughter was busy dyeing her hair pink (she bleached it blond the day before). In the middle of my workday I checked my phone and saw that I had about 17 texts.. this can’t be good. The first series were from my daughter, who decided she hated her pink hair, thought she wanted to dye it black instead, and then The next series of texts were from my son… telling us his flight from O’Hare was so delayed that he would miss his connection in Orlando. He would either have to spend the night in Orlando, OR, maybe one of us could drive up there to pick him up? GAH. Orlando is three hours EACH WAY. We had planned to spend the evening cleaning the house and doing some cooking, and it’s telling that my husband and I actually argued over who would drive to Orlando- “I’ll go!” “No, I’ll go!” Driving for six hours was preferable to staying home and doing all the cleaning alone. The crisis was averted! The airline rerouted my son through Nashville, and he got to Ft. Lauderdale at midnight (ha ha… we didn’t argue over who would go to the airport- I told my husband “You can go!”) But it was better than driving to Orlando. Since no one had to drive to Orlando, we tackled the house together- vacuuming, mopping, scrubbing… and we had some furniture moving to do! We need to move things around to accommodate the Christmas tree- I was very glad I didn’t have to do all this by myself. I also made pumpkin baked ziti! It’s a recipe I make every year from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Veganomicon cookbook. We ate some for dinner tonight, and will also have it tomorrow night so I don’t have to cook a dinner- I’ll be busy enough cooking other things tomorrow. The reason why one corner is so weird and lumpy is that I had to differentiate a portion for my daughter that has no caramelized onions- otherwise she won’t eat it. And, I put up my Christmas card display! I had to do this because I have received the FIRST OFFICIAL CARD OF CHRISTMAS!!! Someone reading this will recognize their card… Coming up tomorrow: pie baking day! Are you baking pies for Thanksgiving? Do you have Christmas decorations up yet? Top photo by Hanna Balan on Unsplash
Tuesday Topics
Welcome to the Tuesday linkup I host with Jenn from Runs with Pugs! Thanks goodness today is a free topic, because my mind is all over the place this week. My husband and daughter have the whole week off, and boy… that would be nice. I have work as usual (although obviously not on Thanksgiving Day) and so many other things going on. What things, you ask? Read on! I’ve realized that Charlotte and I are twinning! I also take thyroid meds (mine is for hypo, hers is hyper- but we both take two pills a day for life). I had conjunctivitis over the summer, and while I don’t have arthritis (that I know of) I do have some hip issues. So I can relate on all three of her ailments. We’re still getting adjusted to her medication schedule. The best way to get her to take her pill is to mix it with a Churu treat. I’m not sure I want to give her two treats a day for the rest of her life though, so we’re trying to put it in regular food instead. My brother-in-law thinks we should just force her jaw open and pop it in her mouth- hahahahaha. He is insane. For the rest of the family- my son comes home tonight! I mean, hopefully, if his flights all go smoothly (he has to make a connection which always worries me). Then Wednesday we will get our Christmas tree! We’ve learned that it’s good to set it up and let the branches open up for a day or so before decorating. This year I guess we’ll decorate on Thanksgiving Day? We used to wait until Black Friday, but I have work, and then we have a football playoff game at night. Then my son leaves again on Saturday. What else… oh yeah, I have to cook a Thanksgiving dinner! It’s just the four of us, and my husband and son will help. But it’s still a lot to think about… salad… rolls… pie. It’s stressing me out a little, but it’s the fun kind of stress. We’ll do some of the cooking on Wednesday and listen to a Christmas playlist, while the smell of our tree wafts through the house. This is the best week of the year! Link Up With Tuesday Topics Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts! Join us next week —> Giving Tuesday – How Do You Give Back To The Fitness Community? You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter Do you love Thanksgiving week? Are you cooking a big dinner? If you have pets, how do you give them pills? Top photo by Alfred Schrock on Unsplash