Thanksgiving Week

It is officially the week of Thanksgiving, which means for us, the beginning of the holidays. When I was a child there was a sort of unwritten taboo against starting the holidays even a minute before the dishes were cleaned and put a way from the Thanksgiving feast. That taboo has been effectively ignored by any and all for decades now. Stores start decorating for it even before summer has passed. But for me, the week of Thanksgiving is good enough.

My sister and I went to a store here called Haggens (I believe) that is really just a high end Safeway to purchase our feast. This was her idea, not mine. There is nothing about spending extra on groceries that makes me feel even the least bit festive. Fine shopping has always made her feel special. So I let her purchase all but a few of the groceries. I am making the cranberry relish and the parker rolls as well as a baked cauliflower for this meal, so I bought those. Still, the $0.69 a pound Jenny-O frozen turkey at Walmart is fine with me. I don't need a premium "fresh", as in never been frozen bird. I will hardly eat enough of it to make it worth the price. She says that she makes up for it by buying the tree from a place where she gets a great price. I guess I can see her point. We aren't going to eat the tree after all. However, she likes to decorate the tree with chocolate ornaments, and they are expensive. She found a few at Target that aren't really pretty. I went online and what I found was woeful. So this too, I will leave to her. I bought matching stockings for the three of us instead.

The three kittens have gone to the eastern side of the state to visit with their father for the holiday. They won't be joining us. In a way, it is a blessing. We will have my niece, her best friend and her best friends partner and my sister's ex joining us for the meal. Seven adults will be plenty to fill this small house with cheer. Writing these words, I come to the realization of just how indulgent my sisters feast is for her, she likes the cooking of it more than eating it. My sister, her daughter the best friend and the partner are all vegetarians. None of them will be eating the fresh, never frozen bird. And I can assure you that my brother, my ex-brother-in-law and I simply will not care one bit. AND...it is a 23 pound turkey, and I prefer ham to turkey. The bird is more for her pleasure of cooking it than it has anything to do with any of  us eating it. I will keep my feelings about it here on this blog and let her enjoy it. I will enjoy hijacking the television to watch the parade. I'm pretty sure my brother and ex-BIL will want to watch the Falcons football game. I may hijack my sister's TV and have Christmas movies playing on it.

Cheese is still with us. I think he's hanging out hoping to snag some of that Turkey.