having eaten not merely one tasty and filling meal, but a second of leftovers, burnt incense and candles, put on low lights, listened to reed pipe music, sat in a comfy chair with heated massage, and generally allowed myself to let any stresses of my life drain away.
Considering I rather dreaded Thanksgiving, this is in and of itself a reason to give thanks. Going to visit relatives is always a bit of a crap shoot, I suppose. And I was a little anxious over the car and lack-of-cell-phone-minutes as well, for which a friend mocked me, since after all the majority of my life, and that of human existence, has gone along quite nicely without that sense of security given by a cell phone. (I believe Conestoga wagons even came into that discussion.)
I got up early, forewent cleaning out the car and the time it would take, deciding that if my grandmother wanted to harp about its state, she didn't need a ride to my mother's. As it turned out, my stepfather came and collected my grandmother, his mother, and myself from Danville and brought us to Stanford, along with a table and extra chairs for some unexpected family guests.
I used my limited funds to get another quart of oil, for a total of two to go into the engine today, put the rest into gas sans two dollars for a loaf of bread, and managed to get my gas pumped with the price still at $1.59 (they had a gas 'restoration' scheduled later for $1.75). I also used a free drink coupon to have something for the trip down, and so made the trip on very little money. I was early for a change, giving me time to have a good visit with my grandmother, who was not feeling well today. She showed me her new teeth and talked about her cataract surgery. She did at no point mention my mother lending me money for the rent. Either she doesn't know (which is unlikely--she knew about the gas card my mom gave me at the same time) or has had enough difficulties this year herself that she had some sympathy. We discussed how difficult things are right now for many people, including ourselves. Also, apparently my stepsister Amy, whom I had never met, died recently. I asked my mother later and she died two weeks ago. Amy was a very large woman, tall like her dad, but nearly five hundred pounds, and apparently her heart gave out on her. I think she was about my age or more than likely younger.
John came and picked us up and then his mother. On the way over to her house I saw I big Rottweiler in the back of a truck with its tail intact. It looked like a big baby. :)
John's mother is a delight. Oh, she talks up a storm, but then so do I, so I appreciate the need for someone to listen and did so. She's very fragile, and sometimes can't remember a name or two, which irritates her to no end. I can sympathise. Of course, she's in her 80s and I'm in my 40s. Like my grandmothers and mother, she was a nurse. But she has a very vibrant personality--and isn't afraid to give a whole parcel of her mind on the subject of her family's shortcomings--not in a mean-spirited way, but just speaking from the hip. No one is pulling the wool over that woman's eyes.
Dinner was nice. There were: my mom, my stepfather, his mother, her mother, me, two of his sons, a girlfriend, and two grandsons. The kids were relatively well-behaved (they even managed not to break John's iPhone) and one was quite proud of his toy night-vision goggles that opened up to look like something out of Robot Chicken.
I had a little bit of quite a lot, enough to be pleasantly full without being uncomfortable. And then I was able to take another plate plus desserts home with me. As usual, since I don't eat the turkey, ham, dressing (due to the broth), or gravy, my mom made me some fish. I didn't try the oyster dressing; it just isn't my thing, although I gather that if you do like oysters it is very good (I tried some last year and it was not bad). Then there were mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (candied with Splenda), cranberry sauce, rolls, green beans (without meat, so I could have them), and best of all, deviled eggs. I love deviled eggs. :) Plus there were Splenda-sweetened pumpkin, butterscotch, and chocolate pies. I had to laugh; my step-brother was very put-out by the lack of a pecan pie. One of my friends had a similar grievance about his Thanksgiving menu. But apparently Splenda doesn't do well in pecan pie and my mother swore off sugar-free ones with sugar alcohols because, well, if you're not familiar with the results of sugar alcohol-laden food, go try some, but don't go too far from a bathroom.
We visited for awhile. The kids and their folks went at one point and left us to catch up on things. I told my mom about some long-term changes being proposed for the hospital which may affect my job within about 5-10 years. Boyle County's library is expanding to about twice its size. They're over in a storefront or industrial site building for now during the building renovation. So they may be hiring soon.
Throughout the visit there was much dog action on the part of my grandmother's dog Bo and my mother's Sassy. They weren't together but both are very spirited smaller dogs. Sassy didn't really like the children. One of them scolded her at one point and she just really let him have it, and didn't care for him the rest of the visit. She's a chihuahua-rat terrier mix, it looks like. She didn't like me at all when I first came in but at one point I went outside and patted the outside dog, Shadow, who seemed forlorn because she knew Sassy was getting bits from the table. Once Sassy smelled the other dog on me, it's like I had some sort of key. I must be okay after all. My mother's cat, Trouble, even put in an appearance. We are concerned though because she's sixteen years old and sleeping in the litter box, a bad sign of cats going downhill. I really wish I had a picture though of John asleep on the couch whilst the rest of us were visiting and Sassy was up in the crook of his arm out cold, too.
We wound up watching a good bit of One Night at McCool's, which was a comedy and goofy, but not bad. maybe a little better than average, about a woman who is pure poison to the men around her. It had Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon, Michael Douglas, John Goodman, Paul Reiser, and Reba McEntire (the last interestingly enough as a psychiatrist). Let me tell you, Paul Reiser looks good in bondage leather get-ups. After the movie, we decided to let my mom get some rest since she has to work tonight and went back to Danville. Since it was getting dark, I pretty much just came on home.
The drive back was uneventful, although a little busier than the drive down. I stopped and got some medication on the way and then sat down and watched 'Heroes'. It was a very good episode, well crafted. The ending startled me, because although the possibility had (yes YKWIA, I know you'll say I'll say this) occurred to me, the picture given was much more effective than what I had imagined. I so want to watch part two, and I'm working, so I'll have to watch on the web again. :(
Anyway, that was my Thanksgiving. Turns out I found I had a lot to be thankful for, not the least good food and good company. Hope yours went well and was safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment