jaysaint Getting it all down on paper…

I’m doped up on Benadryl (I poked myself in the eye with an allergen-laden fingertip) and chocolate pie. Alden is conked in his crib. My mom, Damon’s mom, my SIL, and her daughter are all upstairs behind closed doors. Zoe is making biscuits on my lap. Damon is watching something pointless on TV.

Thanksgiving dinner went well, I think.

The menu:
— sesame shitake salmon (Salmon?! Scandal! SCANDAL! But that is what you get when you accept a Thanksgiving invitation from a pescatarian, and all were duly warned. Still, major drama ensued. To which I say, “Report back to me when you have an actual problem.”)
— classic mashed potatoes. (Mine are always a hit, due to a secret I stole from .)
— lemony brussels sprouts in dijon mustard and tarragon
— green bean casserole (Because I am not a communist.)
— stuffed artichoke casserole
— creamed spinach with crispy shallots (Laboriously crisping your own shallots will result in a product 98% similar to a Durkee fried onion.)
— roasted beets with their greens in white balsamic vinegar
— cornbread stuffing
— biscuits
— cranberry sauce

We busted out my grandma’s old china, which looked like doll tableware. What is currently accepted as regulation-sized dinner plate looks like a platter in comparison. This is why we are all getting fatter by the minute. Of course, I just paired each plate with a bowl so folks could get a reasonable amount of food without having to stretch way over to grab a serving spoon. Even more fun than the china was the family sterling. It hasn’t seen the light of day in almost 40 years. But since I gave up on the Queen or Martha Stewart swinging by for dinner, I’ve been looking for a reason.

We had our current crew, plus SIL #2 and her boyfriend and my newly-single BIL. I’m sad for him, as he was with the same girl for four years. But he’ll be fine. He created quite a stir among the young ladies who viewed my wedding pictures and I doubt he’ll be lonely for long. This family makes sweet-tempered, smart, good-looking boys.

I have a lot to be thankful for, and I’m counting my blessings as a matter of course over this four-day holiday. If you’re reading this, you’re among those blessings. Having you all to talk to, and get such good wisdom from, makes a marked difference in my life. I wish I had it in me tonight to write one of those eloquent, itemized posts. The Benadryl and holiday exhaustion deny me, though. (This is further confirmed by my having to go back and edit that sentence from “right one of those” and “denises me, though.” Heavens knows what I’ve missed.)