After a significant computer crash which wiped out our entire hard drive, we have a restored system and I can finally post again!
Yep, so tomorrow's Thanksgiving, and like everyone else, we will engage in the ritualistic practice of gorging ourselves silly and curbing our usual anti-social ways. Tomorrow, we'll be all kinds of grateful for everything we have, and then on Friday we will be back to whining and complaining.
We will also continue to field the constant questions and comments about what we eat on Thanksgiving, as if the presence of a dead fourteen-pound bird on the table renders all other types of food inconsequential. Fortunately, we will spend the day with kind, respectful folks who will not engage in the ever-fun Let Me Stick This Drumstick Under Your Nose While Making Gobbling Sounds game. We will not eat Tofurkey, though, because that shit is just nasty.
I'm going to attempt my first vegan cheesecake - pumpkin, with a gingersnap crust. I'm a great cook, but a mediocre baker (measuring and following actual recipes are not exactly my thing) so wish me luck. I'm also going to make a batch of vegan pumpkin bread, a huge salad with lots of goodies in it, and a corn medley. (It's really just bags of bi-colored frozen corn mixed together. I was just trying to impress you by calling it a 'medley.')
I'm planning to finish painting the kitchen and family room. I put the first coat of "bicycle yellow" on the walls last night, and it looks fab. The whole color scheme in this part of the house is VERY 80s, with our black appliances and red accents, which I am loving. Ikea sells frames specifically for album covers, so I think we may have to throw a few of the old favorites up on the walls when we're done. I'm going to order some funky vinyl soda-shop stools for our breakfast bar, too. I heart fun rooms.
Other than that, I've got a final assignment to work on for the grad class I took this semester. I'm working on a professional article for publication, which I've never done before because I didn't really have the encouragement or the confidence to give it a shot. The course instructor thought my work was good enough to submit, so what the hell.
I'll be working my way through the two books on my nightstand and, hopefully, decorating for Xmas. I always have great plans for long weekends, and somehow I always end up spending more time relaxing than ticking things off my list.
I'm not complaining, though. Lying on the couch with my head on Tony's lap and his hand on my hip, watching reruns of South Park while Emmett swats at his catnip mouse, is something for which I'm truly grateful.
So what are you doing this weekend?