Live Blogging: Good Morning!

Bud came into our room around 7 a.m., "Happy Thanksgiving!"  He was so excited; it was so touching.  But he managed to stay quiet until Sis and Goo roused a bit later . . . and they all played some Minecraft downstairs while Mama and I got a bit more sleep.

As I was broiling bacon cheese bites for breakfast, Ma and Gong arrived.  The party really begins!  They bought three whole cakes from Junior's in Brooklyn--cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, and chocolate cake!!--and also some remote-control cars for the kiddos.  It's always Christmas with grandparents.  As long as the kids don't chip the new paint on the baseboards . . . .

It's the relaxed time of the day before we really dive into meal prep.  Familial, joyful, peaceful.

And then there'll be cooking.

Live Blogging: Good Night!

Whew, settling into bed after a busy up-and-down day.  After our takeout pizza dinner (mmmm, Portuguese pizza with peppers, ham, onions, kalamata olives, and hard-boiled eggs!), we all watched the 50th anniversary Doctor Who (again, for us, for the first time for Goo.)  And we liked it just as much the second time (especially because I enjoyed spotting the Easter Eggs!)

While the kids headed to bed, Mama, Goo, and I headed to the kitchen to make dressing, the last of our preparatory tasks.  Then we sat around chatting until Goo fell asleep.  Poor fourth-year medical student, hardly gets any rest.  Mama and I stayed up even longer after he went to bed, as we talked about the day's events (mainly my aunt's injury and the conversations with my uncle and my parents.)

And now it's almost midnight and time to go to bed.  But at least there will be no alarm waking us up!

(One shout-out to Mama Teacher, who is not having the holiday she planned after her husband injured his leg this evening.  Please please please call us when you need something, even if it's just pie!)

Live Blogging: Gratitudes

I'm thankful for my beloved Aunt Sis, who we just learned has fallen, broken her hip (again), and is in the hospital, where she'll spend the holiday before moving to rehab.  Again.  She weighs only 88 lbs now (at nearly my height, 5' 7" ish) and is sleeping a lot.  I hope she is peaceful and comfortable.

And I'm thankful for Goo, who showed up after a full shift at the hospital (he's a third-year medical student) totally prepared to play with his niece and nephew.  They have played the piano for him, watched "What Does the Fox Say?", had a dance/gymnastics party, and made two pies--pecan and apple butter pumpkin--before settling into Minecraft now.  He is a blessing.

Live Blogging: Thanksgiving Begins Soon

I suppose "live blogging" seems a little passe in the time of FB and Twitter, but I'm often a traditionalist (if that word can be applied to the internet), so I'll be live blogging Thanksgiving again this year.

And since the kids will be home in a little more than an hour, and Goo and Mama, separately, not long after that, Thanksgiving is upon us!  (And yes, after this morning's activities, I'm resting up with the latest "Supernatural" before the holiday marathon.)

Wishing you and your loved ones a bountiful and peaceful holiday!

Thanksgiving Live: Lessons Learned

Today is over.

And I'm glad.

It was a really tough day in many ways.

The kids were great.  And my brother-in-law is a light in all of our lives.  We were also glad to try to give my in-laws some respite from the difficulty that has been their life since the hurricane; I feel for them and want to help.  And I love Mama.

But today was frustrating, chaotic, and bittersweet.

First, making the food was so much more complicated than it should have been.  And then most of it turned out really mediocre.  I know I'm a better cook than that, but today was not my day.

• Lesson 1:  You can't stick that many things in my oven at once.
• Lesson 2:  Even though Thanksgiving is about food, we can cut back on our expectations so that the meal doesn't crush the holiday spirit.  
• Lesson 3:  Ask others to bring dishes.
• Lesson 4:  Have your goal in mind.  I thought my goal was a tasty meal--comfort food for the soul--but I think my real goal was comfort and I missed that one today.

I usually like to plan and cook and host.  But we all got caught up in the meal, probably as a distraction from other things (except Gong did take and make several phone calls with contractors and talk of the hurricane losses and struggles were always right there).  That's too many cooks in the kitchen, even though we were all trying to be helpful; no one knew what to do--Goo came closest, managing both kitchen help and playtime.  The only time I spoke to the kids before dinner was over was to snap when I thought that they got in the way.  I didn't like that at all.

Now that doesn't mean they weren't having fun.  They played with Goo and Gong--yo-yos, catch, Hackey sack, iPad games, Monopoly, Pokemon, DSi, among  other things.  

• Lesson 5:  Make more time for rest and relaxation before lunch.

And then we finally ate.  I almost burst into tears several times during the meal, waves of sadness and such washing over me (along with hot flashes--I'm really not liking this peri-menopause; yes, it's official.).  Of course, it didn't help that the food wasn't distractingly good.  And there was little real conversation the first half.  Except when the kids pointed out what they didn't like.  I couldn't even muster the sentiment to have us go around to say what we're thankful for, as per tradition.  Even with all of our good fortune this year, for which we are grateful, it was just not the mood of the day.  So we toasted to "At least 2012 is almost over!"  Luckily, Goo did add that we were thankful for family.  About halfway through dinner, I was just too hot and went outside.  I've noticed that it doesn't really slow down the hot flashes, but there's not much else to do.  

• Lesson 6:  Figure out better ways to deal with hot flashes.

And then the wave passed, both my inside tears and the personal summer.  I ate some more fresh cranberry sauce and remembered the "Would You Rather" questions game I'd printed out.  You know, things like "would you rather eat Thanksgiving dinner at the White House or get to lead the Thanksgiving parade?"  We chose the White House . . . especially for the next four years!  The question that was the most fun was "Would you rather eat with family or with three celebrities?"  I laughed and said I'd take the celebrities, and I'd tell them about it next year.  Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and Emma Thompson!  Sis chose Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, and Pikachu.  Bud chose Obi Wan-Kenobi, Hermione Granger, and Ash Ketchum.  Typical twins--they chose people from the same three sources!  We laughed about washing our hair in mashed potatoes or bathing in gravy, or never celebrating either Thanksgiving or Valentine's Day again.  

• Lesson 7:  Have a conversation starter or game on hand just in case.  

From there, we moved outside.  I played a little basketball with Bud, shot some Archery Tag arrows with Goo, and then Sis pulled out her bicycle.  Gong steadied her a bit and then, whadya know, Sis rode her bicycle all by herself!  And then we took her into the cul-de-sac for more space and she rode up and down the block unassisted without falling!!!  Bud gave it a try but didn't quite master it (much to his extreme disappointment.)

• Lesson 8:  When all else fails, go outside.

Dessert was delightful, with pecan pie and pumpkin pie.  I didn't even mind when Sis reiterated that frozen was just not as good as scratch.  'Cos it's not.  

• Lesson 9:  Eat dessert first.

Holidays are important; so is gratitude.  But people are more so.  We all tried today, as best we could, but in the end it was asking perhaps too much to pretend that things are okay when, for half our family, they just aren't.  We can't make it better with turkey and pie.

• Lesson 10:  Be gentle with yourself and others.

Even though I'm glad today is over, I'm thankful for what I've learned.

Thanksgiving Live: 10 Minutes to Chaos

Gong is asleep on the couch; Ma is drinking coffee in the kitchen.  Goo is with the kids playing Pokemon cards.  And I'm lying down upstairs, getting a second wind.  Mama is . . . somewhere.

Because in about 10 minutes, it will be time to put dinner on the table!  There are currently 5 dishes in one oven, two needing their last-minute toppings soon, and one in the convection, roasting their little sprout hearts out.  The gravy is done; the cranberry sauce is done.

We're almost ready.

We run a pretty informal ship over here:  no elaborate place settings or centerpieces, no linen tablecloth or napkins, no fine china or crystal.  That's not a complaint; we're good that way--it's us.  We do have a fancy turkey cranberry dish (thanks, Aunt Banana), a turkey platter (both with a and for the turkey), as well as turkey plates (okay, confession:  I'm a vegetarian and I wonder about pictures of happy live turkeys on plates with hot dead turkey.  At least it's a pretty Victorian-esque cranberry-colored transfer).  But it's our everyday glasses and cutlery.  And so much food there won't be space for any pinecone pilgrims!

And here we go.  Dinner, a round of gratitudes (or not, I think those wounds might just be too tender right now), and lots of food.

Not a bad day.

Thanksgiving Live: Frustrations

The morning has seen a few frustrations.  First, Blogger has dropped several of my live posts without saving them.  And I can't be bothered to peck out the same thing three times on my phone.

Then, we realized we didn't have enough potatoes by half to make Sis's favorite mashed potatoes, so Mama and Ma went to the grocery (and we don't like shopping on Thanksgiving).

Then, I realized I didn't defrost the rolls last night.  I have 16 beautiful, homemade rolls that are totally frozen and don't have the 12 hours they need to defrost and rise.  So I'm making rolls again here in a little bit--and will send the frozen ones to Mama Teacher and home with Goo.

Except now that throws off our careful oven calculations, as does the addition of roasted Brussels sprouts to the menu, which have to be cooked 75F higher than everything else.  And I have, essentially, two ovens--a regular one and a convection one.

Sigh.

Add to that the general air of  overwhelming sadness and loss from the hurricane underlining several conversations (while innocuously carving the turkey, Mama just learned that all the Hallmark Eskimo ornaments her mother had bought and saved for her since she was a little girl were lost in the storm, among so many other things)--there's gratitude, but with a very bittersweet air--and, well, I'm looking forward to baked brie (and the crust ripped all the way around halfway through baking, which I can't understand at all) and apple cider in a bit, right after a few mental-health moments I'm taking alone upstairs.

The kids have been having fun playing with Goo.  They've practiced yo-yo moves, played catch with at first a crumpled-up piece of paper and then a Koosh ball, played Hackey-sack, played Dragonvale on the iPad, and are now playing Monopoly.  Ma is helping Mama.  Gong is in with the kids.  

And the cats are peacefully oblivious, alone in their room.

Live Blogging Super Bowl XLVI: Sorta

We are setting up our Super Bowl party as I type.  We made Dutch Oven Roast to eat on rolls like French dip sandwiches, purple Sumi slaw from the "new" church's new cookbook, and reheated a great batch of black-eyed peas.  There's even ice cream and root beer floats for later.  All to be eaten on tablecloths spread on our bed in front of our only tv.

The kids are so excited.  Even if they're relatively clueless--"Why do they even have a Super Bowl, Mom?"   They're rooting for the Giants because a good school friend, S., is a Giants fan and because we like New York more than Boston (at least in baseball).  Otherwise, they (and we) didn't really care.  In fact, a visiting minister at church asked who Connecticut roots for.  Half yelled out for the Giants, the other for the Patriots.  And some for the Jets and Packers (the visitor's home team)!  We're nothing if not divided up here (and it's the same with  baseball).

And so we're ready to watch the pregame and as much of the game as they can before bedtime at 7:30, explaining the rules and the commercials the whole time.  We'll tape Madonna to show them tomorrow.  And they've made sure we'll stay up to find out who wins.  And I'm sure we will, even if I always say I could miss the end.  I do like any kind of championship game, almost regardless of who plays.

Enjoy your party!  I'll be back soon with our updates . . . .

Thanksgiving Live: A Blessing for Today

"Join hands and sing a happy song,
Join hands and sing a happy song,
Join hands and sing a happy song,
We are one family.

"We're thankful for the food we're going to eat.
We're thankful for the people that we meet.
We're thankful for the world that is so sweet.
We are one family."

Thanksgiving Live: Table Manners for Thanksgiving

Have little ones with impeccable social graces?

Okay, then, read right here at Cindy Post Senning's website (yes, that Post family), The Gift of Good Manners, to make it better (thanks to Motherlode for the link).

Thanksgiving Live: The Cooking Has Begun

I made my first Thanksgiving recipe this morning.  


Right, not yesterday with the kids as planned.  Time and energy were in short supply, as was motivation; they were making their own Wizard of Oz novels (more on that soon).


So this morning.  I started with the rolls, a new recipe, Big-Batch Quick Dinner Rolls (no worries, I trust King Arthur Flour)--simple ingredients, big batch, enough for everyone.  It wasn't technically a bread machine recipe, but I adapted.  And it seemed to turn out just fine.  There are three pans of eight, sealed and safe in the freezer, where they'll stay until bedtime when I'll pull them out to defrost (it doesn't say, but I'll probably defrost in the fridge).  Two pans for us, one for Mama Teacher.  I hope it works.  And I'll let you know.


-=-=-=-=-=-


Big-Batch Quick Dinner Rolls

• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 2 cups warm milk ( 100 - 110°F)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons yeast, instant preferred
• 6 to 7 cups KA all-purpose flour

I put everything in my bread machine (using 5 cups of flour and then adding 1 1/2 more as needed).  I let it knead and then rise about 30+ minutes (i.e. not the whole cycle).  And then removed the dough, made a 12 x 8" rectangle, divided it into 4 rows with 6 rolls each, rolled them into balls, and placed them into greased aluminum pie tins.  Then I covered them tightly and put them in the freezer.  I'll defrost overnight.  In the morning, I'll preheat to 350F and bake 20-25 minutes until golden.  Yum!

King Arthur Flour

Thanksgiving Live: On Gratitude

How to practice gratitude, and why, in the NYTimes, including:

• counting blessings not sheep, to sleep
• writing a letter to someone who changed your life for the better
• play "it could be worse"
• say or do one grateful thing to each member of your family

Thanks, John Tierney of NYTimes, for this article!

Thanksgiving Live: Shopping Done

Okay, kind Driver and I spent more than an hour at the very crowded grocery store but managed to get practically everything I needed, minus Portuguese rolls (none looked good so I'll buy some at the deli tomorrow) and turkey stock (I can just use chicken for gravy, because vegetarian or not, I'm having gravy!).  Driver helped me put all the perishables away, but the other goods are on the enclosed porch, mainly because there is no point putting away that which a) we will cook tonight and the next two days and b) has no place to go because it's extra.  It was funny to shop with someone--I've never had a helper before and it'll take some getting used to.  She's a friend but also someone working on my behalf; it's an odd balance.  Not that she is awkward or anything--she's great, calm, encouraging, generous, helpful, casual, and a great talker and listener, --but I can tell I'm still getting used to needing so much help, from picking up a bag of potatoes to pushing the cart, from loading to unloading the cart.  I hadn't been in that grocery store, or done any grocery shopping, in almost eight full months, so I hadn't needed help like this before, as much as I've gotten used to help in all other areas of my life.  So, it felt strange but also exhilarating and fun and exciting.  I even got to choose my own magazines!  And have a coffee!  It was wonderful and I am so grateful that she makes it possible.  Who'd have thought grocery shopping before Thanksgiving could be so fabulous?

Now to start cooking it all . . . .

Thanksgiving Live: Getting Ready

I read recently that food editors dread Thanksgiving because they have to come up with new recipes when really all anyone cooks is their traditional meal.  Well, that's true for me.  I have dozens, if not hundreds, of cookbooks and recipes.  And yet we'll make the same holiday foods.  They're neither fancy foods nor healthful; in fact, so 1970s America is it that I can't buy the ingredients at Whole Foods!

In an hour, my Driver is taking me to the grocery and helping me shop for all the regular ingredients.  And this afternoon, the kids will help me make some of the dishes--jello, cranberry sauce, and the like.  Because the holidays are here.

Scrappy Kids

Perhaps I should say "scrapping." Because the family has a new activity: scrapbooking!

Mama is actually the force behind this, my having abandoned scrapbooking our lives a few years back when overwhelmed with the paper detritus I was saving but never getting to. She had come across two scrapbooks we made of our swazus from Chicago--to Door County and the Lighthouse Walk, to the Indigo Girls at Ravinia, to Galena, to Michigan City Light, and more--and we enjoyed looking at them.

And so, in advance of our NYC mini-vacation, we all went to the craft store and bought a scrapbook, a few packs of NYC stickers, some colored stock paper, and some double-sided tape. While in NYC, we all were on the lookout for pamphlets, postcards, menus, and other material we could use, coming home with a fair bagful of things.

Yesterday, we spread all the material out, clipped and cut, sorted and selected, and finally laid out all the special pieces to work on the layout. We chose to do the Harry Potter exhibition pages first, using the red and yellow of Gryffindor as our paper. We included our family photo in front of Hogwarts, pamphlet photos, illustrations cut out from the shop bag, a postcard, and some Hogwarts stickers they sold in the shop, with everyone taking a turn taping stuff down and distributing stickers. It looks really good. Mama's going to write a blurb documenting the experience from each family member in the spaces.

We'll do the rest of the NYC pages another day. And even more after our next interesting activity.

Though, Bud said we should "scrap" our perfect potholder in memory of the hurricane! But I have it hanging on the kitchen wall.

From Irene: Lessons Learned

I'm wrapping up my live blogging on the hurricane now that our lives have mostly returned to pre-hurricane activity. However, I hold all those still suffering and struggling with the effects of the storm in my heart, especially those upstate New Yorkers and Vermonters who were hit so hard (like my blog friend Karen).

Still, I want to summarize some of the practical and philosophical lessons learned this weekend:

• Top 5 Things We Were Glad We Had: flashlights, corded phone, water, wipes/sanitizing gel, something new and distracting for the kids to do (weaving potholders! Legos!).
• Plus: we realized that the best food to have on hand was bread, with honey, nutella, pb & j, the cheese before it went bad. We could have lasted a long time with just a few loaves of bread.
• Back to that "old-fashioned" phone which fascinated the kids with its cord and lack of "speaker" function. It was funny to hold a cradle phone and walk around with a cord winding around my feet. Took me back to 8th grade, when I spent a lot of time on the phone. Except back then, I didn't forget what that little switch on the cradle meant and toggle it when I talked. I accidentally hung up on Gommie!
• I was again reminded of the importance of friends and neighbors for help, information, a sense of safety in that we knew they would come to our aid if we needed it. And vice versa, of course, which is also a good feeling to know that you can help others.
• But I also realized how isolated you can feel cut off from the larger world. We are usually so interconnected via technology. It felt strange and small to just be us in our house. I relied on neighbors (and their rumors) for information about our town and only got information about the whole effect of the storm from Gommie and Pop who were watching it in Texas (thanks to technology, of course). Oddly, I was a bit sad when power came back on. And I think I liked the closeness we had, the togetherness. Not that we aren't usually pretty cohesive, but this was different, special. However, I'll see if we can repeat it without a major natural disaster. (Also, it was very strange to plug back in and see the world had gone on without us and our hurricane. We were so absorbed in it that it was odd suddenly to see that life continued along outside of Irene.)
• I think it was important for the kids to have the "hurricane experience," in a way. Not because the hurricane itself is so important but knowing they can endure and survive something unexpected and challenging, something outside their control, and adapt, gives them confidence, allays fears, provides a sense of empathy for the hardships that much of the world experiences. Blizzards are different--less immediately frightening and threatening, fun in their way, pretty even, and usually not nearly as devastating or tragic.
• Being over-prepared gave me confidence during the storm (and that confidence allowed me to stay calm). In fact, I wouldn't say we were over-prepared, in that we needed almost everything we prepped, from water to non-perishable foods to batteries. We didn't need our "to-go" bag or valuables or, thankfully, first aid kit, but I don't regret organizing them.
• Speaking of valuables, it's interesting to do that walk-through of your house and actually pull out what you'd want to save. We had Bud's kung fu trophy and medals, Sis's medals, their special critters (Mr. Big, Amy, and Shirt), their baby books, my baby book, some pre-digital pictures of me and Mama in our pre-parent days, Morgan's ashes, our civil union photo (which I like better than our wedding photo), Mama's photos of her parents' wedding, the "first year" frames of both kiddos, my keepsake recipe binder of handprinted family recipes, Mama's childhood stuffed animals, my Amish doll, my treasure box (with their hospital caps, my mosaic fragment, and other little things), and our computers and harddrives. What a strange mix.
• Usually, Mama Hungry and I do our best to optimize and maximize every situation, to make it the best we can, to get the most out of it, to be prepared, organized, and efficient (okay, in everything but the organization of our house, but more on that later). And we did that in our preparations, but otherwise, we just had to take the storm as it came and make do; we weren't in control (though, I know we never really are in control, really, but usually the facade of control is there). It was an interesting situation. Though, I suppose, in many ways, we still tried to make the most of the experience, in the sense of using it as a teachable moment about weather, disasters, history, as well as quality family time. Except we never did grill--just too tired. I'll have to ponder our need for optimization further.
• My childhood memories of storms and nightmares since then are very powerful. I remembered that funny butterflies-in-my-stomach feeling when the storm comes in, the excitement of being without power (I liked it as a kid, well, once the actual storm was over), the scary howl of wind that shakes the house, bends the trees, and makes unseen crashing sounds around you, even the hurricane parties of my parents repeated by my neighbors. I never thought I'd go through that again, but it was actually okay. (Now earthquakes are a totally different story . . . .)
• I learned some practical things about food: apparently, most things in the fridge aren't good after 4-6 hours, especially the milk products and cooked foods, if the fridge reaches over 40F, but uncut fruits and vegetables, as well as hard cheeses, are usually okay, as are condiments with vinegar--but not mayonnaise!--and jams/jellies with sugar; also, things in the freezer last 24-48 hours depending on how full the freezer is (the fuller the better, which is why it's good to fill the freezer with bags of water/ice before the storm hits) and the food is good if ice crystals are still visible and thawing hasn't occurred. When in doubt, though, throw it out!
• Note: apparently, if you don't have flashlights, solar-powered yard lamps work. And so they were selling out fast at Home Depot before the storm.
• Finally, I was grateful that we have the resources to make it through a storm, the money and the flexibility from work to buy and do what we need to. I can clearly see how class lines determine a person's experience of (and even survival of) a storm, having, of course, witnessed such a thing with Hurricane Katrina but now also living it. I recognize our privilege, as I've discussed before, but I saw it even more this weekend.

In the end, though, I'm glad it's over.

From Irene: We'll Leave the Light on for You!

Because we got power back about an hour ago!

And how did we celebrate? By going outside! Where Bud did cartwheels and Sis ran obstacle courses.

Funny, in a weird way, I'm sorry our little break from the normal, plugged-in world is over. But only sorta.....

From Irene: The Perfect Potholder

I see it as a reassuring symbol of our family and how we both literally and figuratively weather storms together.

From Irene: Thank You

To Mama Teacher, for the warm shower, cold drink, and cell phone charge (we still don't have power--up to 7-10 days, though the water is okay now, just not heated);

To friends in town, for keeping me updated on town damage, school cancellations, and also offers of help (we'll be at your house tomorrow!);

To Gommie and Pop, Ma and Gong, Goo, and Cousin Susan for emailing and/or calling to check on us.

We are so grateful for your care and help!

From Irene: Spoiled

We've been almost 24 hours without power, which means we're grilling today! And then tossing the contents of our fridge.

Also still no use of the tap.

And probably delays of the first day of school.

Bud says, "Hurricanes are terrifying.". He changed his mind to "terrible."

He's right on both counts, of course, but not so much in our case.

But now they're playing, so everything is fine again.