November 23

 

 

Have you ever had a night that was so nice, you wonder what the fuck your problem was when you were having NOT nice nights, because you could look back on that night and reflect? That was my last night. There are so many parts of the story I can't share yet, so many reasons my year has been so bad, but I have a really good feeling about 2006.

 

I began my semi frantic Thanksgiving prepwork about an hour ago. Two loaves of cranberry bread in the oven. I didn't use common sense, however, when I decided what to actually cook it in. A couple months ago, I was at a crappy story (Christmas Tree Shop, for reference) with my mom and I found these rubber pans. Well, not pans, because that doesn't make any sense, but I'm blanking on the word. I guess you'd cook a meatloaf in them or something. Anyhow, I decided that I'd give it the old college try with the cranberry bread, it never occurring to me that bread dough, particularly damp, dense bread dough wouldn't hold shape once I stuck it in the oven. As I was eating dinner, I started smelling something that was not right. Like burning butter. I ran into the kitchen and saw that my rubber pan-thing had bulged out on the sides, and the now melted butter from the dough was streaming out onto the floor of the oven. Which smelled BAD. I cranked open a bunch of windows and shoved the pan up against the oven wall. Crisis averted and my house is almost rid of the billowing smoke. Now it's starting to smell like Thanksgiving.

I love Thanksgiving and I don't mind cooking the dinner. It was a rite of passage passed down from my Grandmother to me after Nick and I married. It seemed fair, since she'd done all the cooking for the first 25 years, I am surely able to do it for all of us for the next 25 (shut up). Here are the things for which I'm thankful:

1.) Nick.

2.) My family, even at diminished capacity. We hang in together.

3.) Friends, of course.

4.) Red wine.

5.) Four days off.

 

You all have a great holiday!

 

the other day - home - email - soon