Week 48 - Wonderful Thanksgiving Week

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving week. It’s hard not to like a week that includes four days off. : )

My cleaning lady was coming early so I was running around neatizing on Monday morning and so got to Lincoln too late for a spot in the loop so parked at a meter, which wasn’t all bad because I needed to do a craft run over lunch. I was in search of mini baskets to make yet more ornaments for the Christmas on the Prairie tree. I headed to Hobby Lobby first and was floored when they didn’t have them so I drove across town to Ben Franklin, sure they’d have them. Nope. So I went back to work frustrated and empty handed. I did manage to get a spot but not in the lot near the pool and Anne told me it was state football playoffs, which accounted for all the extra cars on campus. Since I wanted to swim after work but needed to leave early to get to knitting, Anne offered to leave early and drive me to my car so I walked to the pool and swam. It’s good to have friends. I popped into the market for the first of my Thanksgiving shopping and then went straight to the library, where Andrea had more ornaments for me to work on. I managed to finish one at the library and then headed home, tired and ready for bed. What a long day!

I had worried that Tuesday would be the slowest day ever but it actually flew by. I finished my Thanksgiving shopping on the way home and even went through my Christmas drawer that night, pleased to see that I’ve brought more in the past year than I’d thought. Still plenty more to buy, and knit, but not as much as I’d thought. Yay!

After waking so early that I was at work on time despite dropping stuff at Nora’s, Wednesday did crawl. I had lunch with Dodie and then went back to wait for the word that we could leave early, which is the norm for the day before Thanksgiving. No one was saying anything so I went down to Student Accounts just before 3:00 to help someone with their computer and found the office deserted. Apparently Phil from our office had told them they could leave at 2:30 but had never told anyone in Accounting. Sheesh! I spread the word and everyone was gone within minutes. I made a bee line home so I could get yard work done before the sun went down. It was in the mid 60’s and gorgeous. I mowed the yard, which was more about shredding the leaves so I wouldn’t have to rake, and then cut down all the perennials in the parking (the Midwest term for the strip between the street and sidewalk) and pruned the crabapple, finishing just at dark. I had a nice dinner, made Helen’s cranberry jello salad and went to bed, looking forward to the next four days of no alarm and few commitments.

Thursday was gorgeous so I did all my laundry and hung it out before leaving for Lorri’s. But it was so nice that I didn’t wear a coat, which was where my spare house key was. And my regular keys? Locked inside my house. Damn! Not only wasn’t I getting to Lorri’s early enough to be much help, I had to call her to have her husband bring me my spare key. Way to be helpful! Dinner at Lorri’s was delicious but I only had one plate of food and felt like I’d eaten a side of beef. I suggested a walk, which we enjoyed in the glorious warmth, but it didn’t help. I went home feeling SO full and for no reason. I was uncomfortable all day and didn’t sleep well either. I didn’t feel full the next day but also wasn’t hungry. I didn’t eat until 1:00 – a full 24 hours from dinner at Lorri’s. Needless to say, me not eating is very unusual. I have no idea what caused it. Oh well.

The only thing on the agenda for Friday was decorating the Christmas on the Prairie tree at the museum. Andrea and I met at 1:30 and the tree looked great, with the finishing touch being the vintage tablecloth I found in my basement to use as tree skirt and the spools of yarn we put underneath instead of presents. The weather had changed by then so I went home for a cup of tea and cookies and sitting and knitting. I made meatloaf for dinner and watched some television. It was a totally pleasant day and Saturday was another. The only thing on the agenda was getting ready for Sunday. I spent most of the day knitting but doing a few things here and there, ending the day making the pies for Sunday. Nice.

Sunday was busy. The turkey was in the oven by 10:00 and then I prepped veggies and set the table. Michael and Brenda arrived first and Helen and Charlie shortly after. We rushed around for half an hour and were eating turkey by 1:00, right on schedule. Everything was yummy and we just hung out chatting until Michael got back from his errand (picking up a lathe he’d bought from someone in town.) We packed up doggy bags and said our goodbyes. It was a nice Thanksgiving. I put all the leftovers in the frig and I did all the dishes before sitting down for the night. How adult and totally unlike me! Now I have food for the week and a clean house. I should start more weeks that way.

I hope you all had as nice a holiday as I did. Christmas is four weeks from today. Time to get shopping!