Happy Thanksgiving

[mamboqueen]

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday.

We are home this year with my mother and stepfather. My kids are thrilled. The kitty isn't looking quite as happy, though ;)

Enjoy!

[Peaches]

Happy Thanksgiving, all!!

Wishing everyone happiness (or at least contentment), comfort and peace. With a side dish of some family-craziness thrown in.

We're at home this year, with people coming over. Should be interesting.

[samina]

Thanks MQ & Peaches! Backatcha...

Wishing everyone on DF a happy & restful holiday weekend! :)

Samina

[latingal]

A Happy Thanksgiving to All! Hope it's filled with warmth, family, good friends, and all your favorite dishes. Pass the pumpkin pie someone!

[reb]

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

I was inspired while on the ballroom area and started a happy thanksgiving thread and thennnnn heard about this - oops!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

[Purr]

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

[LucyDiamond]

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Paula

[fascination]

okay...so the turkey and the sweet potatoes are in my very small oven...fringe benefit is DH has been watching food network and agrees we need a 6 burner industrial one...anyhow, wringing hands...sweet potatoes too close to top heating element and the stuffing that isn't in the bird can't even go in yet...cornbread, onion, water chestnuts jalapenos and cranberries, btw..will see

[DancePoet]

Happy Thangsgiving Everyone! :cheers:

[DancePoet]

okay...so the turkey and the sweet potatoes are in my very small oven...fringe benefit is DH has been watching food network and agrees we need a 6 burner industrial one...anyhow, wringing hands...sweet potatoes too close to top heating element and the stuffing that isn't in the bird can't even go in yet...cornbread, onion, water chestnuts jalapenos and cranberries, btw..will see
Hmmm ... cooking already, huh?

I made dinner. Porkchops with a flour coating mixed with parsely, chili powder, ground red pepper, and onion powder. Also tater tots and corn.

Served this with Coto De Hayas 2004 Tinto, Bodegas Aragonesas, from Spain.

The SO made two pumpkin pies and corn bread for stuffing. The rest will happen tomorrow. :D

[mamboqueen]

My mother arrived with bourbon/kaluha sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie, sugar cookies, cranberry cake. I made a roasted vegetable with parmesan pecan gremolata (sp?). So, not much left to do tomorrow. AMEN! We cook the turkey in a deep fat fryer, so oven space is not an issue. We have a few friends who grill their turkey, too. Haven't had it that way...but sounds like a plan. My husband had to go buy a tarp as he'll be outside with the deep fat fryer...in the rain.

[mamboqueen]

and if my mother tells me I look too thin one more time !!!!

[DancePoet]

My mother arrived with bourbon/kaluha sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie, sugar cookies, cranberry cake. I made a roasted vegetable with parmesan pecan gremolata (sp?). So, not much left to do tomorrow. AMEN! We cook the turkey in a deep fat fryer, so oven space is not an issue. We have a few friends who grill their turkey, too. Haven't had it that way...but sounds like a plan. My husband had to go buy a tarp as he'll be outside with the deep fat fryer...in the rain.
Sounds wonderful! :D

[fascination]

Hmmm ... cooking already, huh?

I made dinner. Porkchops with a flour coating mixed with parsely, chili powder, ground red pepper, and onion powder. Also tater tots and corn.

Served this with Coto De Hayas 2004 Tinto, Bodegas Aragonesas, from Spain.

The SO made two pumpkin pies and corn bread for stuffing. The rest will happen tomorrow. :D
well, here's the thing ...dad's oven is small and s-i-l is gonna need it for her crap ...so I have to have everything (turkey, gravy, stuffing , sweet potatoes, greeen bean casserole, rice pudding, jello mold, jello jigglers) all good to go before we leave....am going to bed soon...exhausted...praying dh and son remeber to baster hourly over night...shouldn't be a problewm since son now has a wii(?) and has therefore given up sleep...happy day to all tomorrow

[fascination]

Sounds wonderful! :D
ayuh, lol

[DancePoet]

The SO and I will be sneaking out for an early breakfast with my parents, waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream. Then back, if possible, before her 15 yr old awakes, and then we cook the turkey and the rest. And of course watch some football. :D

This year is going to be low key. Just the three of us for dinner since our invite to her daughter's family was declined. No big deal.

I like it when Thanksgiving isn't the same every year. :cool:

[Sagitta]

Best wishes for all.

Missing the Thanksgiving with family after all. :-( Cracking the whip on the contracters though, plus having lnunch with ex-housemate and her grandmother after all...and she is coming to stay with me for a couple days...plus a latin/pop/rock dance on FRiday with her.

Life ain't so bad after all.

[Laura]

My mother arrived with bourbon/kaluha sweet potato casserole
Damn that sounds awesome. I roasted a bunch of sweet potatoes earlier, let them cool and pushed them through a ricer, then beat them with lime juice and salt. It's a low-key way to do the old SP's.

This year I'm going to a friend's place. She's had some health problems so I'm basically cooking half her family's feast for her. I love to cook. My future ex-husband has taken off for the mountains with some friends. One thing I'm going to miss about this holiday this year is making cookies with my future ex-mother-in-law the day after Thanksgiving, drinking bourbon and ginger ale together all the while :)

Anyway, the pumpkin pie is in the oven now. I used the kind of canned coconut milk that one would use for making Thai food instead of evaporated milk. I think I've done this before...don't recall.... Now it's time for the final thing: Corn Chowder with Smoked Cheddar Cheese. I was going to do it tomorrow, but I just read the recipie and it seems really straightforward, and I really want to get all the cooking done tonight so that tomorrow will be about drinking, reheating, eating, drinking, more eating, watching movies, drinking, eating, etc.

[RIdancer82]

Hmmm ... cooking already, huh?

already? if she was just starting to cook now, she'd be running behind if it's anything like my house..... cooking started on tuesday over here! (it's times like these that I wonder how I'm not 500lbs, lol)

[RIdancer82]

Oh, and how could I forget......

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!! :D

[fascination]

already? if she was just starting to cook now, she'd be running behind if it's anything like my house..... cooking started on tuesday over here! (it's times like these that I wonder how I'm not 500lbs, lol)
don't EVEN go there....son is home and I put a big lasagne in the oven then promptly took down three pieces of it and a good amount of zinfandel... woke up to bast turkey and feel like a giant stuffed one myself now...no scale for a week:rolleyes:

[Laura]

cooking started on tuesday over here!
Same here. If I left it all until Thursday it simply wouldn't happen. If I did it all on Wednesday I'd be too stressed out.

[peachexploration]

Happy Turkey Day everyone. :)

[samina]

My mother arrived with bourbon/kaluha sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie, sugar cookies, cranberry cake. I made a roasted vegetable with parmesan pecan gremolata (sp?). So, not much left to do tomorrow. AMEN! We cook the turkey in a deep fat fryer, so oven space is not an issue. We have a few friends who grill their turkey, too. Haven't had it that way...but sounds like a plan. My husband had to go buy a tarp as he'll be outside with the deep fat fryer...in the rain.

IMG, MQ... this sounds de-LISH!!!!

:P <--- drooling, not sticking tongue out!

Samina

[samina]

the only thing missing from today is that i'm stranded without a good bottle of red... i discovered this morning that my whole foods stopped selling wine since my last visit. :(

fascination, can you lend me a glass for later? :)

otherwise, will have to do with some chilled sweet greek wine... which has its place, but it ain't no cab!

happy thanksgiving to everyone!!!

[mamboqueen]

We just finished. I can still button my pants :). I asked my mother if she wanted some red wine and she said to add it to her cranberry juice. I refused. She's now a little tipsy. 'Twas my plan to begin with.

[samina]

I asked my mother if she wanted some red wine and she said to add it to her cranberry juice. I refused. She's now a little tipsy. 'Twas my plan to begin with.

devious little manx, putting her own mother out of the way LOL

alas, mine doesn't drink and would never yield to such a plan...

[mamboqueen]

:raisebro:

[mamboqueen]

It didn't seem to work; the people who didn't have wine are all now dozing.

[samina]

It didn't seem to work; the people who didn't have wine are all now dozing.

your comeuppance? ;)

a good time for scrabble... no potential partners around???

better yet, put on some rousing mambo & wake the lazy buggers out of their turkey-induced stupor!
LOL

[DancePoet]

already? if she was just starting to cook now, she'd be running behind if it's anything like my house..... cooking started on tuesday over here! (it's times like these that I wonder how I'm not 500lbs, lol)
Probably cause you spend lots of energy cooking ;) ... and dancing. :raisebro:

[DancePoet]

the only thing missing from today is that i'm stranded without a good bottle of red... i discovered this morning that my whole foods stopped selling wine since my last visit. :(

fascination, can you lend me a glass for later? :)

otherwise, will have to do with some chilled sweet greek wine... which has its place, but it ain't no cab!
Had a 2004 Blancaneaux by Rubicon Estates, Rutherford, CA, a wine by Coppola.

Superb with the turkey! :cheers:

[mamboqueen]

your comeuppance? ;)

a good time for scrabble... no potential partners around???

better yet, put on some rousing mambo & wake the lazy buggers out of their turkey-induced stupor!
LOL

I don't think I could mambo right now myself. I actually tried an alemana on the basement floor with slippers on and it wasn't pretty.

But, scrabble might be an option. Gotta go digging for it now.

[DancePoet]

I don't think I could mambo right now myself. I actually tried an alemana on the basement floor with slippers on and it wasn't pretty.

But, scrabble might be an option. Gotta go digging for it now.
I'm watching the Cowboys vs. Bucaneer game. And the SO's son has been kicking my rear all day on the playstation.

[mamboqueen]

I'm watching the Cowboys vs. Bucaneer game. And the SO's son has been kicking my rear all day on the playstation.

Is there only one NFL game on today??? My son has an x-Box that was a hand-me-down. Nasty thing. He had his eyeballs on that new wii thing (or whatever it's called) the other day. So not needed in this house....:shock:

[pygmalion]

C'mon! Loosen up! All the good new games are being released for Wii -- some exclusives, even.

And you could always learn to play, yourself. :wink: Tetris is WAY fun, in a geeky kinda way. :lol: My favorite game, regardless of all the newcomers aka whipper-snappers lol. Been playing for twenty years or so, IIRC. WAY fun. :D )

[RIdancer82]

It didn't seem to work; the people who didn't have wine are all now dozing.

I can send my little cousins up to your house then if it's too quiet there..... they're busy running around over here w/ energy up to wazoo and being very very loud!!

[RIdancer82]

Probably cause you spend lots of energy cooking ;) ... and dancing. :raisebro:

my family thinks I spend too much energy dancing, lol:)

[chachachacat]

Happy Thanksgiving
to everyone!

[fascination]

well we got through it I bropught yellow roses and other than the fact that SIL did potato buds rather than real potaoes and that dad had no flour for the gravy...we, got through it...bawled trhough the prayer but got through it...then spent some time playing with the everloving wii, lol

[fascination]

wii is fun mq...you can make the people look like your family members, plus you can get the news and weather trhough it, plus the controls are idiot proof

[pygmalion]

wii is fun mq...you can make the people look like your family members

That does sound fun. One of the Sims games?

[fascination]

dunno... the son created them all and then showed them to me...it was a stitch...and of course, we have barely seen him all weekend unless we join him...but I think its great that to bowl you use the bowling motion, etc....it really makes things easier for folks like me who are not intimately acquainted with the controls

[samina]

well we got through it I bropught yellow roses and other than the fact that SIL did potato buds rather than real potaoes and that dad had no flour for the gravy...we, got through it...bawled trhough the prayer but got through it...then spent some time playing with the everloving wii, lol

you must be greatly relieved! {{{{{{{{fascination}}}}}}}}}}

although i'm rather traumatized by the potato buds, myself... what *was* SIL thinking??? <g>

[Peaches]

And you could always learn to play, yourself. :wink: Tetris is WAY fun, in a geeky kinda way. :lol: My favorite game, regardless of all the newcomers aka whipper-snappers lol. Been playing for twenty years or so, IIRC. WAY fun. :D )

Oh. Dear. God.

Has Tetris really been around for 20 years?!?! Wow, that makes me feel old.

(I think I need to start a "You Know You're Getting Old When..." Thread.) Wednesday I was in the grocery store, standing in line, glancing at magazine covers. There was a bridal one. I was looking at the chidk-y on the cover and my first though was along the lines of, "OMG. There's no way she can be getting married. She's waaay too young." And that's when I felt old. *sigh*

Had fun last night getting mom to admit that she and dad started dating when she was 17, and that she got married at 19. Heh heh heh.

[pygmalion]

Yepper. Tetris has been around that long. Scary, isn't it? I used to play a version that was loaded on the system at work, for hours at a time (long before DF, mind you.) Now I'm wearing out the Tetris I have for my Playstation 2. And I'm not getting PS3 until they release an updated tetris for that platform. Just kidding! I'm actually waiting for the PS3 folks to work out those bugs I keep hearing about.

But still. It's ungodly -- the number of video game systems and video games in my house. Ungodly, but fun.

And I know what you mean about the age thing, peaches. Went over to Best Buy the other night and was totally flummoxed (sp?) by the baby-faces on the service techs at the geek squad. I was like "what!?!" you can't be old enough to be fixing laptops. Then, sadly, I realized that they were. *sigh* :lol:

[pygmalion]

although i'm rather traumatized by the potato buds, myself...


Potato Buds are from the devil. :lol:

[samina]

Potato Buds are from the devil. :lol:

oh, do i agree.

however... while visiting family in greece last summer, they had this instant mashed potato stuff from germany that was AMAZING!!!

i wish i knew the brand. it tasted like the real deal, almost better... which is an almost blasphemous idea to me. never knew something from a box could be that amazing...

keep an eye out on german-import potatoe spuds! :)

[Peaches]

Potato buds = instant mashed potatoes?

Why????? It's not like mashed potatoes are hard...even I can make them.

[pygmalion]

Potato Buds is one brand name for instant mashed potatoes. There are others. Idahoan is another brand that comes to mind. And yeah. I'm right there with you. Why??? :lol:

[DancePoet]

Is there only one NFL game on today??? My son has an x-Box that was a hand-me-down. Nasty thing. He had his eyeballs on that new wii thing (or whatever it's called) the other day. So not needed in this house....:shock:
There was a Lions vs. Dolphins game on, too.

[samina]

Actually, purist tho I am, there is one bonafide fabulous reason to keep boxed instant mashed potatoes in the cupboard -- it's fabulous added to homemade bread. Makes it nice & "sproingy" without having to actually boil & mash a real potato.

I luv making bread by hand... very therapeutic. Nice transition between work & dancing in the evening. And I get to wake up to a crunchy homemade loaf in the a.m.!

[pygmalion]

Note to self: Gotta try that... after I FIND the bread machine and remove the inch-and-a-half of dust from the box. :lol:

[samina]

Nah, luv... no need for a bread machine. All ya do is put all the ingredients in a bowl, turn out on your countertop & knead with great satisfaction with your own hands for 10 minutes, until the dough comes alive from the heat of your own body.

Then set it to rise. Before you go out for dancing, deflate it and set it for a final rise. When you get home, bung it in the oven whilst you shower & get ready for bed.

Take out before crawling under the covers. And awake to a heavenly slice as a result of truly minimal effort!
LOL

[pygmalion]

Eh. I have to use the machine at some point -- a gift from Mom, ya know. And, even though I like kneading, there's something about the texture of wet dough that grosses me out. I can deal with dough when it's at the right texture and suitably flour-y. But, to get it to that point, I have to get through some yucky fingertip sensations (for me.) Blech!

And, with the machine, you still get that lovely fresh bread-is-baking smell. :)

[samina]

I can deal with dough when it's at the right texture and suitably flour-y. But, to get it to that point, I have to get through some yucky fingertip sensations (for me.) Blech! :)

Your dough may be too wet at the outset.

I love-love-love the tactile experience - never goes through an icky phase for me, and I'm pretty sensitive about that.

But nevermind... you'll have some satisfaction using mumma's present! :D

[pygmalion]

Yeah. I'm an auditory person. Almost off-the-scale auditory. Kinesthetic can get uncomfortable for me, pretty quick. *shrug* But yeah. It can feel good to casually mention to Mom that I used one of her gifts. :cool:

[samina]

Kinesthetic can get uncomfortable for me, pretty quick. *shrug*

Paradoxical for a dancer?

I adore paradox. :)

[pygmalion]

LOL! I'm a complex woman. But then, I find that connection to the music -- the auditory component -- helps a lot. We all process things in different ways, I think. And I think we all have facets of all three orientations. My orientation just happens to be primarily auditory. Kinda comes in handy, when it comes to dealing with syncopations, for example. Kind of a pain, though, when it comes to learning to follow. Eh. You gotta work with what you've got. *shrug*

I often wish I was a little more visually oriented, though, I have to admit.

[fascination]

hmmm...we cut our tree down today...normally a family tradition done w/ mom and dad and my bro and his family...dad didn't want a tree this year and bro and wife were celebrating their son's b-day today since his real b-day fell on wed (also mom and dad's anniv)...so we went out into the woods and cut our tree down alone(b/c it was a big deal to our kids) and bought a potted one for dad and snuck it in his house w/ an angel on top....then went to the little guy's b-day party and missed mom like the devil...dad called while we were on our way home thanking us for the surprise...crying...so we went home and put our tree up...also crying...but it felt good...mom really wouldn't have Christmas getting bypassed, and it was just the sort of thing she would have done...

practiced my samba a tiny bit...lesson tomorrow...upstairs now to listen to luther's chirstmas cd...some things are still really nice

[pygmalion]

I'm glad you were able to do what needed to be done, f. I know it's hard.

Christmas decorations here are almost done. Hallelujah. It's beautiful, once they're done. And I even enjoy starting to put them up. But the second half of the X-mas tree ornaments are always done under duress. :? And they're done now. :bouncy:

[Laura]

Just had a chat on the phone with mom, wherein she informed me that she & my dad -- who live in the middle of the freakin' woods of New Hampshire -- are going to buy an artificial tree.

Egad.

Now, I could understand it if they lived in the middle of the city where the only trees you can get were cut in early September in northern Canada and then kept in cold storage for months -- you know, the ones that cost $15-$20 per foot and drop the needles after they've been up for three days. But they can get gorgeous fresh-cut ones anywhere, and then they can mulch up the tree afterwards for their various landscaping projects.

I didn't take home any leftovers from Thanksgiving last night, so I just made macaroni and cheese. I did it from scratch, though, none of that boxed stuff for me :)

Not sure what I'm going to do for Christmas this year. I'm not even sure where I'm going to be living come Christmas this year....

[samina]

Just had a chat on the phone with mom, wherein she informed me that she & my dad -- who live in the middle of the freakin' woods of New Hampshire -- are going to buy an artificial tree.

Egad.

Now, I could understand it if they lived in the middle of the city where the only trees you can get were cut in early September in northern Canada and then kept in cold storage for months -- you know, the ones that cost $15-$20 per foot and drop the needles after they've been up for three days. But they can get gorgeous fresh-cut ones anywhere, and then they can mulch up the tree afterwards for their various landscaping projects.

I didn't take home any leftovers from Thanksgiving last night, so I just made macaroni and cheese. I did it from scratch, though, none of that boxed stuff for me :)

Not sure what I'm going to do for Christmas this year. I'm not even sure where I'm going to be living come Christmas this year....

Wow, Laura... sounds like there's big change afoot for you? Christmas is just a month away, after all... you considering leaving your current living space?

I hear ya on the artificial tree thing. My mom went artificial years ago and it still horrifies me. I don't get it... what's the point, y'know? So plastic. Still looks purrty. But plastic all the same.

We haven't chopped a tree down for years, tho -- we switched to potted trees at some point, and then three Xmases ago we started a new custom: "the Christmas palm", wherein I dress this large potted palm I have with lights (and pretty Moroccan decorations). The lights were purple last year and the palm accented a corner of my little dance studio (which is lavender w/ plum curtains... a definite theme goin on there).

But mom seriously pruned the palm back during her visit last June, so it is, alas, not up to the task this season.

So no tree this year. Instead, headed to visit family in Floriday, where mom has decorated her home to within an inch of Disney, no doubt. LOL :D

Man, that homemade mac-n-cheez sounds so yummy right now... mmmm.
:)

Samina

[pygmalion]

It's been plastic trees for me so long that I can barely remember anything before that. The ex had severe asthma. So no real trees allowed. And I still have the dadburned plastic tree. Eh. Too lazy to change. :oops:

Homemade mac and cheese sounds good to me, too, Laura. Haven't done that in a while. I love it ( the real thing -- not the box kind) but the ex hated it, so I never made it for years and years.

Where in Florida, samina? I lived in Orlando for a decade, or so. Gotta admit I'm missing it. Dallas can't compare. :? If you're in the Central Florida area, go see the Manatees for me -- at that State Park just off I-4 near Daytona. Lordie. I miss that. :?

Sounds to me like I need to form some new habits in the new year. And get on with my life. :cool:

[samina]

hmmm...we cut our tree down today...normally a family tradition done w/ mom and dad and my bro and his family...dad didn't want a tree this year and bro and wife were celebrating their son's b-day today since his real b-day fell on wed (also mom and dad's anniv)...so we went out into the woods and cut our tree down alone(b/c it was a big deal to our kids) and bought a potted one for dad and snuck it in his house w/ an angel on top....then went to the little guy's b-day party and missed mom like the devil...dad called while we were on our way home thanking us for the surprise...crying...so we went home and put our tree up...also crying...but it felt good...mom really wouldn't have Christmas getting bypassed, and it was just the sort of thing she would have done...

practiced my samba a tiny bit...lesson tomorrow...upstairs now to listen to luther's chirstmas cd...some things are still really nice

I gather this is the first year without mom. I imagine it must be very intense for you. Am glad that your family is coming together even tho it's painful.

I always loved the ritual of cutting down the tree -- we did that every year when I grew up in Minnesota, and I kept that up for years with my kids when they were much younger. Got pretty good at hoisting a giant tree on top of the car by myself... hazard of single momhood. Good for the biceps. LOL

Am not much into the holiday thing anymore, tho... takes too much time, too much energy. Other stuff I'd rather do. I keep the stress minimal & everyone seems to stay happier for it, I think.

Anyway... enjoy Luther. :)

Samina

[pygmalion]

I miss Luther, too, even though I never knew him. Been obsessively listening to his CD since I put up the tree yesterday. singing *Oh come all ye faithful ... *

[samina]

Where in Florida, samina? I lived in Orlando for a decade, or so. Gotta admit I'm missing it. Dallas can't compare. :? If you're in the Central Florida area, go see the Manitees for me -- at that State Park just off I-4 near Daytona. Lordie. I miss that. :?

Sounds to me like I need to form some new habits in the new year. And get on with my life.

Has it been a year of change for you, too... left an ex behind?

My folks are in the Tampa/Brandon area. I am *not* a Florida type of person... I go only to visit my parents and my brother's family, who all live down there. The only part of Florida I've ever seen that I like is Miami... and Islands of Adventure in Orlando where they have my favorite roller coaster. LOL The Hulk, of course. :)

My folks are always trying to get me to move down there, but it will never happen. I'd rather move northwards to the Twin Cities than south. In any event, dancing addict that I've become, any move I make will be to increase convenient access to all the great dancing in North Jersey and lessons with my instructor.

I'm still jonesin' for Laura's mac-n-cheez... LOL

But, am headed to bed soon. Maybe it will visit me in my dreams.

Samina

[Laura]

Wow, Laura... sounds like there's big change afoot for you? Christmas is just a month away, after all... you considering leaving your current living space?
Oh, you missed the other thread from a couple of weeks ago...my husband of 11 years told me two months ago that he is divorcing me. So, I bought a loft across town. Close of escrow is next Thursday, and I will move as soon as I get it painted. But first I have to buy an Oriental rug for the lounge area, so that I can choose the paint color. I hope to be in by Christmas eve, but it depends on how quickly I pick the paint and how quickly I can get someone in to actually do the painting. I'm also furniture shopping, but furniture can take up to 12 weeks to arrive so I'll be sleeping on my guest day bed and eating at my childhood desk for a few months.

Since I live in the middle of a city, I'm considering investing in an artificial tree. However, I could just buy a big indoor tree plant like a ficus instead. I could decorate it at Christmas, and leave it be the rest of the year. The only thing is that ficus trees tend to drop leaves. I should talk to an indoor plant specialist about this idea....

The mac & cheese came out okay, I didn't have any milk so I did it with half cream and half stock. As such, it didn't come out very creamy due to the lack of milk protein in the cream, but it still is tasty.

[pygmalion]

Has it been a year of change for you, too... left an ex behind?

My folks are in the Tampa/Brandon area. I am *not* a Florida type of person... I go only to visit my parents and my brother's family, who all live down there. The only part of Florida I've ever seen that I like is Miami... and Islands of Adventure in Orlando where they have my favorite roller coaster. LOL The Hulk, of course.

My folks are always trying to get me to move down there, but it will never happen. I'd rather move northwards to the Twin Cities than south. In any event, dancing addict that I've become, any move I make will be to increase convenient access to all the great dancing in North Jersey and lessons with my instructor.

I'm still jonesin' for Laura's mac-n-cheez... LOL

But, am headed to bed soon. Maybe it will visit me in my dreams.

Samina



As much as Central Florida was a site of serious personal turbulence for me (Don't even ask. The ex is an ex for good reasons. :lol: ) I loved living in Florida. Of all the places I've lived, it's the one I'd probably call my emotional home. Not sure why. Maybe 'cause that's where I spent the largest chunk of my adult life? Maybe 'cause I have unresolved emotional stuff with a couple folks there. Not sure why. But, if I had to pick anywhere in the world to live right now, it sure as heck wouldn't be the north Dallas suburbs. I'd be back in Orlando with my friends and my familiar routines. :?

Have a good night, samina. We can (and probably will :lol: ) talk in the mornin'. :)

[pygmalion]

Good luck with the closing, Laura, and with getting through the holiday festivities while you're in emotional flux. You can do this. :friend:

[samina]

Oh, you missed the other thread from a couple of weeks ago...my husband of 11 years told me two months ago that he is divorcing me. So, I bought a loft across town. Close of escrow is next Thursday, and I will move as soon as I get it painted. But first I have to buy an Oriental rug for the lounge area, so that I can choose the paint color. I hope to be in by Christmas eve, but it depends on how quickly I pick the paint and how quickly I can get someone in to actually do the painting. I'm also furniture shopping, but furniture can take up to 12 weeks to arrive so I'll be sleeping on my guest day bed and eating at my childhood desk for a few months.

Since I live in the middle of a city, I'm considering investing in an artificial tree. However, I could just buy a big indoor tree plant like a ficus instead. I could decorate it at Christmas, and leave it be the rest of the year. The only thing is that ficus trees tend to drop leaves. I should talk to an indoor plant specialist about this idea....

The mac & cheese came out okay, I didn't have any milk so I did it with half cream and half stock. As such, it didn't come out very creamy due to the lack of milk protein in the cream, but it still is tasty.

Wow -- that's huge impending change, Laura! It actually sounds very exciting, the way you've described it. Although I don't mean to be glib about that -- I know it must be hard. I've remade my life quite a number of times from scratch, tho, so I know how liberating it can also be...

I like how you think... start with the rug and work your way from there. Nice.

I'm amazed how much you've pulled together in only two months...
I hope you've got lots of personal support as you make these changes. :)

Samina

[fascination]

Just had a chat on the phone with mom, wherein she informed me that she & my dad -- who live in the middle of the freakin' woods of New Hampshire -- are going to buy an artificial tree.

Egad.

Now, I could understand it if they lived in the middle of the city where the only trees you can get were cut in early September in northern Canada and then kept in cold storage for months -- you know, the ones that cost $15-$20 per foot and drop the needles after they've been up for three days. But they can get gorgeous fresh-cut ones anywhere, and then they can mulch up the tree afterwards for their various landscaping projects.

I didn't take home any leftovers from Thanksgiving last night, so I just made macaroni and cheese. I did it from scratch, though, none of that boxed stuff for me :)

Not sure what I'm going to do for Christmas this year. I'm not even sure where I'm going to be living come Christmas this year....we have have room (will you cook?;) )

[fascination]

I gather this is the first year without mom. I imagine it must be very intense for you. Am glad that your family is coming together even tho it's painful.

I always loved the ritual of cutting down the tree -- we did that every year when I grew up in Minnesota, and I kept that up for years with my kids when they were much younger. Got pretty good at hoisting a giant tree on top of the car by myself... hazard of single momhood. Good for the biceps. LOL

Am not much into the holiday thing anymore, tho... takes too much time, too much energy. Other stuff I'd rather do. I keep the stress minimal & everyone seems to stay happier for it, I think.

Anyway... enjoy Luther. :)

Saminayea it was a great time...dad always bought breakfast...it will be again someday, but dad is having surgery for cancer on the 15th of dec so we are still in a cloud and under one, but we are improving, perhaps this is why I set such insurmountable dance goals, and post so much..certain levels of distraction from pain... but it is getting better...the tree is goregeous and it warms my heart that it is so important to my kids....we have been doing this since I was a littel girl

[fascination]

Has it been a year of change for you, too... left an ex behind?

My folks are in the Tampa/Brandon area. I am *not* a Florida type of person... I go only to visit my parents and my brother's family, who all live down there. The only part of Florida I've ever seen that I like is Miami... and Islands of Adventure in Orlando where they have my favorite roller coaster. LOL The Hulk, of course. :)

My folks are always trying to get me to move down there, but it will never happen. I'd rather move northwards to the Twin Cities than south. In any event, dancing addict that I've become, any move I make will be to increase convenient access to all the great dancing in North Jersey and lessons with my instructor.

I'm still jonesin' for Laura's mac-n-cheez... LOL

But, am headed to bed soon. Maybe it will visit me in my dreams.

Saminawe have family there as well

[fascination]

Oh, you missed the other thread from a couple of weeks ago...my husband of 11 years told me two months ago that he is divorcing me. So, I bought a loft across town. Close of escrow is next Thursday, and I will move as soon as I get it painted. But first I have to buy an Oriental rug for the lounge area, so that I can choose the paint color. I hope to be in by Christmas eve, but it depends on how quickly I pick the paint and how quickly I can get someone in to actually do the painting. I'm also furniture shopping, but furniture can take up to 12 weeks to arrive so I'll be sleeping on my guest day bed and eating at my childhood desk for a few months.

Since I live in the middle of a city, I'm considering investing in an artificial tree. However, I could just buy a big indoor tree plant like a ficus instead. I could decorate it at Christmas, and leave it be the rest of the year. The only thing is that ficus trees tend to drop leaves. I should talk to an indoor plant specialist about this idea....

The mac & cheese came out okay, I didn't have any milk so I did it with half cream and half stock. As such, it didn't come out very creamy due to the lack of milk protein in the cream, but it still is tasty.btw...laura, DH will be in SF on tues and wed..... he will be near the um, let me think of the name of it... the sumpin or nother ...embarca?...and staying at a Rennaisance...if you would rather return the tape that way...given your moving issues..

also, while I can only imagine the pain, the picking paint colors and buying stuff sounds like tons of fun...I hope you are buying the best stuff that money can buy (wicked I 'spose);) ...I wish you so much brightness in the future

[fascination]

I'm glad you were able to do what needed to be done, f. I know it's hard.

Christmas decorations here are almost done. Hallelujah. It's beautiful, once they're done. And I even enjoy starting to put them up. But the second half of the X-mas tree ornaments are always done under duress. :? And they're done now. :bouncy:thank you...If I had known I could have loaned you my whining, @$#%-ing, children who refused to get on board with any sort of coherant decorating process....they are in big trouble with santa for criticising nearly every tree triming extra that I bought....almost every ornament each of them hung were all of their personal yearly ornaments, in deliberate little shrines to themself, constantly trying to one-up each other in location on the tree...I did have some wine...tried to tell self that that would be a fun memory eventually...it was just very loud at the time...I am not much for loud

[fascination]

As much as Central Florida was a site of serious personal turbulence for me (Don't even ask. The ex is an ex for good reasons. :lol: ) I loved living in Florida. Of all the places I've lived, it's the one I'd probably call my emotional home. Not sure why. Maybe 'cause that's where I spent the largest chunk of my adult life? Maybe 'cause I have unresolved emotional stuff with a couple folks there. Not sure why. But, if I had to pick anywhere in the world to live right now, it sure as heck wouldn't be the north Dallas suburbs. I'd be back in Orlando with my friends and my familiar routines. :?

Have a good night, samina. We can (and probably will :lol: ) talk in the mornin'. :)
and sometimes a place, where we survived great pain, is a consolation in and of itself while we are enduring...sometimes the place is the only thing you have, it becomes your friend in the absence of much else...dunno' maybe that wasn't your situation at all, but it has been mine...while going through searching and grieving, I am often searching the landscape and being consoled by it...FWIW

[fascination]

wow, I really pulled a DP here, 7 posts in a row...(and I say that with deepest affection DP)

[mamboqueen]

wow, I really pulled a DP here, 7 posts in a row...(and I say that with deepest affection DP)

too funny...I was thinking the *same* thing before I even got to your admission ;). It can be contagious, I suppose!

[samina]

wow, I really pulled a DP here, 7 posts in a row...(and I say that with deepest affection DP)

<DP... DP... DP... DP...>

who is DP? sorry... it's just not coming to me

[fascination]

dance poet...moderator extraordinaire...has tendency to read way back into threads and then post pages of responses

[samina]

dance poet...moderator extraordinaire...has tendency to read way back into threads and then post pages of responses

aaahhh... gotcha. thnx.

[pygmalion]

and sometimes a place, where we survived great pain, is a consolation in and of itself while we are enduring...sometimes the place is the only thing you have, it becomes your friend in the absence of much else...dunno' maybe that wasn't your situation at all, but it has been mine...while going through searching and grieving, I am often searching the landscape and being consoled by it...FWIW

Very insightful, f. :cool:

[DancePoet]

Actually, purist tho I am, there is one bonafide fabulous reason to keep boxed instant mashed potatoes in the cupboard -- it's fabulous added to homemade bread. Makes it nice & "sproingy" without having to actually boil & mash a real potato.

I luv making bread by hand... very therapeutic. Nice transition between work & dancing in the evening. And I get to wake up to a crunchy homemade loaf in the a.m.!
Yes, making bread by hand, a wonderful thing! :bouncy:

[DancePoet]

hmmm...we cut our tree down today...normally a family tradition done w/ mom and dad and my bro and his family...dad didn't want a tree this year and bro and wife were celebrating their son's b-day today since his real b-day fell on wed (also mom and dad's anniv)...so we went out into the woods and cut our tree down alone(b/c it was a big deal to our kids) and bought a potted one for dad and snuck it in his house w/ an angel on top....then went to the little guy's b-day party and missed mom like the devil...dad called while we were on our way home thanking us for the surprise...crying...so we went home and put our tree up...also crying...but it felt good...mom really wouldn't have Christmas getting bypassed, and it was just the sort of thing she would have done...

practiced my samba a tiny bit...lesson tomorrow...upstairs now to listen to luther's chirstmas cd...some things are still really nice
Won't likely cut a tree until much closer to Xmas. Maybe the day before. :D

Not a big fan of Samba, mostly because I don't like much of the music.

[DancePoet]

Just had a chat on the phone with mom, wherein she informed me that she & my dad -- who live in the middle of the freakin' woods of New Hampshire -- are going to buy an artificial tree.

Egad.

Now, I could understand it if they lived in the middle of the city where the only trees you can get were cut in early September in northern Canada and then kept in cold storage for months -- you know, the ones that cost $15-$20 per foot and drop the needles after they've been up for three days. But they can get gorgeous fresh-cut ones anywhere, and then they can mulch up the tree afterwards for their various landscaping projects.

I didn't take home any leftovers from Thanksgiving last night, so I just made macaroni and cheese. I did it from scratch, though, none of that boxed stuff for me :)

Not sure what I'm going to do for Christmas this year. I'm not even sure where I'm going to be living come Christmas this year....
Just let it come as it may. Try to keep it simple, and it will be easier, less difficult. :friend:

[DancePoet]

wow, I really pulled a DP here, 7 posts in a row...(and I say that with deepest affection DP)
:lol:

[DancePoet]

too funny...I was thinking the *same* thing before I even got to your admission ;). It can be contagious, I suppose!
:lol:

[DancePoet]

Reading and writing, two of my favorite pastimes. :D

And dancing, and fishing, and golfing. :cool:

[DancePoet]

<DP... DP... DP... DP...>

who is DP? sorry... it's just not coming to me

:shock: ;)

(DP is short for DancePoet)

And by the way, welcome to DF, Samina! :D

[pygmalion]

samina's already one of us! :cool: :lol: