Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Eve
The hyper-extended holiday weekend was very fine indeed. Thanks for asking. It actually felt like four and a half days away from work, without being dull or excruciating. And that’s a difficult thing to achieve, I’ve learned. It either flies by in a whirlwind of chaos, or bogs down in painful douchebaggery.
But this one was just right. I’m actually somewhat rested this morning, and my complain-o-meter has leveled off at GUARDED, which is lower than normal. So, I must declare the weekend a success.
Here’s a brief run-down of events, in case you’re interested…
Wednesday
I was in the best of moods, because we were at the front edge of several days off in a row. And is there a better feeling? I submit that there is not.
In the morning I wrote the Surf Report update (which may have contained a version of the previous paragraph), and took the younglings out to lunch in the afternoon.
I told them to pick a place, and they went with TGI Friday’s. And I said, “OK, Burger King it is!” I mean, what am I, Ted Turner here? Both of ‘em would’ve ordered the Fred Flintstone rack of ribs, along with a fifty dollar check at the end of the meal.
Toney got home around four o’clock, and we were going to go to Ret Lopster for dinner (with the help of a gift certificate), before she and the older Secret went to swimming practice. Toney’s involved with the team and had “deck duty” that night, so we had to be finished by six.
But it was not to be. The traffic was almost biblical, the Red Lobster parking lot was completely maxed-out (I thought the economy was in the shitter?!), and people were waiting outside to get in. So, that was out.
We decided to go to Five Guys instead, but Toney wanted to stop at Wegmans first. I went in with her, to peruse their kick-ass microbrew selection, and ended up buying a six-pack of Rogue Dead Guy Ale.
While we were in the store the older Secret received a call from one of his hooligan friends, asking if he wanted to go to a movie with a bunch of other hooligans. He couldn’t go, because of swimming, and sulked about it through dinner.
When Toney got home from the pool, we broke into the Dead Guys, and they were worth every cent I paid for them. And I’d paid a lot of cents. Sweet Maria!
Thursday
On Thanksgiving none of us left the house, literally. In fact, I don’t think I even took off my fat pants. It was fantastic!
The Macy’s parade was on TV while I slurped Five O’Clock coffee from an enormous Warner Bros. Studio mug, and worked my way through a pile of Black Friday newspaper ads.
Did any of you see the Special Needs Color Guard perform during the parade, by any chance? Um, just wondering.
I found almost literally nothing I wanted to buy in the ads. Sure, I was mildly interested in one of these, but finally decided against it. I think it was in the Macy’s ad, but I’m not sure.
In the afternoon I brought the laptop upstairs to the dining room, and loaded dozens and dozens of CDs onto the Big iPod. Including my sizable Robyn Hitchcock collection, which is, you know, sizable.
Toney talked to Sunshine before dinner, and she went off on another of her crackpot rants. She now believes Obama is planning to cut off all medicine to old people, and the ones who don’t die as a result will be rounded up and held in concentration camps.
You think I’m joking? Oh, you’d be mistaken on that count.
Toney prepared a big holiday spread, including a boneless turkey breast (no ribcage or “cavity” this year), and two pies to choose from. She made pumpkin (for everybody but me), and blueberry (for me).
I’m a longtime fan of blueberry pie, as well as lemon meringue. What are your favorites? And which ones can’t you stand? In that category for me is pumpkin (never could get into it), and sweet-ass pecan pie (blecch).
And I’m not going to get this one done, dammit. I’ll post the second half at 3 am. How’s that?
So, in addition to the pie question, I’d like to know if you bought anything on Friday, as a result of the massive newspaper ad carpet-bombing attack? I bought nothing, and didn’t see anything that even mildly piqued my interest. It’s bizarre (something usually sucks me in), but true.
Also, did anything exciting happen on Thanksgiving, during your family get-togethers? We’d like to know about that, as well. Use the handy comments link.
And that’s all I can do; this day’s running away from me.
So, until the middle of the night…
Filed under: Daily
#1!!!!!
Wow.
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I could’nt be first?
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I guess not but not toooo bad……
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Top Five? Mercy me …
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Could I be first??? Wow!!
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Dang, I was tricked!
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Black Friday sucks – I say it every year and every year it sucks more. This one was especially crappy thanks to all the assholes who were out … I wonder if one o’ them asshole removers would’ve helped …
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Woohoo, top ten?
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Good Afternoon Surf Reporters…….
The highlight of my Thanksgiving was the 2 six packs of Stella Artois that I consumed.
The lowlight was Wednesday evening when I conveniently removed the tip of my left index finger with a knife while chopping cabbage to make cole slaw.
No pies in our house, but the wife did make delicious pumpkin/cinnamon bread.
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Love rhubarb pie and Boston Cream pie. Pumpkin pie (with lots o’ whipped cream) and cherry pie I’ll eat. Pecan and shoo fly pie are completely out of the question.
We went to Lowe’s at a late hour and stocked up on LED Christmas lights (my old-school ones finally gave up the gusto) that were on sale for 20% off. Actually the whole thing wasn’t planned, we were just out and about because the pressing manic sheep-crowds were more preferable to the crackpot theories along the lines of Sunshine’s that were being bandied about at my in-laws.
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Hope your finger’s better JCIII. Did you get it sewn back on or did you just wrap it real tight. I cut a good slice off my index finger once and it had to be stitched back on. Quite painful.
Low point for me was having no hot water at my in-laws, which resulted in what came to be known as “The Tourettes Shower.” Good times, good times.
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Cranberry Pear Pie! That is the best… if you haven’t had it, you should. Though, Pumpkin Orange Cranberry Cheesecake was the choice dessert this Thanksgiving.
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I love cherry pie. I guess I like all fruit pies with the exception of apple. It just doesn’t light my fire – and I’ve tried lots of versions. I love pot pies, does that count? My least favorite pie of all time has to be mincemeat pie. It’s like the goddamn fruitcake of pies. My grandfather loved it, and my grandmother mistakenly thinks I love it too. Wrong. But she makes one every year. And every year I seem to forget the taste. It’s like having the Russian army march through your mouth in their dirty socks.
I bought nothing on Friday. But the wife went on a spending spree. I have no idea what she bought.
My Thanksgiving went great. I made 14 tiny turkeys in the deep frier, indoors.
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Lemon or Key Lime only.
Didn’t cook a thing, ate tons, slept it off.
Missed the hubby whos playin’ in the sand over there…..He got to experience his first dust storm.
No shopping, I’d rather pay more than fight large crowds of cranky people.
Was a good weekend, I guess.
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Hope your finger gets better, I hate hand injuries, you still have to use it so you just keep re-injuring it. Its a viscious cycle.
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Spent most of my long weekend tryign to get my mind wrapped around doing a month-long project in 4 d ays. It’s still not done, but I’m a hell of a lot closer to finishing that I would have been if I HADN’T devoted that time.
Not much fun, I’m afraid, but I did carve out some drinking time. Just me and the dog nad the cat – so that bottle was ALL MINE!!!
Send your unwanted slices of (decent) pecan pie my way. Love the stuff.
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~~~thanky there Gretchen and Carla
No stitches, although in hindsight, ‘prolly could have used one or two. However, I was not about to go into an emergency room 11 o’clock at night half kicked, three sheets to the wind and in my cups. We can all thank Stella for that.
No, no, instead I just doused it(the cut) real well with rubbing alcohol, placed the hanging part back over the gap and wrapped ‘er tight with band aid. As of today, the graft has taken, it’s still a wee bit sore and red, but I think I’m out of the woods at this point.
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I sometimes think that’s the better way anyway. Mine doesn’t look right and it’s still numb after ten years, but someone else who used your technique for her injury healed up nicely and you can’t tell she ever sliced the pad off. There’s a lesson here about not dicing while drunk, I’m sure.
) My injury was caused by a box cutter and I was perfectly sober, so I have no excuses.
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I like most kinds of pie, but nothing meringue.
And nothing exciting happened here, but it was just me, the husband, and the kids. I can’t even drink on account of the pregnancy, so there you go. But it was relaxing, not dull.
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Hair pie, but it’s hard to find these days.
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Pies that I love include blueberry, pecan, lemon, and coconut cream. Pies that I hate include raisin (in fact I hate anything cooked with raisins including toast, stuffing, rice pudding etc.) and mincemeat.
I can’t opine on shoe-fly pie because I vetoed it based on the name: I don’t care what it tastes like, I ain’t eating nothing called “shoe-fly” pie.
Some stores tried to do a “Black Friday” thing up here in Canada too. Apparently the retail community forgot that Friday was NOT a holiday for us, so there was no consumer frenzy.
On a side note I have now signed over 100 Christmas cards, with about 500 more to go, and my hand is already numb. This is a first week of December tradition where I work. I will sped the rest of the year nursing my carpel-tunnel back to health, then the cycle continues…
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Love peach pie, hate lemon meringue.
No Black Friday (or Cyber Monday) shopping for me – I’m butt-ass broke and working on being thankful for all the piles of stuff I already have and don’t use!
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Hate pie in general. Give me cake please.
I ventured out Friday in search of a tv stand for the 42″ LCD I ordered online that morning, and quickly found myself behind the wheel of my car on University Drive going 5 mph at most, cussing like a sailor and waiving my arms about like a lost runway worker.
I wish Huntsville drivers knew what red lights and turn signals were.
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Thanksgiving was truly something to be thankful for! 2 days out of the office, paid! We drove the 5 hours to Grand Rapids after i got off work on Wednesday. Drank some wine and booze with my favorite sister in law.
Thursady putzed around the kitchen with the ladies. Step dad-in-law grilled the turkey, yummy. Ate a ton drank some more. Played games. Drank more.
Friday, ate lots of leftovers. Started drinking mimosas, switched to 12 coors lights, cosmos, bottle of gerwertraminer, couple more beers, and a captian and coke as a night cap. Played games, slept for 2 hours before or 5 hour drive home.
Saturday, worked a painful 5 hour shift hung over and tired. Put up the christmas tree in the office. Then had a dog date and split a bottle of vodka with a girlfriend.
Got 6 inched of snow Saturday night. So my Texas ass did not leave the house yesterday. Back to work today, working on my xmas cards. 40 down, 17 more to go!
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Oh, and all of my shopping is done and has been done for weeks via the internet! Paid out the ass for shipping but didn’t have to get dressed or leave the ass and fight the crazys!
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Butt-Out!
That looks like a handy tool however I’ve not purchased one. Some people saw through the pelvic bone of the deer and remove ass that way. I use the cut around and install rubber band method.
You have to do something as little chocolate jellybeans and meat are not a good combination.
I have murdered Bambi’s twin brother and a larger version of the same this year. The freezer is full of wonderful fresh woodland critter parts so the rest of the deer are in no danger from me.
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I baked 2 pumpkin pies (one for niece’s bf to take home with him), 2 pecan pies and a pumpkin cheesecake for our fambly get-together.
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I fried a 21 lb bird and smoked a 6 lb breast with some extra drumsticks….meanwhile the wife was making a pumpkin pie, pecan pie and a chocolate covered OREO cake. Oh, and we drank many good wines, beers and holiday concoctions. No knife incidents, cocktail-related or not. It was a beautiful day in Central TX and we ate outside. Made our out-of-state guests quite jealous.
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I baked a pumpkin pie and my wife baked a pecan one Jeff. But I also like coconut creme, apple, and my favorite is blueberry, when they’re in season.
I also went to Wegman’s and picked up a 6 of Brooklyn Pilsner. Yes, their selection is mind blowing. Kind of like when you were little and your parents gave you enough money for one candy bar. Which one, which one…..
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I used to like Thanksgiving, now it’s a major bitch session for all the family members who can’t seem to get along with each other. Mainly because some assholes in the family ruined the tradition when they started arguing who would take care of my grandparents home in Jersey. Yes Jersey. You got a problem with that. Don’t let me have to call Guido. Needless to say, I stay in my respective corner of the world and avoid the bickering. So I did in fact cook a turkey (should had Jason get me a couple little turkeys). Boiled up a mess of greens, candied yams, fixed dressing, made some giblet gravy, potato salad and a couple sweet potato pies.
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Two pies i cant stand-rhubarb (sp?) and sweet potato. My favorites- Apple and Cherry cheesecake. Does that count? Anyway, it does in my mind. I actually did buy something on Black Friday this year. THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, AND I SWEAR ILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN. I needed some clothes for work and one store had them on sale for 30% off. I had to do it. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot I cussed everyone there about 17 times over. None of the other shoppers looked too happy about seeing me either, but thats their problem I didnt ASK them to be there at the same time as me. That is the first and last time I will EVER shop on Black Friday.
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tiff, you should have called me. I love Pecan and Pumpkin pie too! and I had a bootle of single malt scotch to wash it all down. I think it was a Glenfiddich but I can’t remember that far back.
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For what passes as the black friday here in Canada, more of a black weekend sales extravaganza, I specifically went out to stock up on oil, and by chance I spied air compressors at 1/2 price. Since I was already in the process of comparing them online, I plunked down my Mackenzie Kings without anguish.
Most pies get a passing grade from me, including pecan, apple, hair, and lemon pie. Pumpkin pie on the other hand… no thanks, just something not right about that…
Excitement amounted to doing my year end oil change with the sun shining.
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42″ samsung plasma for 700 bucks on friday along with a Magnetbox blu-ray player for 120 down from 278.
Shitty economy my ass.
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Pie: Love Mom’s Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, and Pecan Pie… don’t like anything with berries, cherries, or citrus as a general pie rule.
TG: New step grandma decided to tell my aunt about grandpa’s sexual prowess… that was interesting. Several political discussions… my family ranges from both ends of the political spectrum and we usually can have a pretty fun debate. Of course the right-wingers always win based on logic.
Purchases: Went to Academy Sports and Dicks Sports looking for new guns and ammo… gotta get ‘em before Obama starts taking them away. Too bad I couldn’t find anything at either place. Anyone know of a good gun show coming through North/Central Texas any time soon? I’ve got a feeling assault rifles will be difficult to come by pretty soon and the current family arsenal only includes two M-16′s. Other than that, I bought nothing until this afternoon when I got a KICKASS deal on a new dishwasher courtesy of CyberMonday.
wow… 3 part questions seem a bit long winded…
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Pecan pie is manna from Heaven, Jeff. Get with the program!!
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Someone should set about inventing a new kind of pecan pie. Why does it always have to have that diabetes inducing jelly at the bottom? I mean, I can understand that you don’t want to just toss pecans into a pie shell and bake away, but there’s got to be a better way.
Maybe something involving cream cheese.
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I’m not really a fan of fruit pies, but I LOVE a good bourbon pecan pie, maybe with a little chocolate in it.
No big Turkey Day scandals or shenanigans here, sorry.
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Forget the pies… Robyn Hitchcock you say! Now I know Jeff’s a good guy.
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And I go up-up-up-up-up-up-ubbadubba-up-up-up-up-up-up-budda-budda-whoooaoooohoohhh.
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I do not do pecan, pumpkin, or lemon meringue. In fact, meringue is the best way to ruin ANY dessert.
On Black Friday, I got up at 3 a.m., was seated on the cold sidewalk outside Office Depot at 3:28 a.m., to get a $600 laptop for $349.
Crazy? Or crazy like a fox?
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Thanksgiving Dinner – a dogfight broke out right next to the table – a new low in a long string of bizarre holiday shenanigans
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Apparently you don’t actually live in WV where a Wegman’s would exist.
The Special Needs Colorguard? Yep. Glad you said it and not me.
Pie sucks. All types. Period.
The most interesting but worst part of Thanksgiving was when the hubs’ 90 year old grandfather tried to knock my four year old son out with his cane.
Gave it a good hard swing and ka-wham!
Missed his head by an inch.
Dementia or not, I could have taken his ass out right then and there…
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Alex – I like how you slipped the hair pie into your list of favorites
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I have the 3 am update written, but am not satisfied with it. It was a complete rush job. So, I’m going to bed, and will tinker with it in the morning.
Hey, wonder if there are any Jimmy Dean sausage biscuits in the freezer…?
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Goddammit! I stayed up for nothing? Well, there’s always the mature section of Spankwire to peruse.
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Dutch Apple! Some melted chedder on top…Yum!!.
Watched it snow Thursday and Friday morning…eight inches laid in wait by 10am. It didn’t bother me and I didn’t bother it. I did my shopping tribute by ordering up the pair of gaiters I’ve wanted (needed) for a while. No crowds. Just some clicking and typing and clicking.
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My wife absolutely loves my banana cream, and rhubarb pies, my ex-wife loves my lemon meingue pie. My oldest daughter loves my cherry pie, my
youngest loves any pie as long as I bake it.
I hate blueberry, rhubarb, and mincemeat pies. If I had to choose a favorite, I guess it would be either apple or pumpkin.
Hope the finger is healing up okay, JCIII. Man, that musta hurt.
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I am an owner of the deer intestine remover tool, known as “The Butt Plug”. I will attest to it’s effectiveness. You simply ram it home, twist it a time or two, then yank it out. YOu’re then abot to seal off the “tube of shit”, cut it, and insure deer turds don’t wind up in your venison chili.
Jeff mocks what he does not understand.
Buck Out
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HAY!
Has anyone else been up for more than 24 hours, waiting for the update? Maybe this is funny, maybe it’s not. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-4BFfdGufo
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I suspect there were many large family gatherings this year “highlighted” by Obama rants.
My sister is part of a pretty strident evangelical church (not that there’s anything wrong with that). She decided Thanksgiving dessert was the perfect time to go into a detailed discussion of our next President’s love of baby-killing, and how he prefers to perform forced abortions late in the third trimester using three-foot-long steel pins and other delights (as Herb Alpert would say).
I kept my mouth full until it passed, but it kind of put me off my pumpkin roll, if you know what I mean.
And Kath, I’ve never heard of cranberry pear pie, but it sounds quite tasty.
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Good Afternoon Surf Reporters………
Just popping in to see if Part II has been posted yet.
Nope.
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Yeah, I have a relative you thinks Obama is an Islamic terrorist going to hand the country over to the Taliban, that he’s going to give all the jobs to blacks after having the whites sacked and the Nation of Islam is going to take over all the ‘good’ churches. Yet he’s still here and hasn’t fled to Canada already like I would have done if I believed nonsense like that…
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The highlight of my weekend was probably when my husband’s aunt, who is in her 60s and looks fantastic, announced that she lost a bunch of weight recently “riding her harley”. The younger crowd in the room snickered, while the older crowd looked uncomfortable. One of his cousins clued me in later that her new boyfriend Mike’s real name is “Harley”. Good stuff.
I am in a little bit of trouble with my family for skipping their TG to hang out with friends, but it was totally worth it.
J Shifty, check out http://www.someecards.com. I love that site. There are a few great cards that express similar sentiments.
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Buck, you leave me speechless, but Jason is intrigued.
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Help Please Surfers!
I just got back from 6 months in Siberia (I’m not making this up – I was on a Fulbright in Novosibirsk). I have, as long ago promised, a Smoking Fish photo to share from the REAL great white north.
But I can’t find instructions on how to submit it – what am I missing?
Thanks, M
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