I hope all who celebrate it had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was pretty good. My sis and I traveled up to be with our Suwannee River kin. My aunt did most of the cooking and as usual did a terrific job.
Publix (supermarket chain) had a BOGO deal on Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Red, which three separate parties brought as their contribution to the feast, so the wine was good.
Although pretty much everyone up there is a Repub, only one person brought up MAGA bullshit, and my sis and I (the only out Dems at the gathering) were fortunately out of the room though within earshot. The MAGA turd in the punchbowl wasn’t a relative, just a rando who dropped by after dinner.
He sounded like a cultist, so the bullshit was easy to avoid and ignore. (He idiotically [and predictably] gave Trump credit for migrant policies Mexico put in place 18 months ago.)
Anyhoo, I’m back home now. A cold front is coming through today, so it’s gloomy out. Bill and I are chilling out with the leftovers, watching the Gophers whup the Badgers.
What are y’all up to today?
ETA: I think this guy’s Badgers hat is objectively sillier than my Gators hat…
Baud
Glad to hear your family weren’t jerks about politics at Thanksgiving.
raven
Waitin on the Dawgs to thrash those nerds!
Dorothy A. Winsor
Sounds cozy at your place. I hope everyone is bundled up in blankies against the cold front
Raoul Paste
I think it’s unclear who wins the “silliest hat“ contest. But you get points for most colorful
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Dorothy A. Winsor: this is a cold front:
https://wapo.st/3VhDghA
(should be a gift link, and, yes, I cancelled my subscription but it doesnt take effect immediately because I bought a year in advance last summer)
I think the knitted hat is much nicer.
Suzanne
Anyone else getting snow as the temps drop?
Looks like I’ll be doing my long run inside again.
Leto
Earlier, hit the grocery store for more coffee creamer, but also stopped by Barnes and Nobles to order a book for Avalune, and nabbed another stocking stuffer for her. Need to order her actual gifts, then it’s watch the Chiefs v Raiders while enjoying leftovers.
Also reading, “This America: The Case for the Nation” by Jill Lepore. A much needed balm atm.
frosty
We’re driving home from my brother’s place north of NYC. Good Tday, good food, good company, no MAGAs.
First stop is Newark Airport to drop my older son off for a Pittsburgh flight. Navigating airport roads should be the worst part of the trip.
Leto
@Suzanne: no, but we did have some light/small hail earlier. It’s definitely gotten colder and windier. Regarding running inside: that’s basically what I did the entire time I was deployed to Afghanistan. It was too damn cold outside at my base (mile high altitude and in the teens at night), so I made a great playlist and did marathon training on the treadmill. Good times.
JML
‘Twas an excellent Thanksgiving for me. Lots of food and fellowship, relatively light on the politics. (I did end up telling one of the uncles-in-law that they were making the Neville Chamberlain argument on Ukraine while claiming that Putin wasn’t Hitler) But the wine, port, and rum had been flowing and it didn’t get too heated. Besides, there was cheesecake, pumpkin and pecan pies, along with various other deserts to gobble.
Soprano2
@Suzanne: They’re forecasting possible flurries for Saturday. Temps have been dropping all week. We might have lows in the teens on Sunday night. It’s tough because it was in the 60’s a week ago! I picked raspberries this week!
We had a good Thanksgiving. No politics at all, but my youngest niece’s husband wasn’t there because he’s being an asshole. He thinks we’re all mean to him. My SIL told me that when this niece went to Michigan for her sister’s husband’s funeral, her hubby asked her how her “vacation” was when she got back! Guess he was mad because he had to take care of their two small children (3 and less than a year) while she was gone. He seems to believe having children shouldn’t change his life in any way. He spends hours playing video games in the evenings. Sounds like an entitled narcissist to me.
Leto
@JML: everything after the parenthesis sounds great. Especially the port and pecan pie.
PaulWartenberg
I bought local from a comics store, they had a special on toys and I plan on donating them to the local toy drives this weekend.
I am using up gift cards for restaurants because they piled up and I figure I may be getting more of them this Saturnalia.
rikyrah
The way that he sounds more like Denzel than Denzel 🤣 😂 😂
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8N1HdT5/
Suzanne
@Leto: I have a Peloton bike, not a treadmill, but I only ride it out of the saddle and I increase the resistance to 80 or higher to better mimic running. I figure it’s close enough, and you never regret a workout!
I just…. like being outside. It’s nice.
rikyrah
@Soprano2:
So, she is a married single parent 😒😒😒
Suzanne
@Soprano2: Our temps are diving today. We didn’t have any snow forecast today, but we’ve had a couple of rounds of flurries.
I am technically working, but I am the only one today! So my syncs-to-central are just flying!
eclare
@Soprano2:
Holy shit…vacation.
dnfree
No animals were killed in the creation of your hat, Betty, so you win the anti-cruelty award. That other hat looks unnerving, whereas yours looks celebratory.
Ben Cisco
Had a very good Thanksgiving – got back from seeing family too late to join the Zoom – sounds like you guys had a great time. Working tomorrow but will be off in time to see Bama put a beating (please and thank you!) on Auburn!
eclare
I like your hat much better, Betty Cracker. The badger hat is too realistic, like the guy has a dead animal on his head.
West of the Rockies
@Soprano2:
Why on God’s green earth do women date/marry/procreate with man-boys?
raven
We went to a friends house so we had no turkey. I went to Costco and they had small fresh turkeys for $5 off and they were $10 so I nabbed one! I’ll roast it and then have great gumbo fixins!
WaterGirl
@eclare: That’s like men who say “I have to babysit tonight.”
I don’t care who they are, if a man says that in front of me I tell them men can’t “babysit” their own children.
Leto
@Suzanne: I’d love to get a Peloton bike. I think we’d both utilize it quite a bit. Just not sure about the subscription pricing. I agree though, being outside is essential.
raven
I’ve been struggling with chronic pain and I ran into Dr Amy Baxter who specializes in non-opioid pain management. I know “we” don’t like Ted Talks but here is hers.
Scout211
Baking pies (cherry and pecan) and also making a frozen dessert pie (peanut butter) for our California family members. We are having our not-Thanksgiving tomorrow.
eclare
@WaterGirl:
Exactly!
Betty Cracker
@Soprano2: Niece’s husband sounds like an asshole. Probably a good sign that she was willing to go to the Thanksgiving feast without him.
eclare
@raven:
Sounds yummy! Go Dawgs!
Not technically a fan, but as an SEC grad I always root for the SEC team.
Kayla Rudbek
I’m still recovering from the 5-mile run yesterday. However, my fasting blood sugar was under 100 this morning despite all the carbs I ate at dinner. Part of me wants to go to old town Alexandria for Plaid Friday, part of me wants to wait until tomorrow and get some cleaning and decluttering done here at home. Particularly since I don’t want to turn into a hoarder like my father-in-law.
I was somewhat alarmed that I was turning into my father because my in-laws managed to get me going on 1) intellectual property law and AI and 2) the rule of tincture in heraldry over dinner. I suppose it’s better than making everyone listen to medical malpractice defense stories over the dinner table though.
Some questions for the YA writers here: 1) further recommendations for a boy who likes the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (I am trying to complete his collection of the series, and I bought him the Great Brain series last year). 2) how old does a kid have to be before I start them off with Diane Duane’s Young Wizards and Feline Wizards series? My two younger nephews are below the age of 10. 3) youngest age for the Belisarius series by Eric Flint and David Drake?
Shakti
I made pumpkin pie from a recipe I’ve used since 2018. I used Southern comfort and vanilla extract for the whipping cream. Most of the 9′ in pie is gone. People went back for thirds.
I did not go wild with the cooking. There’s some hand pies and some leftover filling in a glass dish.
Betty Cracker
@Shakti: I loathe Southern Comfort (had a memorable puking incident with it in high school), but in certain recipes involving whipped cream, it can be an essential ingredient. A friend’s eggnog recipe calls for it, and I tried to substitute GOOD bourbon for SC, and the finished product wasn’t as good.
It’s a mystery!
VeniceRiley
Wife and I dropped Reggie at the groomers and went out for a pub lunch. Christmas lighting tonight in town, but we’re too cozy at home for that.
@soprano2 Sounds Ike every other post on r/twoXchromosomes – something about a permanent state of tolerable unhappiness, until it isn’t. Then he says “She just left me out of the blue? Everything was FINE!” Yeah, buddy. Fine for you, and only you.
Miss Bianca
@raven: we a re having turkey gumbo at our “leftovers” party with the neighbors this afternoon!
Soprano2
@rikyrah: Yep, sounds like it. Evidently he threatened to throw them out of the house. He’s a real peach.
Leto
@Betty Cracker: I’ve used fireball with eggnog, but I’ve also found that most eggnog needs more air put into it. I usually put it into a shaker, get a nice 20 sec workout, then pour and go. A good spiced rum works wonders as well.
Soprano2
@eclare: That’s how the whole family felt. SIL says she can’t forgive him for that. He sounds like a huge narcissist to me.
Soprano2
@West of the Rockies: I don’t know, probably insecurity.
Soprano2
@WaterGirl: I do the same, it’s called “parenting”.
trollhattan
Today begins the NCAA D1 women’s soccer quarterfinals/College Cup. Think they’re all on ESPN+, which we don’t have.
USC v my kiddo’s Wake Forest
UNC v. Penn State
Stanford v. Notre Dame [technical note: these two “ACC” teams dwell rather far from the Atlantic Ocean. Discuss at will].
Tomorrow #1 Duke hosts Virginia Tech.
It may be noted ACC has this year’s Cup in a stranglehold, with six of the eight remaining teams out of the round of 64.
Soprano2
@Betty Cracker: Well, she was the host so that makes it especially assholeish. I feel bad for her, she doesn’t deserve this.
eclare
@Soprano2:
I don’t blame her.
Soprano2
Has anyone else priced eggnog? It seems really high this year. It was $6.79 for a quart at WalMart. Seems like it was half that last year.
Soprano2
@eclare: Me either, I was shocked. I guess he was mad because he had to take care of the kids by himself for three days. Thing is, he’s got family here who could have helped him if he asked.
Baud
@Soprano2:
Blame Trump.
oldgold
At our Thanksgiving table it was announced, by the Motherlode, that religious and political talk was to be avoided. My doppelgänger grandson inquired if that meant our traditional Thanksgiving prayer was going to be discarded.
Baud
@oldgold:
Are you folks different religions?
Leto
@Baud: while he promised to fix the price of eggs (he never did), he never said anything about eggnog. Might as well start blaming him now though.
Shakti
@Betty Cracker:
A little of it goes a LONG way. And should be couched in something else.
I only like really smooth spirits. I somehow went from being a sugar fiend (in general) to absolutely not liking anything sugary in alcohol. I don’t even like hard seltzer. My thing now is quality freezer gin in a G &T. Scotch has to be smooth AF (no cheap stuff or anything that came from a peat bog), same with vodka. Minimal ingredients tbh.
Some wines are ok — I don’t care for sweet ones anymore.
I think I became my uncles without realizing it.
Baud
@Leto:
Seems to work for them. Put some “I did this” Trump stickers on those eggnog cartons.
Soprano2
@Baud: This blood draw on my husband is taking forever, can I blame TCFG too?
Baud
@Soprano2:
Yes.
Gloria DryGarden
@raven: we don’t like Ted talks? I’ve been around here since may, this is the first I’ve heard.
I love Ted talks. What’s wrong w them?
thanks for this one on chronic pain. That is useful.
Gloria DryGarden
@oldgold: absolutely brilliant grandson.
i kind of wished I’d had the nerve to make the grace prayer at a big family meal… they might have been uncomfortable, but I would have been more comprehensive than most. Oh phooey. Too late now, those people are all gone now, but I want to encourage others
Betty Cracker
@Leto: My friend’s recipe alluded to above has Southern Comfort, rum and bourbon. I posted it here years ago. It’s really tasty but very bad for you!
@Soprano2: Oh yikes, that is worse. How awful to have such a selfish-ass spouse and two very young kiddos! Hope things improve for her.
@Shakti: I agree on the minimalist impulse. Just give me a generous pour of Woodford Reserve and an ice cube or two. Heaven.
eclare
@Soprano2:
Avian flu raising the cost of eggs?
Gloria DryGarden
Eggnog, for the non dairy folks:
I so miss eggnog. I know I could heat up some nut milk with beaten eggs and make homemade like my mom always made. But it’s too much work, sometimes. The nut milk eggnogs are 50% more, at least, than the plain nut milks, so I read the ingredients and have made up an easy home hack:
to your nut mylk, or your oat mylk, add some maple syrup, and several big shakes of nutmeg ( powdered ginger optional, adjust spices to your taste). That’s it, easy peasy.
it’s wonderful
p.a
I used to have the old bobblehead style pressure cooker. Bit scary. Used for chix soup & post Tgiving turkey soup. Had to let it cool naturally or with cool water bath.
Upgraded to ventable several years ago. Oh boy, no more waiting, just “pop the cork” & get on with the process, straining etc. Uhhhh… first time I did it right off the heat. My kitchen does not have cathedral ceilings. Stain is still there. I’ll try the bleach mix spray bottle solution when the time comes to paint, to improve coverage. Is there a “cooked turkey schmaltz” paint color?
RevRick
@West of the Rockies: Loneliness. Horniness. Her dysfunction of overfunctioning fits he dysfunction of underfunctioning.
Back in the 60s there was a pop psych book out called “Games People Play,” and the author analogously described them like trading stamps: collect enough stamps and you get a psychological reward. Some people collect martyr stamps. Others collect stamps for creating chaos.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Suzanne: yep, sitting in the Finger Lakes region and hoping the big snow stays north of the 90, I am really hoping the storm does not drop as much snow on the North Syracuse to the border area, as they are forecasting.. the predictions are in feet and snow bands which are really dangerous because unpredictable. Example:one side of town gets 7 inches of snow the other side of town gets 28 inches of snow. So far we be had sun, snow, a little freezing rain then a little snow. I made all the turkey day side s (dairy free) for my daughter and her family at her house as she has a newborn and a two year old and told her we would do all prep and clean up. My husband deep fried two turkeys, one with dairy free injection, one with Cajun butter injection. Sooooo yummy! It felt real good to take care of my kid when she needed me.
David_C
Thanksgiving went well. Son and family (wife and baby daughter) for my very traditional, and timed to the minute, turkey dinner and daughter’s 5 kids over today to help with leaf raking and other assorted yard work. Cold front coming to the DC area as I write, but nothing like Buffalo Southtowns.
Planning on quiet here, and lots of leftovers, the rest of the weekend. It’s also the season when I do more genealogy work.
Leto
@Baud: I know we joked about here a week, or so, ago, but I’d be down for a campaign like that.
@Betty Cracker: oh it’s a homemade nog! That looks like what my paternal grandfather would make. Never met him, only heard stories, but that would tickle his whistle for sure.
raven
@Miss Bianca: Awesome !
David_C
@p.a: Shellac spray primer is the cover-up of last resort, when the Kilz just doesn’t cut it.
raven
@Gloria DryGarden: Beats me, I mean these people have me dumping subscriptions to all kinds of stuff! I know somewhere, sometime Ted Talks have received the BJ stamp of disapproval!
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Gloria DryGarden: Thank you! My daughter loved eggnog but became lactose intolerant in her early teens. I can’t wait to make this for her.
raven
@eclare: I worked at Tech for a couple of years after I finished school.
Betty Cracker
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone: What a wonderful gift — making the feast happen!
Another Scott
I’m just back from taking my J and her twin sister to IAD. They’re heading over to Switzerland and points nearby to see the Christmas markets for a week and a half. It’s a twin thing that I don’t quite understand. ;-)
Today it seems that Just about everyone in NoVA seems to be trying to go to Tyson’s Corner – every exit for it off the Beltway was backed up about 3+ miles. I guess they’re trying to do the Black Friday things, but it seems kinda late in the day for it? Dunno.
People are weird.
Hang in there, everyone.
Best wishes,
Scott.
prostratedragon
Hats: Hmmm, hard to tell … but I’m sure you’re just as happy wearing yours as he is in his.
Doc Sardonic
@p.a: I highly recommend Zinsser B-I-N shellac based primer, it’s to me like the Frank’s Red Hot of primers, I put that sh-t on everything paintable. On very rare occasions I will have something bleed through and need another coat, but if it bleeds through it was a gnarly stain to begin with.
VeniceRiley
Wife was looking at an air fryer on Amazon, but I have edusuaded her to buy one from Costco instead.
Another Scott
@raven: I’ve complained about them a time or few over the years. Not my thing. I hope my off-hand spouting didn’t somehow become the default jackal view??
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
;-)
Best wishes,
Scott.
mrmoshpotato
Florida is chowing down on the Wichita State Shockers. (basketball)
Mom tested positive for COVID before we were going to visit my sister, so my parents and I wound up staying put at their place. My sister dropped off a bunch of leftovers earlier, so we’re doing traditional Thanksgiving tonight.
Fuck you Amazon for stealing the Chiefs game.
mrmoshpotato
Your Gator hat is better.
mrmoshpotato
@Scout211:
Mmmmmm
mrmoshpotato
@Soprano2: Your youngest niece’s husband definitely is an asshole.
Glad you had a good Thanksgiving.
raven
@Another Scott: nah
lowtechcyclist
Had a pleasant Thanksgiving yesterday, at the home of some friends where their family and ours have been trading holiday dinners since the 1970s. We’re all on the left side of the political spectrum, so there wasn’t going to be a druncle problem, but on the whole we found more pleasant topics to discuss.
Some of the food must’ve disagreed with me though, because I was up a few times during the night needing to spend time in a small room with porcelain fixtures, and that continued through the morning as well. Finally after noon my system seemed to settle out, and I ventured a slice of dry toast without consequences, and later on half a PB&J.
Once I wasn’t on a short leash from the bathroom anymore, I put up the outside Christmas lights because these dark cold nights are going to need a bit of cheer.
lowtechcyclist
@raven:
I didn’t know about Ted Talks specifically, but I do know there’s a number of us who’d much rather read the transcript of a podcast rather than listen to one, but AFAICT most podcasters usually don’t make one available.
I’m one of those, but since my wife has been struggling with chronic pain for some time, I’m gonna watch this Ted talk in the hope that it’s worth recommending to my wife, and I appreciate your posting the link here.
raven
@lowtechcyclist: Great, I have met her a couple of times and she seems to be the real deal. She was an ER doc before she went into this and said every face bite she treated was a pitty
Also the link is embedded in her website so you might look at that.
anitamargarita
I love your gator hat!
Gloria DryGarden
@mrmoshpotato: i need a pecan pie recipe that isn’t using corn syrup. Oh gosh
Leto
@Gloria DryGarden: Here you go.
mrmoshpotato
Is everyone watching TV satisfying their football or basketball jones?
AnotherKevin
Sorry, but I have to say that his badgers hat is way, way better than your gators hat (having no rooting interest in either direction). But Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all !!!
lowtechcyclist
@mrmoshpotato:
Or maybe upstairs in the “This is our situation” thread.
I just don’t want to think about any of that this weekend.
raven
@lowtechcyclist: Go Dawgs!!@@@
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Betty Cracker: thank you for your kind words. My daughter had a difficult birth and just needs to recover. She loves the holidays but has to save her strength and heal. It was a gift to be able to care for her.
Gloria DryGarden
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone: what a blessing that she has you. It’s good to have help after childbirth.
(And now, fake eggnog, too!)
Terraformer
I was at that Badgers/Gophers game – it was COLLLDD! All bundled up and still super cold, around 21 degrees F and gusty. Even tho this Florida transplant has lived up here since 2008, I’m still not *fully* used to the cold