Rain, Mimosa, & Turkey

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush! Cooked & stuffed! Place settings I was up at 7:30pm after waking a couple of times through the night to pee. I could feel the effects of the many beers from the night before, but all in all, I felt pretty good. It was raining steadily yet lightly. I took my vitamin, allergy meds, and an anti-inflammatory. In the kitchen I prepped coffee and poured a glass of OJ. And just like prior mornings at Glenn’s, I drug the 3X5’ area rug from in front of the TV to the sofa so that I could comfortably complete my sit-ups on the hardwood floors. After the sit-ups, push-ups and curls I tuned into Today to catch-up on all the TG festivities. Mindy was up shortly after I began my exercises. I drank a cup of coffee and soon left for my TG run. As I alluded earlier, it was a rainy TG morning. To go along with the rain there was a stiff SW breeze blowing too. Despite the yucky weather, there were a number of runners and walkers taking in the Vancouver river front. That didn’t surprise me, though. There are always folks out and about the river front. It’s designed with walkers, runners, and bikers in mind. I completed my run n about 45 minutes. I was drenched with rain and sweat. We needed a few grocery items to complete our TG dinner, so before even changing out of my wet running clothes I requested Glenn’s CRV keys and left for a quick trip up the road to the Safeway. I grabbed some coffee, creamer, OJ, frosting, and whipped cream. I forgot to request Glenn’s Safeway card so I wasn’t able to take advantage of the good sale prices. If I could’ve remembered Glenn’s home phone number that would’ve worked too, but I couldn’t. Oh well! Back at Glenn’s I topped the cheesecake that I made the day prior. I also opened the bottle of champagne that Glenn’s neighbor, Lola left along with a box of pastries. I made Mimosas for everyone. After finishing off the cheesecake we got busy making the TG meal. My contribution was preparing the turkey, stuffing, and the gravy. Mindy helped me prep the stuffing. My recipe is an apple, sausage, walnut concoction blended with a handful of veggies, including bell pepper, celery, and carrots. Our turkey was medium sized -13.5 lbs. We had so much stuffing that we baked a little more than half in a separate casserole dish. Glenn went into work for an hour or two while Mindy and I put the bird in the oven. I think I had three or four of those mimosas. Mindy took a nap on the living room floor by the roaring fire Glenn built. We had Xmas tunes whirling in the background too. While Mindy napped I wrote and practiced guitar. I had a good little holiday buzz going. J Glenn returned sometime close to1pm and got busy making his famous green bean casserole. In the meantime, Mindy prepped the mashed potatoes. While we waited on our food to cook, we called our families back home in Ohio to share a little holiday cheer. We called Dad’s where they were celebrating TG for the first time in almost nine years, according to brother Bobby. Everybody talked, including Mindy. After that we called Mom. She had brother Charles and family over along with uncle Chuck. Mom reported not having the results of the tests her doctor ran on Wednesday. The description of her latest illness didn’t sound too promising. She managed to get Glenn and I concerned. Glenn commented that we could very likely loose both our mother and step-mother in the coming year. As 4pm approached, our turkey along with all the trimmings was finally complete. Glenn dressed the table in its holiday attire making for a most festive setting. We all sat down to TG dinner and shared a few things we were most thankful for. After we ate we agreed to take a walk about the neighborhood to help relieve our full bellies. We were out about an hour. We toured Glenn’s old digs, the Tip-Top Tavern (walk-by only), and other appealing neighborhood houses. It sprinkled a little but not too much. When we returned home we put in the Over the Hedge DVD. I cut myself a piece of cheesecake while watching the movie. I was crashing fast. After that movie we immediately put in Hannibal, a favorite of mine. After the second movie ended Mindy and I were whipped. We discussed our wake-up time and scheduled departure time with brother Glenn. We didn’t want to leave anything to chance. We headed to bed after 10pm. I had to be awake at 5am to ensure plenty of time for exercise, a run, and last minute packing.