I managed to sneak a picture of Cody -- or so I thought. He said, "I saw what you were doing." I replied, "I needed proof you were here." You know, pictures, or it didn't happen.
I think I stressed way too much over dinner this year. Usually, I make a bunch of stuff ahead of time, so Thanksgiving morning is a time to relax and be with family. I didn't do that this time around. The only things I did early were the pumpkin pie and the first layer of my jello salad. Ten hour shifts really wear you down, plus I've got some sort of sinus thing going on. I've coughed so much these last few days, I'm sore all over.
I got up at 5:30 Thanksgiving morning, and did a bunch of cooking, all the while thankful that I could stream the parade on my laptop, so I could watch it in the kitchen. Well, not a bunch bunch, but a bunch. Enough for the two of us.
So, there I was in the kitchen, cooking away, when I began to wonder where Cody was. Eh, it's still a wee bit early. But more and more time went by, and I began to think he needed to come on. I was getting hungry!
I waited a little while longer -- he had to drive from Memphis, after all-- and just about the time I was about to call him and ask him if he was almost here, my phone rang. "I'm about to get on I-55 now, so it'll be about an hour and 45 minutes." He told me he'd turned his alarm off, and slept much later than he intended to. "I was tireder than I thought," he explained.
I told him, "No matter. I'll just pop everything back into the oven when you get here to warm it up." He finally got here around 2-ish, and we had our simple, yet satisfying Thanksgiving dinner.
I'd put some of the Chupacabra rub my friend Cyndye sent me onto the turkey, and it was delicious. When I got it out and put it onto the platter, I pointed to it and told Cody, "That's chupacabra." He looked confused, so I clarified, "Chupacabra rub." "Oh, I was wondering where you got a chupacabra."
See? He is my child after all.
We finished dinner off with a pumpkin pie I finally made from that real pumpkin I bought and stewed down a while back. I had just enough crust scraps left to add one special touch to it.
All in all, we had a good visit. I was kind of hoping Cody could stay longer and help me put up the Christmas tree, but he wanted to get back to Memphis. He has to work today, and he definitely wants to be there, because a lot of people wait for Black Friday to buy cars. Oh, by the way, he's decided not to opt to go to straight commission after all. He wants to keep that base salary as a safety net. I'm glad of that. I know he's grown, but I still worry about him.
Amy, Cody and I were talking about the Iron Bowl tomorrow. I said, "Oh boy. It's on CBS. We get to listen to Gary."
Cody said, "I can see it now. Auburn could completely shut out Alabama, and before the game is even over, Gary will be saying, 'Here's how Alabama could still make the playoffs.'"
Before he had to go back home, I had Cody drag in all my Christmas stuff from the shed.
And the majority of it is still sitting right where he left it. Unfortunately, he set a section of the tree on the couch.
Thank goodness for slipcovers and dustbusters is all I have to say. The only thing I've done so far is to put the tree together and move it into the corner where it will sit.
I had to move Rylea's love seat over to fit it in, which made this corner pretty crowded.
I told Cody I'd decided to keep the tree another year, because all the nice ones are way out of my budget. He'd wanted it, you know. He said that was OK, because after thinking about it, he'd realized he didn't have the floor space in his apartment for it anyway. That's exactly why I want to get a new one. I got my trusty tape measure out and my tree is 58" across at its widest point. At least now, I know what I need -- I'm thinking one between 52" and 54" at the base will work just fine, especially after I get rid of that loveseat when Rylea has gone to that great kennel in the sky. I'm going to replace it with another recliner, for when Cody comes to visit. I've got a small living room anyway, and that will work so much better.
This morning, I moved my recliner and end tables over so I could at least sit at my keyboard and play it.
Once I get the branches floofed and the lights strung, I'll shove the tree all the way back into the corner. That'll free up a few inches of space.
And finally, your PSA for today: In all the holiday hubbub, make sure you don't leave your cast iron skilled in a sink full of water overnight.
I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have had to re-season my skillet this morning. But honestly, it was about time anyway.
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