Hey Everyone, I thought i'd just "report" in -
Getting ready for Thanksgiving for ten. Listening to my enhanced BBM soundtrack (enhanced meaning I added to the official one, with "Melissa," the original version of "King of the Road" (the one in the movie), and my favorite - Desi Arnaz and orchestra singing "Quizas." Plus a few others: a great brass version of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," etc.
Anywhoo, I'm happy, I'm immersed in BBM, in my own home, in getting ready for my mother in law with Alzheimer's, my sister in law with severe dog allergies, and my nephew with dairy allergies, and the five meat-eaters, and four vegetarians, my 4 1/2 yo who will be both overwhelmed and lavished with love. It's a sweet life, and if I can keep myself from being a stud duck (aka controlling @sshole), things should be pretty lovely.
I also, for the first time, am using my grandmother's pressed glass for dessert plates and for some of the serving pieces. I received it two years ago, but it felt too risky with a toddler, so it's been stored away. It's in the dishwasher now, getting sparkling for later. ("In the dishwasher, are you nuts, Elle??" If it can't handle our lifestyle, I'm sorry.) 
For anyone who's not feeling like it's a sweet life today - been there, done that. For quite a few of my previous 47 Thanksgivings, and other holidays. Love you.
Today's menu:
(SIL stands for sister-in-law is bringing, N stands for niece is bringing)
Turkey (SIL)
Quorn roast
stuffing (SIL)
fingerling potatoes in sage/lemon butter
turkey gravy (from a jar!)
yeast gravy (yum)
whole petite green beans (frozen)
creamed spinach (frozen)
Poppin' Fresh crescent rolls (from a can)
cherry tomatoes still on the vine
olives
pumpkin pie (SIL)
apple pie (N)
cherry pie (N)
vanilla ice cream
vanilla ice cream with chocolate ribbon
raspberry sorbet
grapes
Earl Grey tea
soy nog
sparking cider
orange fizzwa
water
Hey, just want to report "out," now that my Thanksgiving hosting is on the other side. It turned out about as relaxedly as it could, considering the place was pretty full. Everybody was fairly kindly towards their fellows (all family members, so that's really saying something)
. The one sharp word that I observed was my father in law suddenly barking, "I already TOLD you that" at his wife, my mother in law with Alzheimer's. Now the one main certainty about communication with her, is that we've already told her that (whatver THAT is), which he knows better than all of us. So him yelling that, shows the kind of chronic huge patience he normally has with her, and lost for a moment.
But we all had fun, and I decided to let my daughter eat the three rolls she wanted, and almost nothing else, because it was easier. I normally don't take the less quality way with her, and she has cheerfully eaten many, many, many, many bites of vegetables and protein to get the more starch she wanted, but yesterday, I just kept saying yes to her requests. Sure made the day easier for me. Plus, that's really one of the characteristics of Thanksgiving - right? We experiment with just eating whatever the heck we want. Why deprive her of that freedom? (Though she and I both agreed that for her own mood-happiness seconds on the chocolate stuff was not a good idea.)
Another cool thing was about 15 minutes before everyone arrived, I suddenly saw a better way to arrange the furniture to accomodate everyone in a way that felt more spacious, more cozy, and more logistically easy for serving. I've been a lot more willing to try new stuff of late, so all of a sudden, there were my husband and me doing some major furniture rearranging. It did work well, and only took about ten minutes to do. I like feeling flexible.
A sad note - my sister in law had a big headache, which she only admitted to about 2 hours into the day. I right away worked with hr to gether what I could to help - she got 2/3 of the couch to semi-recline on, I brought her a cold pack, some hot tea, some cold water. Every 20 minutes or so, I would switch cold packs for her, to keep them chilled. Her father (the same one who was sharp earlier), said, "Boy, she's really eating up all that attention." I felt so sad for her hard life, that that little bit of kind effort was a big deal for her. She's the mother of two, wife of one, second in command for caring for her mother with Alzheimer's, and is a full time nurse on top of all that. Caregivers of the world, I salute you, and exhort you to get care yourself.
I want to give the two partial half gallons of ice cream away today, maybe our neighbors will take them. We sure don't need 'em.
You know what? For years I never hosted a Thanksgiving, because I didn't know how to roast a turkey, and didn't want to learn how. Come to find that I can host, and not be the one who makes it. I spoke up, and we found a solution that works.
And during the festivities, there were times when I thought, "I could go get on BetterMost for a few minutes," but knew it wouldn't be a good idea - you guys would win me over, and I'd have a hard time leaving.
