thanksgiving

Thanksgiving time!

(I'm still at my parents’ house. Despite getting the condo measured for carpet on November 6 and choosing carpets that were in stock, the soonest date for installation was December 8. I’ve hired movers for the end of that week, i.e., December 11. On the bright side, that means I'm still here for Thanksgiving with family.)

Jem and Shelvin drove down on Monday night, and we had an early Thanksgiving celebration on Tuesday. Shelvin seemed nice. We’re still basically at the small talk stage, but nice is nice, and she had some cute couple moments with Jem.

Mom’s Thanksgiving spread was extravagant (and thankfully my boss gave the green light on my project earlier that day, so I had no worries about receiving work calls during lunch). We had turkey with gravy, baked cheddar salmon, corn bake, little potatoes, and crescent rolls. There was also apple pie but we were all too full, so we had pie and ice cream for dinner.

By Wednesday we were ahead of the curve, munching on Thanksgiving leftovers while everyone else was still prepping their feasts. We had our traditional turkey broth with udon and cabbage for lunch. For dinner, we had a massive carb bonanza—pigs in blankets, leftover corn bake, and curly fries baked in my parents’ new air fryer. (This is Mom’s new toy, bought on Thanksgiving sale. She’s busy trying to figure out how to make every meal an air fryer meal.) And for lunch on Thursday, we had turkey pot pie with stuffing as topping. I unironically really enjoy leftovers, and Mom is great with finding creative ways to prepare them.

On Friday, we drove up to the condo and did some more moving. Jem had the all-important task of moving the computers. He was great at figuring out how to get everything safely packed in the boot, with cushioning so nothing would get jostled, and once we arrived at the condo he hooked them up to confirm they still worked. (Then he unhooked everything and moved it into the kitchen, because we still need the carpet done and the furniture moved before we can do the final setup.) I also appreciated how well he acts as a conversational buffer between myself and my parents. It’s excellent for harmonious living.

I also spent some time unpacking boxes, putting away food items in the pantry, hanging up clothes… it’s starting to feel a bit like home.