#250 - Don't Like Sunny Thanksgivings

No Fire Today

I actually love sunshine, I just didn't want to state the obvious. (I don't like pandemic Thanksgivings)

But, I also prefer cool and cloudy Thanksgivings. It was in the fifties when I stepped out at 7, but the temps rose to 80 and sun poured in the windows all day. No Thanksgiving fire, this year.

Peaceful Day

Most people are having altered Thanksgivings this year. Don and I have had a few quiet ones, in our 41 years. I wasn't too worried.

There was actually something extra peaceful about the holiday. We knew our kids and the rest of our family, were also celebrating safely in their homes. The day felt simple and uncomplicated.
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Macy's Parade

At 9 the sun was heating up the family room. Don put on a ball cap so he could see the parade on TV. Watching the parade made the day feel normal... sort of. It was odd to see the Rockettees wearing masks. It was strange to see no crowds. The parade was virtual, with much pre-recorded. 

The best part of the parade was knowing others were watching too. I talked to my Dad at 9:00 and reminded him to turn it on. His assisted living facility is on lockdown again. His T-Day meal will be brought to his room. He needs a parade, today. 

We texted with the kids 2 hours later, when they watched on the west coast. Lots of commenting on the musical acts. "Did you see Dolly Parton?" "Did you hear she donated money to one of the vaccines?"

Cooking

We kept it simple, but we also had nothing but time. I could have made a dozen pies.

But, I made one pumpkin pie and one tiny apple pie. Two plates, two forks. Everything felt easy.

Don smoked a turkey breast. Not only was it incredibly good, but it kept the oven free.

Turkey Zoom

In the late afternoon, we did some zooming with family.

We didn't quite get all our family together, but we represented households in CA, OR, TX, NY, CO and ID! This was my favorite part of the day. A lot of laughing and some good political discussion. But we also shared some sincere thanks. These past months have made us all feel grateful for good health and each other.

Feast in the Dining Room

Our meal wasn't over the top, but it included our favorites. We ate in the dining room. We haven't eaten in this room since the pandemic began.

We sat at the same round table that I sat at as a kid, for every holiday meal. For pretty much every dinner, actually. My memories of this table involve 6 different homes in 6 different states. Oh how I wish I knew the stories from when this table belonged to my mother's grandparents!

Johnny Appleseed

Don and I used a tripod and took a video. We toasted and then did something that made us laugh. 

We sang Johnny Appleseed, the song that we sang with our kids, before many holiday feasts. I'm not sure when the tradition started, but it was always done with great gusto. We would belt out the old prayer song, with no plans about who would carry the melody and who would do harmony. Sometimes our harmonies clashed and left us laughing. Sometimes the harmony magically worked out and we'd hold the last notes till we were out of breath.

Don and I sounded pretty pitiful with just 2 voices. In fact we both ended up on the same note, so no harmony. But we laughed and smiled and then dug into our meal.

Happy Thanksgiving 2020!
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