Thanksgiving

We're having our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. It's a Sunday lunch; not very traditional, I know, but then again, it's not a tradition at all in GB, so I'm allowed to bend the rules. It occurred to me only this morning that that means not only lots of cooking needs to be done but cleaning too! Our rug in our living room is covered in paint and food stains; I just can't bear the thought of getting on my hands and knees and cleaning it. Maybe if I'm feeling energetic enough tonight, I'll have Scott put Fifi to bed, and I'll get out the carpet cleaner. It's one of those jobs that has to wait until kids are away due to the chemicals, so it's not really putting it off.

I also need to clean the bathroom (not a big job, I know, but not enjoyable either), the kitchen (the floors could do a real mop, but since my wonderful mother bought me a 'swiffer sweeper' type thing, that job can be cut in half as far as effort goes) and the living room. The 'dining table' which is more a craft table than anything else will need seriously cleaned off, which is harder than it sounds as I have NO place to put things like my sewing machine other than there. I've also been meaning to go through Fifi's toy box and move some toys upstairs to clean the toy corner for the Christmas tree, so I might as well do that today too.

And I need to clear out the staircase. It's loaded down with things that need to go upstairs but have no place once they get there.

On top of house chores, I need to go to the grocery store to get a few things, and Fifi has Cameron's 4th birthday party to attend this afternoon. My hope beyond hopes is that she will nap around 12 until time to go to the party, which will give me some optimal cleaning time for tomorrow's festivities.

I'm also debating whether to do lots of cooking today and reheat tomorrow or just skip church and do it all in the morning. I think that's the most likely, except for maybe the pumpkin pie (though actually I really LOVE hot pumpkin pie straight from the oven). Oh my, if Thanksgiving weren't my favourite holiday of the year, I'd just let it slide this time, but no. I love it too much. It is worth the effort.

Though I cheated (as always) on the turkey. Usually I buy a frozen cooked crown breast, but our guest list is small this year, as I let Scott make it this time, so a crown breast is too much (not to mention too expensive). So I just bought some turkey steaks, and I'll bake them. I've never made a real, full turkey, and I'm not too bothered about trying anytime soon.

Let me just ask - does my overuse of parenthetic remarks drive you crazy? I'm a parenthesis girl; I even speak in them.