Wake up Thanksgiving morning on the late side: 10 a.m. Still trying to shake this cold. My throat is hoarse; my eyes sting. The phone is ringing off the hook with friends and relatives calling to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. T puts me on with my brother J who is hosting dinner at his house. "Mmm...you sound awful." I sound like something out of The Exorcist, in fact.
Have Bran Buds, skim milk and a whole banana for breakfast. So far, so good.
My brother, who normally asks us to come at 3:30 p.m., tells us to be there at 2 p.m. for the "mashed potato bar". T and I send the boys ahead and I use the time to take a steam shower. At 2 p.m., I have a 3-point Fage Greek yogurt with peach. Excellent. I'm satisfied and maybe even a little full.
We arrive at my brother's house with five pies, a coconut cake (for his birthday--his favorite cake). The mashed potato bar was a huge success. Glasses of mashed potatoes with 8 different toppings. I'm so glad I missed that. The Patriots are playing on the big screen television in the family room. A huge platter of cheese, crackers, nuts and grapes are there. I go into the other room and pour myself some seltzer water. Find my sister in law's sister in the quiet room (the living room) sitting by the fireplace. Nothing but powdered dates in there. Wouldn't eat them if they were the last food on Earth. Figured it is safe to be there. Catch up with the sister in law who says I look "terrific". I think I'll stay here longer than planned.
By 4:30, I start to get hungry. Go into the family room where my sons, nephew and mother are sitting. Have a piece of cheese. Then some nuts. Then another piece of cheese. Stop myself and get another glass of seltzer.
Dinner is served around 5 p.m. The plan was to have turkey, a little cranberry sauce and some peas and one yam. Here's what I have:
turkey, cranberry sauce , a tablespoon of mashed potatoes, some gravy (and I don't even like gravy), some stuffing, a tablespoon of corn and peas, a tablespoon of Betsy's vegetable and cheese casserole and her squash/raisin/brown sugar casserole and some creamed onions. It all is excellent. Better than I've ever remembered.
Having overdosed at the dinner table, I put myself on KP doing the dishes. When the desserts come out, don't you think I was one of the first at the table? I get a sample of pumpkin, pecan and chocolate pie. Put those in a dish and give 3/4 to my mother and eat 1/4 of one slice of each. Someone offers me a something-tini drink (my sister-in-law's family makes everything trendy...appletinis, blueberry martinis, etc. I almost died when an aunt ordered Sex on the Beach several years back). This one is with white chocolate liquor. Vile, but I drink about 2 oz of it.
By 8 p.m., we head home. I had eaten more in this one day than I do in 2 or 3 days. What got into me, I wonder.
Maybe it's the cold. Don't they say "Starve a fever, feed a cold"?
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