November 26, 2004

After Alice, Larry, and Albert left at 8:30 on Friday morning, JoAnna and I spent most of the rest of the day staying put, for the most part. We didn’t join the throngs at West Towne Mall or any other shopping center. It’s not as if the stores aren’t going to have any more sales for the rest of the year. With only the boys and each other left to shop for, we can take care of this section of our Christmas gift list when the aisles aren’t clogged with bug-eyed, drooling berserkos. Monday evenings are nice; it’s almost as if you have whatever store you’re in all to yourself.

I walked to the library at 9:00, having two reasons in mind for getting out of the house for awhile. First of all, I just wanted to get some exercise after Thanksgiving’s gluttony and lethargy. Secondly, I hoped to be able to make arrangements to take day off. I was scheduled for work at the reference desk for only three hours, from 3:00 to 6:00, which hardly seemed worth the effort. Fortunately, Liz and Pat were agreeable to splitting the 9 hours of coverage.

Except for a midafternoon excursion to buy groceries for our dinner party the following day, JoAnna and I spent the day reading, watching TV, and eating leftovers. JoAnna suggested I try an “easy-as-pie” recipe that had been demonstrated on The Today Show. Mix together turkey, stuffing, vegetables, and gravy. Press into a baking pan. Cover with a layer of mashed potatoes. Bake until the crust is a light golden brown. Even Eddie served himself a healthy portion for lunch. We had so much leftover food that I was able to make a second casserole on Sunday. JoAnna made a large pot of turkey soup with homemade noodles and, at Eddie’s request, a turkey pot pie. This last item was placed in the freezer so that we wouldn’t experience a severe case of turkey overload.

Andy was the only family member to have anything approaching an active day. He had a basketball practice from 10:00 until 12:00 and then played a “neighborhood” football game, a light rain falling the entire time, until the midafternoon. The lousy weather, with rain continuing well into the evening, is why JoAnna and I took a pass on a 45-minute walk through the Pheasant Branch nature preserve, one of our favorite exercise routes. As an alternative late-afternoon activity, I was unable to convince JoAnna to see a movie – Sideways, the artsy new movie by the director of About Schmidt. Some friends from out of town had planned to drop by during the evening, but they ended up attending a later showing of The Polar Express with their 2 young children and, as a result, rescheduled for Saturday morning.