I have an ailing relative that just passed away from cancer last night (expected and peaceful) so there are logistics to juggle.
I'm sorry to hear this.
It makes me wonder how much my Mom kept inside her when she was pulling off holidays all those years.
I've often had those same type of questions. Things you don't even consider until you are going through it yourself. I have gained a better appreciation for many a family member.
Knocked out much shopping yesterday and am ready for Black Friday.
I did a fair bit of shopping online and spent a few hours in the store on Friday morning. I am happy with what's been done so far.
Thanksgiving was not at all what I had expected. My dh and children were unable to help with cleaning up until Thanksgiving morning. I had been warning everyone about my inability to do a lot of things and asking all along but I don't think they realized how serious things were until Thursday morning. Dh wanted to do the turkey differently this year. We usually put the turkey breast in the crockpot to warm up in gravy. However, dh wanted to do that in the oven instead. When 2 of our guests showed up an hour and 15 minutes early, the plans got so messed up.
Dh was washing the floor. He had just gotten out of the shower and wasn't fully dressed. I was cleaning up the microwave. My hair was still drying. I had no make up and I was wearing my cleaning clothes. The food was just being taken out of the refrigerator and had to be warmed up. Then we heard the door. Dh said that our friends were here. They walked in apologizing for being 15 minutes late. I'm like, "No, you're not late at all." I could have just fallen through the floor at that moment.
There was total chaos happening now. The children were scurrying around trying to finish the cleaning and getting themselves dressed. Dh and I were trying to figure out where to keep their two side dishes warm until 4 pm knowing that we still have to warm up our side dishes and turkey breast with gravy. As soon as the children finished dressing they started talking to our friends and I scooted out to get out of the work clothes and get ready. Meanwhile, dh put our side dishes in the oven to warm up alongside the turkey and gravy. The timing of putting the food in the oven was later than what we planned because of the early arrival and conversation. I came down and then he did a quick change. What I didn't realize was that the turkey breast was not covered so it started to dry out in the oven.
I quickly covered that and took a few pieces off the top. 30 minutes before dinner, the food was still cold so we cranked up the oven and kept an eye on things. 15 minutes before dinner, the food that was still cold was tossed into a bowl and microwaved for 5 minute intervals. It was about then that my parents arrived and then my brother. My parents had two side dishes that needed to be warmed up as well. As soon as they got situated, dh joined me in the kitchen and we worked on getting the crescent rolls into the oven. We put one tray of rolls in and the two side dishes. The other side dish was warmed up in the microwave. The other side dish was still steaming after being transported in a thermal carrier. We finally sat down around 4:20 or so for dinner. Every thing seemed fine from that point on.
Lessons learned:
- Give a reminder confirmation call or text on arrival time to our friends. The last time they came over, they were suppose to be at our house at 5:30 and they thought it was 6:30. The meat was very well done that night.
- Ask for food to be brought in a thermal food carrier and/or crock pot to free up oven space.