Black Friday - or - Doing Our Part for the Economy

(left to right, back: Jen, Karen, Mom (peeking!), Denise; front: Lisa, Kristen and Jenny.)

One of the holiday traditions in my family is the Mom&Daughters shopping trip on Black Friday while the Dads do something fun with the kids (this year they went go-kart riding). We have been doing this for years and even though we are all cutting back on our spending this year my mom, my sisters and I still made our annual trek to the mall.

We went to The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks, California, and as you can see from the photo we did do SOME damage to our wallets!

We also had a fun lunch together, enjoyed the valet parking, and got in some always enjoyable sister-time. This is the first time in several years that all 5 of us sisters were here so it was an extra-special day! Included in the trip was Karen's friend, Jen, and Denise's daughter, Jenny. I am not in the photo since I was behind the camera so here is a photo of me from the following day when Mike and I took a drive to the southern cali coast:I hope you all had an equally wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Just Another Manic Monday

Even though I no longer work a normal (aka boring) Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 job, it still seems to me that Mondays are the most likely day of the week for things to go awry. And those telephone calls that throw carefully made plans into total confusion? I generally get those on Mondays, too.

So, Mike called this morning from onboard the Chat de Mer and reported that he and Leo were offshore just past Morro Bay, clipping steadily along at 6.5 knots and, at that pace, they were estimating a Richmond marina arrival early tomorrow evening.

Wha'???

When I got the call I was at the Benicia library picking up an audio book to listen to while I made the long drive to Simi Valley to spend the Thanksgiving holiday at my parent's home. I was heading down a few days early in order to help my mom with the myriad preparations necessary to host 40+ family members for turkey dinner. My bags were packed and in the car. I had said goodbye to the cats. The housesitter was due sometime this afternoon. In fact, if I hadn't been behind schedule by about an hour, I'd have probably been halfway to Tracy when I got Mike's call.

Ok, so if you've been reading this blog for awhile you have probably already figured out that this is yet another chapter in the Baja Ha-Ha-2008-with-Captain-Leo saga. That man has changed the schedule numerous times each time causing confusion and cancellations and other general chaos. I'd truly like to kick his . . . well, you get the idea.

My options were to stick to my original plan and get on the road, or wait for Mike and then he and I could leave early early Wed'day a.m. and go to Simi Valley together. I spent a brief period pacing in the library parking lot trying to convince Mike to make Leo put him ashore some place where I could pick him up on my way south. Mike didn't go for it, probably because he knew it would be incredibly difficult (but not impossible, surely!) for Leo to single-hand that huge catamaran (the third crew member that was originally on-board jumped ship in Cabo San Lucas). And Mike doesn't go back on his word or quit and desert just because the going has gotten tough (as is obvious; after all, he's still married to me, heh heh).

What to do, what to do? Go alone now, or wait a couple days and go . . . what was that word . . . together?

I called the housesitter and explained the change in plans. She was really nice about it and will now come over on Wed'day instead of today. Then I called my mom and told her the new plan. There's disappointment all around but in the end I'd rather be there with Mike than without him. If we get there in the early afternoon on Wed'day there's still time to be of some help with dinner preparations (and now there will be two of us to help). AND Mike will be there to perform his own very special duty; that of removing all the meat from the turkey carcasses. My mom says no one else can do it as well.

It was just plain weird to come back home and unpack the car. The cats seemed glad to see me although maybe they just wanted some of the string cheese I was eating. But I'm adjusting to the new schedule now and starting to get excited about Mike's arrival. He has been gone since mid-October. He's anxious to get home, too. Originally he was to have been gone about 7 weeks. I think they have actually only been gone about 5 weeks, though it seems longer. In order to accommodate Leo's latest need-to-be-home-by date he and Mike have been running the Chat de Mer's two engines continuously since San Diego and they won't be stopping until they're back home.

San Diego to San Francisco in one straight shot!

That's a tough push and not for the faint of heart. Mike even said it was a good thing I hadn't gone on the trip, and I agree. I don't think I could have stood the stress of round-the-clock motoring and night after night after night after night of nightwatches and sleeping only 2 or 3 hours at a time. I'd have probably jumped overboard! It's unfortunate that Leo, for whatever reasons, turned what could have been a great trip into such an ordeal.

Still, it's a nice surprise, to have Mike home for Thanksgiving, after all!

Let the Turkey Hoarding Begin

My first conscious thought this morning was "Turkeys go on sale at Safeway today!" With any $25 purchase I could buy up to two turkeys for $5.99 each (up to 16 lbs.) or $7.99 each (over 16 lbs.). While supplies last, of course!

So the first item on my To-Do List for today was "Buy turkeys at Safeway." I was there by 9 a.m. and already there was a crowd around the turkey bin! But it was a friendly crowd, retirees and stay-at-home-Moms, and others with schedules flexible enough to be at the grocery store on a weekday morning.

I bought two of the larger turkeys, each over 18 lbs. They're frozen, which is fine, because they have gone straight into my freezer. We won't be cooking them anytime soon. Since we always go to my Mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner the turkeys we buy are often not cooked until after the holidays. That's why I call it "turkey hoarding." We buy them at the great holiday sale prices and then save them in the freezer until January or February.

If you've never cooked a turkey dinner with all the trimmings in January or February, or even March or April, you're missing out! Just the smell of the turkey cooking makes an ordinary day feel like a holiday. It's especially fun to do this smack in the middle of the week.

Of course, this year, since Mike is off on his sailing trip and will miss Thanksgiving, we'll probably cook a turkey in mid-December, after he returns.

Hm, I think I'd better go buy a couple more turkeys!