Thanksgiving change of plans

So, my mother in law decreed a couple of months ago, when we announced that we would not be renting our little cabin in the woods for Thanksgiving this year; and when we simultaneously found out that Dave's brother from Houston and his wife WOULD be up here for the holiday, that she would host the feast in her house if my sister in law and I would execute the rest of it.

I enthusiastically agreed.

The idea was that sister in law and I were to plan, shop, and cook, and mom would reimburse us, set the table, provide the bread...and then I added that the guys would then have clean up duty because ... well... they need to do SOMETHING.

SO, weeks in advance, I tried to get with my sister in law via facebook to start the planning.

Unfortunately, the most I could get her to say was that she would bring a pie.  She did repeat that offer a couple of times, though, for emphasis.

Okay then.

So, I ended up doing the planning of the meal, and the shopping list, Dave did the shopping because he had already scheduled this week off from work for our canceled trip to the cabin....and I just assumed I would be doing all of the cooking.

Which is FINE because I live for this cooking stuff.

Anyway, in his shopping expedition, Dave met a bit of a snag when he failed in his attempt to find a 12-15 pound turkey.

The SMALLEST one that was left by the time he shopped on Tuesday was.... 21 pounds.

I have never in my life cooked a huge turkey.  I've done chickens, and turkey breasts, but never a behemoth like this.

Fortunately, it fits, barely, in my  big-ass roasting pan.

Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, I made my sister's cranberry orange compote, and I pre-assembled my late ex mother in law's AWESOME from scratch ain't no canned soup up in there green bean casserole, and I got advice from friends no how to cook a giant turkey, and I had a plan.

Rinse the turkey, loosen the breast skin, rub with herbed butter (which I do with chickens and turkey breasts anyway).  Then, PRE SEAR at high temp to brown the skin....THEN put in a chopped onion and apple, and apply my traditional bacon weave while the oven cools down to 350.  THEN back in for the long roast.

I took a xanax and went to bed, and slept for the first time all week.

Woke up Thanksgiving day, showered, loaded the car, and off we went to Mom and Dad Bowen's house.

The bird needs about 4 to 5 hours, I figure (after that initial browning), at a relatively slow heat, so it doesn't dry out.  Yep.  We'd be there all day, with really not THAT much to do except hang out.

SO we get there, and I open the oven and look in.

A feeling of dread overcomes me.  I ask Dave to test to see if the thing will FIT in the oven.

It did not.

Nope.

The electric coils are too low, and the door won't close.  If left in there long enough to even partially cook, the bird would be burned on top, and raw in the middle.

I look at my sister in law, she looks at me.

I leave her with the mostly pre-made casserole, and the potatoes.  She agrees that she can wash, oil, and wrap the potatoes in foil, and put them in the oven....and put the casserole in when it's time.  I will call her when it's time.

And we come home to start roasting the turkey HERE, because that's our only option.

Sigh.

But here, in my own home, I can swear like a sailor if I need to, and I can have some alcoholic beverages (neither is allowed at the in laws' house).... and I can listen to "Alice's Restaurant."  Twice, if I want to.

And when the bird is done, we will pack it up and take it back down to their house.

The worst part about this, though, is that Dave is missing the chance to hang out with his brother.  That sucks.

(oh, and p.s. the bird browned beautifully at 500 degrees for a half hour, now it's roasting with the bacon drape and the house smells like heaven)


Happy (American) Thanksgiving, dear readers!

shit

I finally start to see the light at the end of the stress tunnel...and BAM.  Abnormal mammorgram.

Fuck.

More news when there is some.

UPDATE 11/22/13--called as soon as they opened and got my appointment.  I have to wait until 12/9.  Bullshit.  But she said it's the end of the year, everyone's trying to get in under their current deductible.  

She was ready to hang up, and I said "so can you tell me anything at all?"  and she apologized and said that they see an asymmetry. That's one I haven't heard before.

This visit will involve more compression views and an ultrasound.  I hate the ultrasound.  It's extremely unpleasant... think of a "wand" the size of the top of a pop bottle, being poked into your boob tissue, that is, in my case, already tender and lumpy.  When they find the spot, the shove it in as hard as they can to get the view they need.  It's horrible.  I'd much rather have the focus compression thing done.

So that's that.

Perspective

Over the 4 years that I've been down here (the anniversary of my move was in Sept...on Autumn Equinox, when we were in Colorado), I've commented about many of the things that I have seen here that I never, or rarely at best, saw back home.

Like the sheer number of people who are morbidly obese.  Or cars without bumpers.  Or cars that are never, ever washed.

Pump jacks.

Droves of homeless people sleeping in the street, or the park, or behind the convenience store.

Buildings that look abandoned but aren't.  Buildings that SHOULD be abandoned, but aren't.

Utter, unspeakable devastation of neighborhoods, homes, and schools by the biggest tornado ever recorded.  Saw this with my own eyes, a mere mile from where my in-laws live, and could not speak for hours.  Just wept in complete astonishment.

Incredibly run down neighborhoods RIGHT around the corner from, well, MY neighborhood.

Drug addicts standing at the Red Box at our Walgreens, with the shakes so bad that they can't press the buttons.

Drunks wandering the parking lot at Target.  Or begging on the corner.

Junkies lurking in the parking lot where I work, waiting to jump out and yell "GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!" (note: this did not happen to me, but to someone who works in my building this past Thursday morning)

The worst examples of humanity that I have ever encountered in my life seem to live here. No lie.

Okay, fine.

So.

There's more of that here than back in the pristine suburbs of Chicago, where I wasn't afraid to go walking at night, or grocery shopping by myself, or....well....pretty much anything.

You know how we always think that home is always the best, right?

But what else is there?

What else have I seen here that I've never, or rarely at best, ever seen back home?

The color that a bald cypress tree turns in the fall.  Oh my gosh.  I had no idea.  It's gorgeous!

The most amazing skies, sunsets, and storm clouds.  Every season of the year.

Sweet gum trees that grow HUGE, and have the most stunning autumn foliage imaginable.

The way the sky is reflected in the Devon Energy tower that has been built since I arrived. I was dead set against it...it would RUIN the quaint "it wants to be a big city but isn't" sky line.... but now that it's here, I kind of dig it.

Scissor Tailed Fly Catchers...capital letters intentional, because MY GOD they're amazing!!!  I LOVE THEM!

Hawks circling over urban developments.  All the time.  Like it's normal.  Because, to them, it is.

Red dirt.  It's really quite pretty!

The spirit of people who have been challenged over and over and over again by the harsh weather that comes across this region.  I am left without words when I see what they will do for one another after the latest disaster.

And there will always be another disaster.  Because that's where we live.

Cowboys.  There are real, actual cowboys, in hats and wearing spurs.  At the grocery store.  Or the restaurant. It's kind of cool.

And another thing?  There are still gentlemen here.  They call me "ma'am," and they step aside for me, or open the door for me.  It's truly remarkable.  That is something that I lamented about back home on MANY an occasion.

I now work for emergency medical services.  And I have to say, there are some of THE BEST looking EMT's on the planet in this town!  And I get to see them every day!  Wow.  It's nice!

Okay, enough about the men.

I guess my point is....over these 4 years of difficult transition, I've come to realize that not EVERYTHING about being here is hard, or sucks, or lacks something.

I have learned to appreciate what I can, and most DEFINITELY what I HAVE....because that just keeps getting better.

And I have taught myself, through daily gratitude exercises, to open my eyes to everything that's good, and beautiful, and worthy about this place.  Where I am now.  Where I will be for a long time to come.

To reconcile it into the next phase of becoming who I am again.

A long journey, not always pleasant, but good.  In the long run, good.  And for goodness sake, look at how PRETTY that bald cypress is!

Spa Rules for visitors to the Dragons' Roost

This post is for any and all potential visitors who may choose to use our tiny spa.

It is also for US to remember all of the steps we need to take in order to be able to fully enjoy our investment.

This spa is almost the smallest one made, with a low horsepower motor, and small filters.  Due to that, we have to be hyper vigilant about how we treat and maintain the water.  We learned this lesson the hard way the first week we had the spa.

This sounds like we're being control freaks, but seriously, it's expensive and a pain in the ass to have to drain, clean, and refill the tub every week!  The water quality should last months, not days.

So this is serious.  We mean it.

1.  If possible, plan ahead, and do not use lotions, oils, body sprays, perfumes, or deodorant on the day you plan to use the spa.  If there is conditioner or styling product in your hair, keep it out of the tub!  No, seriously.  Put it up so it's not in the water!

2.  Shower without soap before coming over, or if you're staying over, before entering the spa.   This is regardless of your non-use of personal care products earlier that day.  Even if you didn't use deodorant, shower anyway.

If you need to use soap to remove deodorant, lotions, and body sprays, do an extra rinse of your entire body afterward, to be sure that the maximum removal of soap residue has been attempted.  

Ladies- if you're wearing face make up, please consider removing it before entering the spa.  

3. Wash all swimwear in the rinse cycle only-- without softener or detergent.  It's a swim suit...it shouldn't be very dirty.  If you're pulling your swim wear out of a dresser and MIGHT have washed it with detergent last summer....please rinse it completely in plain water before wearing it in the spa.

4. Unfortunately, swim wear is required at the Dragons' Roost.  Neighbors are very close.

5.  Bring and wear flip flops or other water proof shoes up to the edge of the spa.  Then wipe your feet before stepping in.  If you need to exit the spa and then return again, use the flip flops to keep your feet as clean as possible, and then use the towel next to the spa step to wipe your feet completely before re-entering.

6.  Any and all dragons MUST refrain from washing their kills in the spa, or from eating while in the spa.  NO exceptions.

7. Lastly, when drying off and going back into the house, please try NOT to leave water on the wood floors.  Please try to dry off as much as possible in the laundry room.  

The minions of the Dragons' Roost thank you, most heartily, for your complete cooperation in this regard!  

Bliss

Yeah, so having our own little hot tub on the back patio is bliss.

Truly.

SO worth the expense.

Dave's son has a new girlfriend.  We've thought he'd met "the one" once before, but this time, it seems different.

They came over last night, and we sat in the tub together for almost 2 hours, until the heating unit couldn't keep up, and the cool October wind drove us inside.

Last night was only our second chance to use the tub, because Friday night was in the 30's and raining.  In the 30's would have been fine, but not with the rain pissing down.

Our other, and smallest home improvement project with this loan was to replace the bathroom sink.

The one that was put in here when the house was renovated was fine, but the bathroom is pretty small, and the old sink sort of stuck out, so that you were afraid you might hit your jaw on it when you go to sit on the toilet!
Especially if any alcohol use had been a part of your day.

SO...Dave picked out a nice little sink with a vanity that matches the medicine cabinet and the little cabinet up over the toilet, and he changed it out himself with no complications.

The bathroom does seem roomier now, and less dangerous.

Plus?  My bathroom cleaning products are not sitting out on the floor next to the toilet anymore.  I can put them away!

In other news, things have improved ever so slightly in my desk situation at work.

My boss found me a chair that isn't broken, and that raises up high enough for me to have less arm pain.  It's designed to raise up, and even has a built on ring around the bottom for my feet to rest on.

She had one of the desk construction crew try to fit on a keyboard tray that was in storage at the office, but it was WAY too big for my tiny spot.  However, the highchair effect is helping somewhat.

Also, the panel of my desk that was damaged was replaced last week when the crew was there.

But still no storage cabinets, and even though they installed the decorative glass panels on EVERYONE else's desks last week, mine did not come in.

That's because my desk is too small, and the glass now has to be "special" ordered.  Same reason I don't have cabinets yet.

What I don't get is that, while CLEARLY, one of these desks is not like the others, this fact has escaped the planners/installers, and oh gosh, we don't have anything THAT size....  really?

You didn't know months ago, when you drew the plans, that the very last desk built was going to be tiny?

Anyway, all of this was what caused my boss to finally notice that my desk REALLY IS the smallest....how could a simple keyboard tray be TOO BIG?  And how come the cabinets are still not here, and where's your glass??

Not that I give a shit about useless, expensive glass panels-- the money for which COULD have been spent on, oh, you know, a drawer or something.

These units have no drawers.  All they have is the overhead storage cabinets.

ANYWAY...the job itself continues to seem to be going really well.  My project management skills have been put to the test, and I have passed, so far.  It's been a challenge, but that's way better than being bored.

I'm also learning a lot about certain processes.

The position of manager has been created and someone hired for it, but I am the only staff person NOT reporting to the new manager.

My boss said that is because she needs me to work more closely and directly with her in future, and she needed EVERYONE ELSE to be out of her hair.  Her exact words.

I wonder what that means, though.  Being groomed for an assistant position or something?  Or perhaps this is a test project, and I am going to be made full time project manager if all goes well...which it seems to be doing?
I understand project managers make real money.

Not holding my breath, but it seems positive.  It's clear that I am going to be doing SOMETHING different from everyone else, if I won't climb the same reporting chain as everyone else.


Okay, off to roast the chicken that I was supposed to cook yesterday, but that didn't thaw in time.

the purpose of the patio

Notice the power cord?  Yeah.  The electrician comes tomorrow to give an estimate.  We should have this baby up and running by next weekend, though!

The Dragons' Roost gets a new drive way, front steps, and patio!

The driveway was crumbling, with deep holes up closer to the house

All gone!!

Patio outlined and framed

All smoothed out and ready for the pour

Front steps framed 

 nice butt, concrete guy

Had to

Patio, cured and ready for the tub...it's going on that shady corner on the right

Driveway and steps, fully cured