I love Thanksgiving. I love it almost as much as Christmas, but maybe even more because there is no pressure of giving gifts. You can just eat, drink and be merry, all while enjoying time with your family. Now that is my kind of holiday.
Keeping in line with my previous post, my mother goes above and beyond when it comes to holidays. There is always so much food that we pile it on our plates and have to come back for seconds just to sample everything. Not that anyone is really twisting our arms to come back for seconds, we do so willingly. It's no shock that eating copious amounts of food and drinking glasses and glasses of wine can make everyone a teeny bit sleepy. Inevitably, deep in the throws of a Turkey coma, one of us will crawl on the living room floor and lay down. Here is where our infamous holiday tradition comes in. We will see our sibling, in a moment of weakness, and will literally jump on their backs and initiate a pig pile. This has been going on for as long as I can remember and I have no intentions of letting it end soon. I have pictures of me as a little kid, stuck on the bottom with my three grown siblings laying on top of me. Nowadays, my nieces will fight over who gets to be on the bottom, little do they know it's only a matter of time before they are big enough that we'll actually become dead weight instead of bracing ourselves, like we do now.
Now would have been a really good time to show a picture of this years' pig pile, but I don't have one. I do however have a picture of the stellar, borderline perfect cheese platter I made. I think cheese is pretty much the greatest thing ever. I've heard people say that you are either a chocolate or cheese person, and hands down I would rather give up chocolate forever than give up cheese for a week. Nay A DAY. When asked to bring something to a friends house, or to a party, or bring something for Thanksgiving, I always opt for cheese.
I got a little mozzarella and tomato salad, sharp cheddar (my absolute favorite), two types of goat cheese, apple chutney, almonds, cranberries and grape leaves. I could have most definitely eaten this entire platter by myself, but thankfully or not thankfully, depending on how you look at it, my family came just in time to share. I am sure that my cholesterol thanks you.
{You can see my mom's favorite napkins next to the cheese tray. They are one of those Anne Taintor designs, and it's of a very prim blond woman, hugging a tall, dark and handsome man, with the caption 'I feel a sin coming on'. Yes, these are my mother's favorite.}
Christine's friends live in the house next door, she actually lived there 12 years ago, and that is how her and my brother Eddie met. We spent a good amount of time hanging outside, chatting and watching the kids run in the street. Kidding, they were mostly in the driveway. Here is a shot of me and Miss Abby. She is 4, how does she even know what a peace sign is? She is already a much better poser than I'll ever be.
The celebrating went into the wee hours when more neighbors came over for a visit. The wine and champagne were still flowing, which would prove deadly for my head the next morning. And my stomach, and just my general well being. We wrapped up the kibitzing and I tucked myself into bed, maybe my mother tucked me in, I'm not really sure. I had my alarm set bright and early for the next morning and I needed my beauty sleep. What a great day!
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