So, this post was supposed to go out early last week. I’d written most of it on the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving. I expected to get up early last Monday, polish it up and post it. Well, that didn’t happen. Instead, I spent the day in bed watching Ancient Aliens hoping that I was just having a reaction to my Covid shot and that I hadn’t actually contracted the flu. Because It felt like I had the flu!
By Tuesday afternoon, I was 90 percent better, but by then I was running way behind on everything else and I hadn’t gotten back to this post; so it would have been at least Wednesday before I could have gotten this out. At that point, I decided it would wait until Sunday (which is today!) So even though it’s a week late getting out, it still holds up. It’s been a crazy week, y’all!
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Last Sunday (a week ago today), I finally remembered — Oh, yeah. I still haven’t gotten my Covid shot. The idea, of course, is to get it BEFORE a large family gathering. But better late than never, which seems to be a recurring theme in my life at the moment.
I remembered this after I’d talked Lauren into going with me to get a chai tea latte (CTL.) She finally acquiesced (she had a ton to get done that day), and we ended up going to a coffee shop she’s been to several times but I’d never been to before. There’s something special about having a chai tea latte on a cold day. A front had moved through our area and we were chilled to the bone. So we sat at the coffee shop and made plans (both of us had notebooks with us) while we sipped from our cups, which warmed us up. She was planning out her week. I was planning out this blog post.
From my notebook on things to write about:
Thanksgiving 2023
- Meeting Lauren’s boyfriend for the first time (He impressed!)
- Ham, Turkey and more Turkey
- LAUREN DID NOT BRING BANANA PUDDING!
- Go COWBOYS!
- My Brussel Sprout salad (it tasted fine, but I won’t be making it again)
- Surprise massage
- Campfire at the end of the day with a retelling of our grandson’s prank of pretending to get electrocuted (which you can read about here if you’d like)
- No drama (so nice for a change — but there could have been if I weren’t so darned easygoing.)
Other things I thought to write about:
- Haven’t started my query letter or synopsis yet
- Deviled eggs
- Tiniest cup of CTL ever
- Moving Winona (my metal hoosier cabinet) — she’s put on weight since I last moved her
- Covid shot
Thanksgiving Day
I’ll just say that we survived Thanksgiving on Thursday and it was fairly low-key. We enjoyed meeting Lauren’s new boyfriend. Just like in the story of Goldilocks’, he seems “just right.” Not too much nor too little. I hope he remains that way, too.
The Cowboy game was fun to watch. Go Cowboys!
Also, my daughter-in-law’s sister was giving out free massages. She’s not a professional, but if she ever decided to change careers, she could be. She has strong hands, and those ten minutes that she worked on my neck and shoulders were sheer bliss!
Friday
The Friday after Thanksgiving was one of those days that wasn’t. At least it wasn’t for David, Ry and Lauren. I got a tremendous amount of work done at home in terms of “fall cleaning.” The rest of the family were still in food comas or were simply exhausted from the day before, I presume, because no one was really up and about until around 5 PM — that is, except me. Which was fine because sometimes I get the most done when I’m by myself.
Saturday
David finally got his deviled eggs. Someone usually makes and brings them to Thanksgiving, but that didn’t happen this year. Instead, David got his deviled egg fix on Saturday.
I don’t make deviled eggs that often, but when I do, I tend to experiment. I’ve never been able to duplicate the way my Mom made hers, but I keep trying. Sometimes they turn out really good. Sometimes they’re just okay. And this batch was fine, but who wants deviled eggs that are just “fine?”
They needed zhuzhing — so in a moment of inspiration, I made a last minute addition to the basic mixture. They were the best deviled eggs I’ve ever made, y’all! While they’re still not like my mom’s, that’s okay. I now have my own recipe that’s a keeper. My secret? I added crumbled up French’s onion rings. That made all the difference! Those eggs didn’t last long.
Also, I read this hack that makes it much easier to peel your hardboiled eggs.
Sunday
Early Sunday morning, we decided to move a few things out of Lauren’s current storage stall and into her new, smaller storage stall because she’s decided to downsize. When Lauren moved into the house that was my old art studio a few years ago, she wanted to use certain pieces of furniture I kept there. In particular, she was hoping she could use Winona, which is what I named the metal hoosier cabinet I bought around twenty years ago.
When Lauren moved out of that place, she rented a storage facility and that’s where Winona’s been since. I’m still not sure how we did it, but we managed to take Winona apart, get her back to our home and reassemble her. All I can say is that the old girl seems to have put on a few pounds. She was a beast to move and it was a helluva work out.
Later as Lauren and I sat at this coffee shop, we got what seemed to me to be the dinkiest chai tea lattes I’ve ever had. It’s good to try new places out and I’ll take Lauren’s word for it that they have great coffee, but for the price and the size of what we got, I won’t be back.
Errands to Run
As we were leaving the coffee shop, Lauren said she had several errands to run. One of them was at the grocery store/pharmacy. And that reminded me that I still hadn’t gotten my Covid shot yet. So, both Lauren and I did. David had already taken care of Ryan’s and his weeks ago.
Monday
My family tolerates this inoculation much better than I do. I was bedridden for a full twenty-four plus hours. I kept reminding myself during my body aches, fever, massive headache and chills that short-term pain is better than, you know … death. And I don’t know if it’s true, but I’ve heard that if you have a strong reaction to the shot, that means that you have a strong immune system.
Boy, do I have a strong immune system.
Anyway, that’s one more thing off of my to do list.
Have a great week ahead!
TTFN,
Mona
PS — I hope last week was great for y’all and this week (first full week of December is just as amazing!)
Love this version of Silent Night by Enya!
Mona, sounds like an action-packed time…except of course when your immune system was working overtime. Been there. Done that. Our Eagles are looking forward to visiting your Cowboys next week, but we have some work to do today against the 49ers. Hopefully, both Dallas and Philly will have all their players as healthy as can be and put on a great show. I love deviled eggs, and that sounds like a pretty cool way to give them some zing. Wishing you a great week ahead and thanks for the Enya…hadn’t heard that in awhile!
Bruce,
The Eagles have been amazing and they’re always fun to watch, except, of course, when they’re beating up on da boys. But I’m with you — hope it’s a great game! And I’m glad you enjoyed Enya today! Have a great week ahead! Mona
I’m sorry the vaccine took you out of commission; but I’m glad you got it! I don’t think COVID is quite done with us yet, honestly.
Hey Gigi,
I’ve heard that it’s here to stay but that each new strain is less potent. Not that I’m willing to take a chance! 😏
You’ve made me hungry for deviled eggs (I haven’t had any in years)!
Neil,
Hope you get a chance to satisfy that hunger! Have a great week ahead! Mona
Often at family gatherings there’ll be a tray of a dozen or more deviled eggs and I’ll look at it and say, “So no one else is having any?” Because I could eat a million deviled eggs and, over my lifetime so far, I think I have. Anyway we didn’t have any for Thanksgiving–all the hardboiled eggs went into asparagus casserole–but I might have to make some myself and try your recipe.
Also I want to know about your Brussel Sprout salad. I’m glad it tasted fine but why won’t you make it again? Too much trouble? Just not good enough to stand up against the other dishes? I feel bad for the sprouts from Belgium.
And surely where you live there’s a place that serves good coffee and reasonably sized chai tea lattes.
Chris,
Ooh, I love asparagus casserole. We had that at our Thanksgiving, too! I hope you sis-in-law’s horse appreciated the carrot (or was that an apple?) 🙂
As I said above, I always seem to experiment with my deviled eggs. I started with the basic mayonnaise and yellow mustard mixture and then I went from there. This last batch I made included a spear of finely minced dill pickle with a small splash of pickle juice, about a teaspoon of horseradish, a little cayenne, dill weed and caraway seed. Not sure how much cayenne, dill weed or caraway seed I used. Start small and add a little at a time until you like the way it tastes would be my advice. Then I added bacon bits (from the jar) I think I used about half the jar, and the flavor was good, but it still wasn’t enough. That’s when I crumbled up some French’s onion rings to the mixture! That was my Eureka moment! Again, I’m not sure how many of the onion rings I added! Again, I suggest you start with a small, palm-sized amount, give them a good crumble, add in, stir and try it. Add more if you think it needs more. I added a little more, but I didn’t want that to overpower the entire mixture, I wanted to enhance it. Also, I don’t know if caraway seed appeals to you or some of the other things I listed, but I suggest you experiment on your own and see what works for you. Some people are purists and messing with the original recipe is sacrilege. Thankfully, my family’s a little more flexible. Smoked paprika sprinkled on top rounded things up. I made a dozen. Ryan won’t eat deviled eggs (he hates mayonnaise) which meant that David, Lauren and I had 8 halves each. Like I said, they went fast! That reminds me, I should write this up into a recipe so I won’t forget for next time.
The Brussels sprout salad was okay. I was going to make roasted Brussels sprouts and I should have stuck with that. Again, the salad was good, but it reminded me of eating coleslaw, which I like, just not at Thanksgiving. I got a couple of nice compliments, but after sitting for a long time, it tended to darken, which I found unappealing. Anyway, here’s where you can find the recipe if you’re interested — https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/shredded-brussels-sprout-bacon-salad/
As to your last question: there are. My two favorite places are in different towns. Because of time constraints, we wanted to stay closer to home, so we didn’t go to them. There’s another location that was a little further than where we went, but the place we went was closest. Anyway, Lauren was familiar with this place but had never had a chai tea latte there. So we gave it a shot. Next time I go for a chai tea latte, I’ll go the distance to get it! Have a great week ahead, Chris! Mona
My husband had the same reaction! And just like you, we couldn’t tell if it was a reaction from the covid vaccine or if he was actually getting sick. But it turned out to be a very strong reaction to the vaccine, thank goodness. It sounds as if you had a nice Thanksgiving, at least!
Ann,
It sounds like your husband has a strong immune system, too! We did have a nice Thanksgiving. Low-key, just like I like it! Merry December to you and your husband all month long! Mona
Must still be a problem, because there wasn’t sufficient detail on the surprise massage 😁
EW,
Not sure I understand what you mean. But glad you stopped by to say hello!😊
I love Winona!
SHERRY!
I’m so glad you are able to comment again! Thanks for stopping by. I kinda like Winona, too. Have a great week ahead, my friend!😊
I will have to remember to put those crunchy onions in my deviled eggs next time! Sounds delicious to me. Lucky you, getting a massage on Thanksgiving! Now, that’s a relative you want to have around! Glad you had such a nice Thanksgiving and you recuperated from your Covid shot. I’m lucky in that the only effect I’ve had with the shot and subsequent boosters is a sore arm!
Rhonda,
Glad you don’t get sick from getting the boosters either — not fun at all! And the massage was really nice. Can’t tell you when the last massage I had was. I just read your latest post and now I’m hungry for Snickerdoodles! Have an awesome rest of your week! I bet your house smells heavenly with all of your baking! 😋🥰🙃Mona
It’s always a delight to read about your life, Mona. I’m sorry you were unwell for a day; it sounds like you more than made up for it, though and had a lovely Thanksgiving with your family! I believe brussel sprouts to be an abomination, and I find it fascinating that they are considered a staple in big celebration meals. Like, what is that about? They are just such weird little things! Glad you are doing well, my friend. Have a great week! xo
Hi Tanya!
Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season, thus far! And I’m laughing at your reaction to Brussels sprouts! That reminds me of an old Leave It To Beaver episode where the Beav refuses to eat his. As a kid, this had a profound effect on me, and I refused to even try them until a few years ago. I was sure they must taste worse than butter beans — yick! But I was surprised at how much I like them — roasted in the oven with a little balsamic glaze drizzled on top. But if you don’t like them, no judgments here. And I agree with you — they are weird little things, aren’t they?! You have a great week, too, my friend! Hugs, Mona
A surprise massage – that’s great. And very necessary for a week that sounds full on a lot a hard work and recovery. Glad you are feeling better!
Hi Wynne, and welcome to Wayward Sparkles!
The massage was a very nice surprise. I hope the woman who gave them out was able to get one in return. Feeling much better, thanks. Hope you’re having a great week and that the rest of the week is exceptional for you! Mona
Reading your post, I realized I didn’t get any deviled eggs for Thanksgiving this year…the downside of having a take-out turkey dinner, I guess. But the food we did get was tasty, and no one had to cook or do much clean up, so it was worth it.
I’m glad you are feeling better and hope your COVID vaccination does the trick. We’ve had ours as well. Here’s to a healthy, happy holiday season!
Christie,
We’ve eaten at a couple of different restaurants over the years for Thanksgiving. You’re right in that it takes a lot of stress out of cooking and cleaning. If the food is delicious, even better. The nice thing about deviled eggs is that they don’t take long to prepare, they go with a lot of different proteins, and you don’t have to eat them just for special occasions if you get a hankering for one or more! 😉
I second having a happy, healthy holiday season! The best to you and yours this December, my friend! Cheers and Hugs, Mona
Wow, Mona! So much going on for you! Glad you feel better, and happy that you took the time to set all of this down into a post. Plus you said zhuzhing!
Hey Roger,
Zhuzhing is such a fun word! Have a great rest of your week, my friend! 🙃 Mona