Thanksgiving Roundup, Brought to You by the National Bullet Association

Still doing laundry. The problem with going to my dads place Thanksgiving weekend is that they are getting ready to close up the house for the winter, so things like the washing machine, which is not critical for most grownups who don't have to change children's outfits every five minutes, are turned off. So, in between loads, I'll give you an abbreviated version of our trip.

• We managed to avoid traffic both directions. It made the whole trip that much more enjoyable.

• Disappointingly, we could not find a Starbucks on the trip up or back. Next time I will need to do my homework and plot them in advance. Except somehow I doubt that where my dad lives is a hotbed of the Starbucks demographic.
  

• My youngest aunt and her kids didn't make it for Thanksgiving, which made for a somewhat quieter Thanksgiving than years past.

• In fact, there were so few of us in attendance that I finally graduated to the grownup table, as did my kids.

• The food was delicious, M spent several hours groaning on the couch after the meal was over.

• I, however, paced myself and was able to have a turkey sandwich before bed. The best part of Thanksgiving is the turkey sandwich before bed.

• C wouldn't know how good the food was, he spent the meal whining about how he doesn't like new things, even thought he used to eat everything on the table with gusto.

• A got brownie points for eating up a storm, although I have a sneaking suspicion that my Uncle ate most of her meal for her. At least she pretended to like it.

• My grandmother was sprung from her nursing home for the day, and held court around the veggies and dip and cupcakes.

• Except she kept turning off her hearing aid, so I don't think she heard much.

• But she seemed to be doing as well as anyone could be at age 96.
  

• Because my youngest aunt was missing, M and I got to sleep in the part of the house with heat. It made it so much more enjoyable. Especially since my dad keeps the thermostat at a much higher setting than we do at home. It was almost decadent.
  

• The kids had a blast, despite the constant whining about food options. There were sticks to pick up, ice cream to be had, and grandparents to lead them in the making of a gingerbread house.

• Thanks to heroic kid watching efforts on the part of M and my dad and step-mom, I actually completed three Christmas knitting projects while I was up there. I probably could have done more, but I ran out of yarn and was too lazy to head downtown and buy some more.

• Now I need to decide how many more gifts I am making. The temptation is there to keep going, but I am afraid that I'll be pulling all nighters the week before Christmas if I don't think this through.

• And on that note, I am off to buy some size 9 needles so I can start on the scarf for M's grandma. Because she is arriving on Friday and I want to send it back home with her. One less thing to ship don't you know.