happy thanksgiving

grocery shopping yesterday was a very holiday feeling. i didnt' have much produce on my list, and i did need bagles, so i just went to domincks, and there was a million people and christmas music playing, and all these old white haired ladies with their fall sweaters and handwritten lists. college students with their buddies yelling down the aisles, "derek, do you have flour?" there were free samples all over the place, and everything was cleaned up all shiny from the construction. i had the hardest time finding stuff, cause things people only use once a year like frenchfried onion rings (which i did NOT buy) and and cranberry sauce (which i did) were all on the endcaps of the aisles.

i called my grandma from the grocery store to make sure i had the right cranberry sauce recipie. i loaded up my basket with cans of stuff, i bought pumpkin, cause ch was so pouty about making pumpkin pie i thought i'd make one with my amaretto-graham crumb crust. but then there was Panic! at the disco when i approached the dairy case to get the whipping cream for the 24hr salad. the entire top two rows of shelving were EMPTY. no whipping cream, no whipped cream, no dairy-free whipped topping. nothing. so i carried the rest of my groceries home, calling ch to tell him if he hasn't been to the store to NOT buy a pie and to pick up whipping cream if he could. but i got his voice mail, so i went to the devon market after all.

such a different vibe there! nothing out of the ordinary, just your usual busy after work crowd. and they had whipping cream!! horray! and i bought more bread crumbs, which i couldn't find at dominics, and there were good homemade ones from a chicago bakery. i tried ch again to tell him i'd gotten the whipping cream. he said the grocery store was out of pies, and pie crusts, so he bought pumpkin and apple butter, and joe was bringing the pie shell. guess people shop early for their t-day needs!

talking about panic at the disco, i can't get the acoustic version of i write sins not tragedies out of my head. like, for THREE DAYS. it's terrible. i just put the radio-hit version on the thanksgiving mix i'm preparing to take to ch's house this afternoon. wondering what's on it? just ask, i'll let you know.

had a nice time cooking last night. called both g-ma and mom while i was slicing grapes for the 24hr salad, and they too were draining their pineapple. it gave me a bonded feeling, three generations making the same desert salad halfway across the country. when i was done talking to them i put on my thanksgiving record- arlo guthrie's alice's restaurant, of course! i love listening to the thanksgiving day massacre every year. i totally overcooked the cranberries- they have a slight carmelized flavor, and they're as thick as the stuff in the can. but i think it's ok. and now i need to go bake the squash again. and then i'll head over to ch's to have a "thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat"! and no one will be taking any 8x10 full color glossy photographs with a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was....

still not sure how i'm going to carry all the food, plus games, to the train...