Peppy's Dream Moving Adventure Blog

Eric and I both slept well and woke up around 10:00am.  Rich was out exercising, Ed slept at a friend's house, and Keri and Lenae were still sleeping.  We just relaxed in bed and talked and then decided to get up and shower.  Soon Rich came home, Ed came home, Audrey arrived from Albany, everyone else got up and Rich made omelettes for everyone.  He put out all the ingredients he had and I went around and took everyone's order.

Then he whipped up a fabulous omelette for each of us.  Mine had mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, garlic, pesto, goat cheese and scallions.  It was so gooey and delicious.

After breakfast Keri and I went out to pick up a few items for Lenae, stop at STARBUCKS (of course!) and go with Keri to pick up her car at a friend's house.  I dropped her off and went home with my coffee.

It seemed like just moments after breakfast when Audrey put out all the snacks she had brought.  It was like we were having tapas for lunch.  There was couscous, eggplant tapanade, olive tapanade, and a spicy bean dip.  Lenae also made a spinach dip in a hollowed out loaf of bread, and some ranch dressing.  There were all kinds of chips, crackers and celery to dip into all the wonderful choices.  We sat around and ate and talked and laughed.

Lenae had told us about some old videos she had put onto DVD from when Keri and Eddie were babies.  They sounded so funny and we all wanted to see, so Lenae put them in and we watched for about an hour.  They were hysterical.  It was so great to see everyone looking so young, and get to see Keri and Ed when they were babies.  Those were such great times.  Our mom and dad looked so young, and we all looked so different.  I had short hair with a kind of mullet in the back -- not my best look!

After a lot of laughs, we turned off the videos and Lenae got busy cooking.  We sat down to a delicious dinner.  Lenae is the best cook and every Thanksgiving here is a feast.  She had stuffing made with sausage and squash and she hollows out the squash and puts the stuffing back into the squash, so the presentation is simply beautiful.

The turkey was so moist it was falling off the bone.  I usually don't eat meat, but I had to have some!  Her mashed potatoes were fantastic (as always) and the broccoli, which is a recipe from Rich's Aunt Felicia, was to die for.  If every parent made their broccoli like Aunt Felicia, kids would be eating it by the bushel.  I'm not sure exactly what the recipe is, but there were bread crumbs involved!

Lenae also made fresh apple sauce from fresh-picked New Paltz apples.  It had chunks of apple in it and it was sweet and delicious.  We all stuffed ourselves silly and thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

Then, we cleaned up.  It was quite a team effort.  Washing all the dishes that couldn't go into the dishwasher, filling the dishwasher, clearing off the table, and putting everything washed away.  Everyone was busy and we got it done in no time.

Then, we sat down for the traditional Thanksgiving game of cards -- Scott's Granny's Game, which is a type of Rummy.  It's always fun and challenging, because everyone plays really well.  Lenae ended up winning.  It's a funny game, because there are seven hands to play, and you can win several hands and still not win in the end.  We play with some of our friends back in Queens and it's always a fun night.

Keri and Eddie's friends started to arrive while we were playing cards.  It always seems that their house is the place to be on Thanksgiving and all the kids congregate here.  I shouldn't really call them "kids," since they're now all over 21, but they still seem like kids to me!

After the seven hands of cards we were ready for dessert.  Eric and I brought a cheesecake sampler and a pecan pie and Keri got a pumpkin pie from her boss at work.  We also picked up Ferrero Roche chocolates when we went to the Super Stop and Shop this morning, so we had those, too.  Those are simply the best candies in the world.  They melt in your mouth and then add a little crunch at the end!

Now, as I sit here typing, I'm telling myself that I'm so full I won't eat for a week, but I know I'll be snacking again before the night is through.  It's a good thing I don't have to worry about fitting into my outfit for the wedding tomorrow, because both outfits I'm thinking of (I haven't really decided which I'll definitely wear) will still fit, even if I gain a pound or two (which I definitely have done in the past few days!).  It's so sad that I was so disciplined in San Diego, trying to lose weight and come to NY looking thin, and I'm going to go home weighing 5 pounds more than I did before, because I'm so undisciplined and have that "I'm on vacation!" mindset, which is really bad.

This afternoon Rosemary called from San Diego, just to say "Have a great Thanksgiving" and to tell me that she put me in as her guest for the Office Holiday Party, which will take place on Saturday, December 13th.  I'm so excited, because everyone tells me what a fantastic night it is and how they go "all out" to make it an unforgettable event.  I'll probably wear the same outfit to that event, and then the same outfit again to the Bar Mitzvah I'll be attending on the 20th in Los Angeles.  My cousin Evan is having his Bar Mitzvah and I'll get to see a lot of my side of the family, which will be really great!

Eric and I will be leaving pretty early tomorrow, because we want to get back to Queens, pack for the wedding, check into the hotel, take a nap, get dressed and then go across the street to the place where the wedding will be held.  I'm very excited and can't wait to see all of Eric's family tomorrow night and see our beautiful Jessica as she weds her groom, Ken!

I give Thanks that I am here with my family, and that I am with my darling, Eric, who is feeling so much better.  I give thanks that I have wonderful friends all over the country who love us and care about us and only want the best for us.

Before I close, I have to tell you all that my sister thinks my readers need to "get a life" and can't understand why you all get such pleasure from reading my blog and knowing what I had for breakfast.  I told her that it's your way of keeping in touch with us, and staying close in our lives, even though we are so far away.  She doesn't understand it at all, so I thought maybe some of you could comment here, in my blog, and explain it to her, if you can.

I am always grateful to know that there are so many of you out there -- in so many states and even in Canada -- who religiously read my blog.  I thank you, and want you to know that as long as you're interested in reading, I'll keep writing!