Domestic Geek

I'm having one of those Murphy Thanksgivings. If it can go wrong, it will.

First that stupid flour bug mess last night, then a raccoon was attacking Skippy when I went to let him in so I could go to the grocery store. I don't think it bit him, but he was really scared and I was really mad. I hate raccoons. I chased the stupid thing with a snow shovel. I didn't get the cheesecake into the oven until after 11 pm. Marcus finally got home about then, as well. So, I didn't eat dinner last night, either. I didn't go to bed until almost 2 am. I made the mistake of trying to bake the cheesecake in a water bath. I guess I didn't wrap the foil tightly enough around the pan, because water got in. This morning I woke up to a soggy cheesecake mess in my oven. *sigh* I heated up the oven, put the cheesecake back in to try and dry it out a bit and then I threw the thing in the freezer. Damn. Then, my pies are turning out funny. The crusts are acting weird. Must be those new glass pie plates I bought. I took the turkey out of the fridge and it's still partially frozen, so dinner is going to be a couple of hours later than I planned. Next, the trash bag I took out of the can to take to the dumpster fell over and I got to clean up all that flour I dumped last night, coffee grounds, bird seed, etc. off the floor.

So, I'm taking a little break to calm down before I break into tears. It's just a meal, after all. It's just Dad, Marcus and me, so it's not like I have a house full of guests expected. It'll all be ok. The turkey will thaw. The cheesecake will probably still taste ok. I just need to make a list of what needs to be done still so that I don't forget to make rolls or something.

I really start to miss my mom this time of year. She had tons of Christmas decorations (a trait I picked up from her). Christmas Elves, Santas, Nativity figurines, trees...you name it, she had it. One thing that was kind of goofy was this tinsel garland we draped on the family room beams with tissue honeycomb bells. We tried to get the Christmas decorations up Thanksgiving weekend and kept them up until at least January 6th. She said it was because that's when the wise men found the baby Jesus, but I think she just liked having the tree up for her birthday. Since Marcus' birthday is the same date, I keep that little tradition alive. The tree can't come down until after January 6th.

Hey, look...I finally finished Marcus' Thanksgiving graphic the day before yesterday for his site. I present the iPod Pilgrim, actually making an appearance before the holiday. It's not my best work, but it didn't come out too bad. This is the third in a series I've made for his sidebar. As soon as he gets me his idea, I promised to make him one for Christmas. I told him he should start a little archive of all of the little guys somewhere on his site to save them for posterity.

In other web news, I've got to find out why my freaking site is loading so danged slow. I'm absolutely sick of this.

The Barenaked Ladies are in town tonight. I had really hoped I could've found a way to score some tickets, but no such luck. *sigh* Next time they are in town I will see them!

Two weeks from now, a lot of us Americans are going to be busily preparing our yearly turkey feast. I was poking around the Internet looking for new recipes to try and I came across a site with the most wonderful Thanksgiving Treats. I would love to serve this Brandy Pumpkin cake. It sounds so yummy:

It's a rich blend of pumpkin, cream cheese, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves that has been gathered together and then soaked in brandy to give this decadent dessert a spirited richness with spicy undertones. And talk about moist, you can eat an entire piece without ever having to reach for a glass of milk.

I probably can't swing one in time for the big feast this year, but I'd love to get one of these Spirited Eggnog cakes spiked with rum for Christmas.

Hey, today is my dad's 71st birthday.

Happy Birthday, Dad!