Covid Journal, Day 249: Getting Ready

50 and cloudy. It's been cloudy all week, a nice break from sun, sun, sun. Now the rain has started. It will be a wet afternoon.

Pies are in the oven, and the turkey is thawing out. This will be a strange Thanksgiving for us--no large groups of people, no big table loaded with food, no commotion and noise. Just the two of us and our son Derek this year, as everyone stays home as the government has requested.

And done.

So I'm making a pumpkin pie and an apple pie with latticed top. So odd, only two pies. Dinner will be simpler too. I splurged a little and bought asparagus, a rare treat this time of year. I'll make cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes maybe, and mashed potatoes because the guys love them. And that will pretty much be it. I think it will be fine.

Today Larry is cutting up deer, and I'm putting it up with the Food Saver as he brings it in. We have two to do, so the freezer will be well-stocked again. After the apple butter weekend, I spent Monday working at our Ravenswood booths, and Tuesday sorting out the things I'd brought home, cleaning and catching up laundry, then cooking dinner for my oldest son and his best friend. They've been hunting together, as they have every year since they were old enough to hunt. George lives on the opposite side of the state but he always comes home for the opening of deer season. I made them a beef stew, with homemade bread and apple pie. It was good to visit with them before George heads back over the mountains today to have Thanksgiving with his family. 

Truth to tell, I'm tired. Just really bone tired from a busy, busy week. So I am thankful for a scaled-down holiday this year. I remember another year, when sons were deployed overseas or living too far away to come home, and it was just Larry and me and our youngest son. We scheduled dinner out at a very tiny restaurant that could only seat about 4 couples. It was delicious, and a really special treat with excellent food well served. Maybe, when it's safe to go out again, we'll have another year when we can do that.

So how will your holiday be? Scaled back, or are you traveling? I was terribly tempted to drive to Florida to see our youngest, I miss him so much. But we are staying the course until the virus situation improves. More friends are ill, some are in ICU, and Covid is spreading fast in our rural county. So home it is, and probably the same for Christmas too.

Back to the kitchen--I do believe there's more venison to be bagged for the freezer.

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