Are you the one who hosts Thanksgiving in your family? If yes, I’ll bet you share my knowledge of how to host the imperfect Thanksgiving.
Siblings and Planning
My sister, Lila, and I were texting during the initial planning.
“Your house or mine?” I ask.
“It doesn’t matter to me but you hosted last year.”
“I’ll do it again so the dogs won’t be alone all day,” I reply.
“Okay.”
Hunt for Obscure Recipes
Do furry animals color your decisions? They sure do mine. But anyway… The next communication with my sister was looking for a cranberry chutney our mother used to make. Mom is 91, lives with me and visits Lila occasionally. She doesn’t take a lot of interest in the menu at home, but a few days ago she mentioned the cranberry chutney she used to take pride in making every Thanksgiving. It’s very unusual and since I’m a super traditionalist for Thanksgiving, I don’t care for it.
Sure enough, Lila had Mom’s giant recipe file, and she emailed me the recipe. Just reading some of the ingredients was enough to make me shake my head; onion, vinegar, curry, and mace, oh my!
Email Communication Hiccups
At the end of the recipe email, my sister wrote, “I am bringing a pecan and pumpkin pie. If Wayne (my husband) wants pumpkin, I’ll bring that too.”
Do you forget to read all the words in an email, once you’ve read the part you are looking for? I do…. sometimes.
I noticed pecan and added “pie” after it. That left pumpkin pie. It was obvious to me two pies were coming with my sister and brother-in-law; one pecan pie and one pumpkin pie.
That’s exactly what I wanted since pecan pie is my favorite. Six email replies later, I realized she wanted to make one pie that was a combination of pecan and pumpkin. This seems understandable, since I’ve eaten the pecan-pumpkin pie before and should have realized what she meant.
Planning Outcome
Although I really wanted a pecan pie, in the end I acquiesced. After all the back and forth, there will be a pecan-pumpkin pie and a traditional pumpkin pie on the dessert menu. At least I think that’s right..
And don’t tell anyone, but I’m going to make a pecan pie either before Thanksgiving or after. Hey! It’s my favorite!
Here’s hoping this blog helped you learn how to host an imperfect Thanksgiving!
Cheers!
Dawn
