Is That All There Is?

it's 1:00 a.m. in the holy city of zefat. i just finished the washing up from our elaborate thanksgiving dinner. we were nine women sharing stories, company, sangria, and really good food.

noone came empty handed. mikimi brought 4 different salads. michal brought a vat of cranberry relish. danya made her 'to die for' chocolate chip, pecan cookies. she brought so many that i had to pull out mom's giant cookie jar that i've been storing high on a shelf. ruth brought an assortment of roasted nuts and a bag of designer gummies. i don't know how anyone eats these things. zvi and gal took the remainder downstairs. chaya tikva brought a lovely bottle of white wine. devorah leah brought a bottle of natural raspberry juice. leah brought a large container of natural almonds. judy brought her homemade egg nog and gave a devar torah.

how fortunate, that i just happened to have a bottle of baccardi to help 'spice' up judy's eggnog and spirits. i also was able to accomodate danya and turned her 'virgin' mary tomato juice into a full fledged bloody mary cocktail.

i tried everything but i couldn't really drink. i was having a headache and eye pressure from being sick and probably dehydraded. i spent the day watching sahar. he was rather passive for a change. he actually sat in his playpen for about 2 hours watching t.v. and playing with his toys. i brought him a bottle of milk and some bambas. he had already had his breakfast and was satiated.

i was in the next room doing the kids' laundry. i accidently washed zvi's national security photo identification card. it's ruined. i offered to pay for a new one but that didn't appease zvi, very much. what a shame! that little voice in my head told me to check all the pockets and i just didn't listen to it.

in the past, i washed his army identification card several times and nothing ever happened. i guess you're all wondering why i'm still doing their laundry. i just want to help them out and make their lives a bit easier, while i can. my mom did all our laundry until she was nearly 90. she was a laundry freak, anyway. she also loved to iron. that generation would iron underware.

anyway, sahar kept himself occupied until it was time to go outside and hang up the clothes. i came in to take him outside with me and discovered that sahar was soaking wet from the waste down. the sheet was also soaking wet. i couldn't imagine how he had pished so much. at first, i thought that i had forgotten to put on his diaper. it finally occured to me that he had simply, spilled out his milk while i was doing the laundry.

i quickly changed his clothing and went outside. the poor boy fell right on his chin and luckily, didn't get too hurt. he was playing on the ground and cloey dog was digging for something while i hung up the wet clothes. sahar was rubbing his eyes so i washed his really, dirty face and hands and put him in his stroller. he fell asleep immediately. while he slept, i went upstairs and made the sangria, waldorf salad, and steamed the green beans. i suddenly panicked and thought that there wasn't enough food to serve, so i steamed some fresh broccoli.

sahar slept for a long time so i did more laundry. this time it was mine. when he woke up he was really clingy. he didn't want to be put down at all. he only wanted to be in my arms. i had to hold him while i made coffee and while i made him his oatmeal. he had a banana while he sat in my lap but only managed to have a few mouthfulls of the oatmeal. i decided to give him a bath. afterall, there were women coming who had never seen him. he was a bit more active in the tub. afterwards, i turned on the t.v. once again. shame on me!

about an hour before the guests arrived, i took out the foods that needed to be reheated. i put the mashed sweet potatoes and roasted white potatoes in the pareve oven. i put the sausage stuffing in the small meat toaster oven. i heated up the barley and mushroom casserole on the stove and then put it on the electric hot plate. i also put the cooked carrots, pumpkin, fish and qinoa, green beans and almonds, on the hot plate. i then heated up the turkey and kept it on a low heat so the sauce really thickened and darkened.

the sangria was a big hit. the individual peanut butter mashed sweet potatoes was a hit. even though i worried about it, the corn bread was a hit. the pumpkin pie was not a hit. it looked like a pancake. i used the wrong size cake pan and it just didn't succeed. i had two slices and got a headache from the artificial whip cream. don't get me wrong, it tasted really good. in fact, i feel like having another slice right now but i don't want to risk another headache.

the jellied canned cranberry sauce from america was a hit. the string beans and almonds was a big hit. the mushroom and barley casserole served in the mimi pumpkin was a really big hit. it was really spicey. the roasted rosemary white potatoes was a disaster. they weren't fully baked. i would surely, have been kicked off 'top chef' for that blunder. this crowd wasn't a white potato crowd anyway. the aspic salad of carrots and pineapple was a big hit. it required a sohisticated palate. surprisingly, the waldorf salad was not a big hit. the artificial whip cream was a turn off for this crowd. they have serious health issues and no one wanted to risk it.

i originally, decided against the whip cream. i added a generous half a teaspoon of honey and sqeezed on an entire lemmon. i then thought about my pal michal, who really likes the salad with the whip cream, and i relented and added a few dallops. it was so sweet. i had some with my pumpkin pie and then got another headache.

the steamed broccoli was a hit. the biggest hit of the night was the sausage and sage dressing. go know! it was absolutely delicious. i can't believe it. it was my first attempt at making stuffing in isreal. i can't remember if i ever tried to in the states. oh, by the way, the turkey was definately, a hit. it was scrumptious.

i kept the dogs separated on two floors all day. i put the 3 smallest upstairs on the large porch and the troublemaker on the porch of the master bedroom. i didn't want to risk another attack with sahar around. i was up all night long checking up on the injured dog. she was fine today. it was a really hot 'summers' day. it didn't feel like a fall thanksgiving day at all. after the meal, michal snuggled on the t.v. couch with a couple of the mutts and that extra attention was sorely needed. they're all asleep and quiet.

the kids are here for shabbat. i have sahar until noon time. cooking will be a breeze compared to what i did on wednesday. believe it or not, i don't have any leftovers. i always prepare just enough for the meal. i do have the mexican corn salad left over because no one touched it. it was not a hit.