This past Tuesday, I flew from San Francisco to visit my family in Southern California for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was a fast and smooth flight (my favorite kind) and I arrived with no issues.
One of the first things that I noticed was that it was crazy cold! I travel every year for Thanksgiving and it has not been this cold in longer then I can remember. I have usually driven and I was quite glad that I didn’t this time as the highway nearest my mom’s home was closed for some time in both directions both Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. In addition to the cold, it rained regularly!! This was highly unusual and quite annoying. For all of these reasons, I was quite glad that I flew and did not drive.
I did pick up a rental car and what a joy that was. As usual, I booked a simple economy car. When I arrived at the rental car office, they informed me that there were no vehicles in my category and would I like a Dodge Charger or a Convertible Mustang???!!! Mustang all the way!! The only bummer was that because of the cold and rain, I didn’t get to put the top down. One of my favorite parts of the car is that when you open the door at night, a horse projection is visible on the ground.
Pre-Black Friday Shopping
I enjoyed a little pre-black friday shopping after my sisters and I decided to surprise my mom and get her a new television. She’s been watching a 32 inch television for several years now which she insisted was “just fine”. I go black friday shopping with a friend every year and my mom told me on Wednesday not to get anything for her. Little did she know, that we had already colluded to get her a 55 inch smart tv. We presented it to her Wednesday evening and she was thrilled though she did remind me that I was instructed not to!
Time for Me with Family & Friends
I also treated myself and got my nails done-a gel manicure. I had intended to get my nails done before leaving home but time got away from me. Getting my nails done was the perfect ruse to get out of the house without too many questions and purchase the tv!
Later that day, my mom, sister and I went to see the film about Mr. Rogers, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks. It was very good and very well done.
Thanksgiving arrived and we spent the day watching football on the beautiful, big new tv. My sister, as she did last year, did all of the food prep. I did provide pecan and lemon meringue pies as well as wine. I also managed to get a workout and strength training session in before we ate.
Our dinner was fairly traditional though we prefer ham to turkey. My sister did make a small turkey along with the ham, stuffing, green beans, waldorf salad and sweet potatoes. We also had the traditional cranberry from the can.
Friday was my black friday shopping day. I met up with my friend in Orange County and we went to Kohl’s, Target, and Ulta. Neither of us had anything specific that we were looking for so we just did some looking around and picked up a few non-interesting items here and there. We were both surprised at how quiet Target was and how busy Kohl’s was. We waited in line for 35 minutes to purchase some random clothing and workout gear. Even Ulta felt more crowded than Target.
Saturday I had breakfast with a friend who I attended undergrad with. I see her every time I’m in town as she lives about 5 minutes away from my mom! We made breakfast at her home and chatted for 2.5 hours as we always do. My younger sister, who had been visiting her children and grandchildren in Atlanta returned to the area on Friday night and then came to visit Saturday afternoon. We ate more, laughed, watched basketball and Christmas movies and just hung out and had a great time.
Sunday is here and it’s time to go home. And it’s going to take a bit longer than expected! My plane was scheduled to leave at 11:50 AM but at 7:57 AM I get a text that my plane is delayed until 2:30 PM. Not a huge deal but my friend is picking me up & I hope it doesn’t screw up her day & plans! And I got up way earlier than I needed to!
I finally made it home around 4:30 PM and I was glad to finally back in spite of the very enjoyable time I had with family and friends.
And the best part……………………………I have already finished decorating for Christmas before I left so I am returning to a home that is already decorated for Christmas!!
That’s my Thanksgiving holiday in a nut shell. I hope you enjoyed your holiday however you spent it.
