(untitled)
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
In which the usual pre-holiday activity and mayhem is conducted with enough civility…
On the way to the house that morning, Puck monitored his dad’s operation of the vehicle with careful observance…
“Doors unlocked!” he heralded his first announcement. “Dad! You forgot to turn on the green arrow! I didn’t hear the clicking, clicking!”
Back on the ranch…
Francis looked over class schedules at the community college for the spring with Collette and gathered supplies to prepare a sandwich for lunch during his six-hour shift at the Y.
“Francis!” Puck declared. “No egg salad!”
“I’m not building this sandwich for you, buddy,” Francis replied. “This one’s for me.”
Meanwhile, Dad and Carrie-Bri were discussing further elements of business plans and the possible aid of Samwise working in international law, emphasis on East Asia, while Dad worked on his cereal and orange juice.
Mom was peeling a sack of potatoes and preparing the turkey. Chunks of butter stuffed up under the skin: mutations. …… Gross.
Joe was sleeping in after a night with friends; Pumpkin had curled up on his back, purring like some kind of heavy machinery.
Carrie-Bri juggled a handful of lunch and coffee appointments for the week after a disappointing interview with another doctor regarding the possible retroactive injury to her rib cage…
The kitchen table was arranged with candles, green and yellow flowers, and apples.
Joe was set to buy the old Fit off Dad.
Carrie prepared a face mask of olive oil and turmeric.
And Doctor Who was on the move… Monumentally, apparently…
In the middle morning, everyone sang a happy 83rd birthday to Grandma Snicketts on the phone.
Linnea was busy scrubbing the brick hearth.
“Where’s Lila?” Puck asked later.
“Oh, I ate her. You won’t miss her,” Carrie replied.
“You ate her?”
“Huh? You ate Lila?”
“No. You did!”
“Oh, well, you won’t miss her, will you?”
“No. But I will!”
Carrie grinned.
“Joking!” Puck declared.
“There,” said Mom. “Now all the cooking’s done for tomorrow, except the stuffing and corn.”
– Two more reasons to love Thanksgiving. –
“And then we can watch the parade.”
And another…
By early afternoon…
Cocktail croissants in the pantry.
Linnea reluctantly arrived in the dining room for algebra in black MIZZOU sweatshirt, upside-down black heart earrings, and sloppy ponytail.
A package of Sephora perfume samples for the girls in the mail.
Dad and Puck split up the leftover ice cream cake.
The clove oranges came out; Linnea was in the process of labeling one: EARNEST.
Joe took off for a Minecraft tournament with Wally and the Silverspoon boys.
Carrie fried up a plate of cheeseburgers as Puck came into the kitchen…
“Something smells great, Sun! Smells like rotten meat! Those smells I like…”
– Then he hunted up some play dough… –
“Smell this, Mama. It smells like black.”
Rose returned early from work; Puck helped her pack in readiness for the now rescheduled-to-the-first-Saturday-in-December move.
Linnea hit the roof with a blanket and iPod.
And there was a fat chocolate fudge cake waiting in the garage.
Meanwhile, OLeif had gotten off work early. Most of the Development crew had clocked out at noon to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season at a nearby pub. So by 3:00 he had returned to pick Puck up, just as Francis returned from the Y…
“Watch this,” said Carrie.
As the door opened, she burst out, arms opened wide…
“Honey! You’re home!”
Francis jumped backwards…
“Whoa!”
When he regained his composure…
“Smells like Chick-fil-A in here. Thank you for that welcome, Carrie. Mom, I’m going back up to the Y tonight. Voluntarily. I’m going to go swimming for an hour.”
“Sure…” said Carrie. “That’s just to show off your new abs. He’s been working out and lifting weights every morning.”
“Hasn’t worked,” Linnea mumbled under her breath.
Shopping.
It was time to cart in a trove of necessaries for Rose’s new apartment.
T.J. Max:
Dark red Ralph Lauren shower curtain, tea kettle, etc. And the realization after standing in front of the floor mirror in the shoe department that Linnea had finally caught up with Collette in height. This also led to the matter of one of Linnea’s friends thinking that Collette and Linnea were twins; still couldn’t quite figure that one out… Black jeans and gray sweater for Puck…
“For church,” said Collette. “Should last him for the rest of the winter.”
Mom laughed.
Frugal was the name of the game.
Next: Target.
Emerald green striped long-sleeved tee and white collared shirt for Puck. Collette was done in two minutes. But there were other things Rose still needed: shower rings, dish cloths, oven mitts, Swiffer, broom, pink grapefruit and cucumber soap dispensers…
Gasp.
“What?”
Carrie lifted an orange package from the shelf…
“Reeses!”
This was no ordinary set of Reeses peanut butter cups. These were two hand-sized deep-dish chocolate tubs of peanut butter.
There was much ogling. But the item was returned to the shelf.
“It would literally kill me,” Carrie sighed.
Back out into the night; five women wedged inside the Fit back to drop Collette off at the house. And two hours of shopping had just about done most of them in…
“You want any hand sanitizer, Collette?” Mom asked.
“See, Mom? You always ask Collette if she wants something first. Never mind the rest of us…”
Pop.
Rose was digging into the peanuts.
“Pass some up,” said Mom, holding her hand open to the backseat.
Rose wrinkled her nose…
“You can’t. You’re driving.”
“Rose,” Carrie cut in. “Mom just bought you deodorant. Give her some peanuts.”
“Now I’m thirsty,” was Rose’s reply.
“Serves you right.”
“What the… it’s not even six o’clock yet?”
“I know. I hate winter…”