Given that yesterday I wrote a Holidailies intro post, just like I’d done a year earlier, and today I am planning to write a Thanksgiving trip report, just like I did on this date in 2013, I briefly considered continuing the pattern and making this year’s entries for Holidailies an homage to last year’s by covering the same topics on the same days, but a quick scan of my archives showed me that wouldn’t work: last year I spent a week at Walt Disney World during December; this year, I will be work, work, working right through that same week. Ah well, I will just have think up new topics.

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving weekend. Mr. Karen and I fortunately did not have to make our way through a winter storm to get to Chicagoland this year. We didn’t even run into especially bad traffic, which meant we got to the Elbo Room on Wednesday night in plenty of time to see the Leslie Hunt solo show which drew us there in the first place. In fact, we got there so early we had time for pre-show drinks and got to see the first act of the night before Leslie went on. We were enjoying ourselves so much that we didn’t want to leave after Leslie’s set so stayed for the next act, King Washington, who won me over with great three-part harmonies (and I think I heard a bit of four-part, too, at one point). We didn’t stay for the band that was scheduled to go on at midnight, what with having to pick my mom up the next morning out in the western suburbs. All in all, the night exceeded my expectations. I wonder how many similar nights I would have enjoyed in my youth if bars had had smoking bans in place back when I was able to easily stay up past midnight and not suffer the next day.

We’d gotten a hotel room about not quite halfway between Chicago and my mom’s house, so still had a bit of a drive Thursday morning but we got ourselves up and out on time, picked my mom up, and made it to the church hall right on schedule for the big extended family Thanksgiving celebration. There was lots of food, of course, and chat, and some games, and a gingerbread house contest for the youngest generation (which my mom joked was discrimination—she wanted to build a house, too), and then even more food because the turkey wasn’t ready earlier due to a malfunctioning oven. After the festivities wound down, we had a short after party at Mr. Karen’s parents’ house for the immediate family, as his dad was too weak to come to the main event this year.

Mr. Karen stayed with his folks while I took my mom back to her house and hung out with her the rest of the weekend. We did a little bit of shopping, some reminiscing over family photos, and had a nice visit with my niece and grandnephew. There was also mom’s kitten to play with and her older cat to brush, so my allergy meds earned their keep for sure.

Sunday we were back home and trying to fight off those germs I mentioned yesterday that we’d picked up somewhere along the way. So far my regime of medicinal tea and over the counter pills seems to be working out okay. Maybe next year I’ll have the foresight to drink the immune system boosting brew ahead of time. It could happen.

*****
On this date in 2013: Thanksgiving Recap
2012: Me, My Stuff, and I
2007 to 2011: No entries
2006: Surprise
2004 & 2005: No entries
2003: Boomer? Moi?
2002: Goal Check-In #5