We
had a nice quiet Thanksgiving, Jeff, my mom, Aunt Kimiko, Nelson and me. Of
course, the four wolverines known as Tess, Maid, Nan and Rainey were in
attendance. As soon as my mom and Aunt arrived, the dogs sprung into action;
first by barging me out of the way to greet them with wags, barking and general
mayhem and secondly; when I told them to go to their beds, they ran behind my
mom who then said, “It’s ok” and I relented. It has been a traditional greeting
now and my mom loves the wild abandonees of it all. The girls appreciate the
fact that when my mom arrives not only they get lots of treats but only have
to listen to her. She goes into the kitchen with her hands full of bags but the
dogs seems swirl all around her but never in the way. They end up at the treat
jar when my mom tells them to sit and they sit fast as lightning and I wish
they downed as quick as that on the trial field. Their eager panting tongues
hang out in anticipation of the treats and soon they are rewarded. A full bag
among the four girls and I know better than to tell my mom what to do as she
will soon fill my belly as well and heaven forbid, that I piss her off. She
loves feeding the girls and they adore her. When she was cooking shrimp
tempura she had the four black and white fan club at her feet. I caught her
feeding pieces of hot tempura shrimp to the dogs and told her that was not good
for them. So she reached over and snagged a piece of turkey for them.
At
this time, I felt it would be a good time to finish the mashed potatoes. I
added half and half, sour cream, crispy bacon bits, butter and garlic. Filled
the gravy bowl to the rim and also put out the corn and bacon stuffing. The
turkey was cut up and put on a large platter. It was joined by asparagus with
mushrooms, fresh homemade cranberry and raspberry sauce (made by Nelson),
Japanese cold rice sushi, yams, sweet potatoes, shrimp tempura and tons of
homemade pies as well as store bought. We were hungry.
We
made Nan, Rainey and Maid wait at the beds for their portion but Tess wandered
over to the table. We figured since she won’t be here much longer she could have
free rein. Soon she was eating shrimp tempura tail, turkey, the veggies and
whatever else my mom and Aunt could feed her. Soon the other girls snuck over
and they all huddled under the table next to mom and my Aunt and got their
share. I pretended not to see and they made themselves scare near me as they
know if I saw them, I would make them go to their rugs. When my mom comes over,
I let them sneak over to eat as it gives her great pleasure to hand feed the
dogs and it’s a small price to pay to see her laugh and be happy. But when I
think they have had enough, I let her know and the girls go back to their rugs.
Maid will lean her head ever so gently on my mom’s knee and is the best of
gently taking the food from her hand, that she gets a good portion. Plus my mom
loves her little cross eyes and gives her extra for that pitiful look when she
looks at her.
We
ate well, family and dogs and soon pushed back from the table and talked. It
has been a tough year but we managed to make it through. I am grateful that my
heart surgeries are finally over and that chapter is closed. The elbow is
healing quite well and I go back next week for (hopefully) the final checkup. I
have been doing the PT to keep the full range of motion and although it hurts,
I still do it. It does hurt when the weather goes to cold and the barometer
drops. It’s to be expected for the rest of my life but I look at it as a
weather guide.
After
dinner and clean up we wandered down to the barn. My mom and Aunt love this
part as they get to feed the animals and it gives them great delight. The sheep
recognize my mom and run up to the fence and immediately start baaing to her.
She gave them lots of bread and they also ate it out of her hands. A couple of
them are seasoned vets to this and stick next to her so they get more than
their fair share. She gave the poultry bread and soon they were around her feet
and she laughed at how they fought over the bread. The geese saw her and
waddled up and began to honk for theirs. Soon the barn was a bunch of animals
all crying for their Thanksgiving feast. No one got worked on Thanksgiving but
everyone got extra rations. I love to see my mom and Aunt being so happy when
they feed. I saw the four girls gathered at their feet and were getting pieces
of bread. I sighed. My mom saw me look at her and quickly stated, “The bread
just fell down.”
I
was going to take photos but forgot as I was enjoying watching them feed the
animals. I heard stories of when my mom was a child and how she had a pet
chicken, of how bananas were rationed during the war and hardship and now as a
family we not only eat well, are well but enjoy life and are happy. It’s a good
feeling. Later we had dessert of Tiramisu, cheesecake and Nelson’s home plum
and apple pie. Needless to say, I was stuffed and soon passed out on the couch
after everyone left. With the girls, of course. It was crowded but we all
managed to find a spot on the couch. I woke up with a cramp in my leg and saw
that Rainey was stretched out and I was shoved in a corner. Maid had the
pillow, and Tess was against the foot and Nan moved to the floor. The girls had
no cramps and were annoyed that I made them move off the couch!
But
later that night, they forgave me when I went for my second round of turkey
dinner and they got their share. Hopefully by forgiving me, they will run well
on Saturday’s trial.
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