This Year's Moveable Feast

The Maker's Diet has inspired one of my sisters to change her eating and buying habits. So our Thanksgiving meal consisted of a free-range turkey, cous-cous, kale salad, and only half the normal amount of mashed potatoes. (I almost forgot to have cranberry sauce, since I'm the only one that eats it and it was hidden in the back cabinet.) Dessert was (organic) pumpkin pie and (organic) pumpkin shake. Beverages were (organic) sparkling pear and cranberry juice. No lemon cream pie, tablet, lumpia, or pancit this year. (Maybe at Christmas?) But still a very good meal, if lacking in the ties to tradition that surface in most Americans evey fourth Thursday in November. And my sister can prepare good dishes!

Oh, but the guest. There must be some law of nature that when guests are present at family gatherings, the innate weirdness of each family member becomes their defining characteristic, despite their best efforts to quell it and appear normal. Sometimes those guests (especially those your sister doesn't know how to get rid of and is therefore stringing along) flee because they can't handle the simultaneous conversations (in English, bad Spanish and Tagalog, and halting French), odd historical and literary references, fond name-calling, and spontaneous dancing. But despite the odd genetic tendencies, it's always heartening to reaaffirm that post-turkey charades can still be played for two hours, with three people who are not keeping score!

I also made off with several DVDs, and am looking foward to vegging out for the rest of the long weekend.