I don’t care what living or dead relatives I insult with the statement that follows, but … today’s Thanksgiving Day Feast was the absolute best I have ever eaten, and I only had to spend an hour in the kitchen getting everything heated to the proper temperature and the table set. I think it’s perfectly safe to say, for as long as we can afford to do so, there will never be an actual turkey roasted in this house. Not that I think I couldn’t do as well, with some practice, but there is no way my kitchen could have produced this abundance of food at this quality without leaving me a frazzled, freaked-out mess and leaving the kitchen so hot the only person who would be fit to sit at the table to eat would be Satan himself. Just juggling getting these dishes into the oven at the right times so they’d all be the right temperature at the same moment left me with food stacked everywhere available, and having the oven on for only an hour forced us to turn on the air conditioning and ceiling fans so humans could survive the heat. It was, on the whole, the best thing ever that I was too sick to cook. It think it saved Thanksgiving.

What was I thankful for today? My nuclear family unit was together without argument, the cats and dog didn’t kill each other on sight, and we were financially able to have someone else do the cooking.

Yes, in a surprising turn of events, no fur flew today among humans or animals. The cats set about hissing the moment Mom and the dog entered the house, but they quickly realized the walking mop couldn’t reach them on their usual perches, so they went back to napping quickly enough. Throughout the day the Terrible Two and Pixie approached one another to investigate. Luckily Pixie was wise enough not to chase them or bark at them, and they were wary enough not to do anything too stupid. By late afternoon, Myu was sleeping on one end of the couch while Pixie slept at the other, but Ronin was still keeping his distance. By evening, Ronin was sitting on my lap while the dog was sitting on Mom’s lap right beside me. I wouldn’t call them friends or playmates, but there seems to be understanding that no one is going to hurt anyone else … or there’d be hell to pay. Besides, the cats know the walking mop can’t jump like they can (or at all really, being a fat and old walking mop), so they pretty much went about their usual day … aside from stealing all the dog’s food and spilling her water bowl (my bad, should have known they’d get into it) and occasionally being grumpy because they wanted to be on the couch with us but that “thing” was there hogging it. There were even a few nose touches and almost playful movements. At least after the initial hissing fit, there wasn’t any apparent signs of impending carnage.

Phew. I had a few nightmares about my cats maiming my mom’s dog or my mom’s dog maiming my cats. I wouldn’t leave them alone together in the house (tomorrow, the dog stays in the bedroom while we are gone), but when we are here, they seem willing enough to behave well with each other. I am so relieved.

I even got to see the Macy’s Parade this morning! I can’t remember the last time I got to watch it, always being on the road somewhere when it’s on. I probably haven’t gotten to sit down and enjoy it since I was a kid. That was fun. Then we watched a dog show. I’m not especially fond of dog shows, but there wasn’t much else on, and mom loves them, so that’s what we watched while we gossiped (and Lin hid in the den). Why so the poofy poodles always seem to be the big winners? Of all the dog breeds on the planet, the one I really can’t stand are those overly-dressed poodles. Gads, who thought it was a good idea to shave a dog like that?! It’s almost grotesque!

Mom’s already in bed asleep. Lin’s passed out on the couch. The kittens have dozed off somewhere after having a little fit about not being able to get into the bedroom. I should toddle off to bed myself soon. Mom likes to get up REALLY early, and since we are both feeling much better after having gorged ourselves on turkey and all the fixings all day, she’s looking forward to a full day of … shopping.

I have never been shopping on Black Friday. Having worked so many years in retail, I know what a misery it is for the people working, and I know what total morons the people shopping can (and will) be. But Mom wants to go shopping (window shopping mostly), so that’s what we will do until we drop from fatigue. So far, Big Lots, Hobby Lobby, and IKEA are on the list, but I am certain the list will grow as the day progresses. I’m hoping to keep it under eight hours, but the woman is a steam engine when she’s shopping, so if you never hear from me again, just assume we are still shopping somewhere. Yup, I better get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a LONG day, but I think it’ll be a fun one too.

Today was the best Thanksgiving, possibly ever in my life. Finally. A holiday to remember fondly.