Preparing for Thanksgiving

I just can't wrap my brain around the fact Thanksgiving is next week.  I know we've been busy, but I think the main problem is there's only three weeks between Halloween and Thanksgiving this year.  That tight schedule on top of retailers extending the Christmas shopping season into most of November has really given Thanksgiving the "short end of the stick" this year.

But today I found out dad is having Thanksgiving with my brother's family this year.  That takes the stress of preparing and serving our meal down a notch.  I now only have to work with two schedules, ours and my daughter's.

In Jim's new position with St. Louis County Parks, he'll be driving the County float in the Ameren Missouri Thanksgiving Parade in downtown St. Louis this year.  The grandsons, of course, are extremely excited about this new addition to our holiday.  The parade starts at 8:45 A.M. and I have no idea when it's over.  But I feel certain Jonah will be ready for a nap afterward.

Therefore, instead of our regular 1:00 P.M. Thanksgiving meal, I think this year we're looking at 3:00 P.M.  But, since I cook everything the day before, I only need an hour's notice to put the meal on the table, so I can be flexible.

But I do need to finalize the menu and get the shopping done before next Tuesday.  Time to watch a lot of FoodNetwork to get me in the mood!