Some time early this morning, I realized that I’ve booked an appointment for an oil change this afternoon at a dealership directly across the street from the Cape Cod Mall.
A slight revision in plan might be in order.
Thanksgiving was good, the day started with an hour and a half phone interview with a prospective employer based in Ireland; he’s recruiting for his home office in RI.
In the afternoon, my friend Carolyn and I tried out the Mashpee Camp Farley community Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, and (if both of us are still around next year) would definitely do it again.
Before we’d made these plans, Carolyn had ordered a complete Thanksgiving dinner from Stop & Shop, so she shared her leftovers with me, including a big chunk of turkey, vegetables, even pies.
At the community dinner, one serving – on an enormous, elliptical plate – was enough for firsts, seconds and even supper.
Carolyn and I ate our meal in front of the huge wood fire in the dining hall and took a short walk afterwards. The property covers 23 acres, most of it direct lakefront, and the weather had cleared enough that we could stroll comfortably on the grounds.
Evidently the organizers had completed home deliveries before we got there, and we noticed that a number of people were carrying take-out boxes for shut-ins, a thoughtful idea on the part of the planners.
They made up a plate which we delivered to Bonnie, who’d been sick the day before and thought she’d have to miss Thanksgiving. When we got to #11, though, it turned out no one was home, so I ended up leaving it in the frig, figuring someone would eat it.
Afterwards, we saw “Pride and Prejudice”, which I thoroughly enjoyed, even with its hokey made-for-Americans ending. Keira Knightley more than held her own as Elizabeth, and Donald Sutherland and Dame Judi Dench were, respectively, endearingly dotty and intimidatingly malevolent in their supporting roles as Mr. Bennet and Lady Catherine.
Earlier in the day, I could have lived without the broadcasts of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Why isn’t it sufficient to simply show the floats, the balloons, the marching bands, and leave it at that? Who decided that extraneous lip-synching was also necessary?
A point to CBS, though, for reporting an accident with one of the balloons which knocked down a street lamp, injuring two parade viewers. NBC totally ignored the whole incident.
While the parade was going on, a friend called to say she was spending the holiday in Newport.
This motivated me to finally make a decision about a timeshare week that has to be used by end of year, so I made a reservation at a resort hotel in Newport for New Year’s Eve weekend. I’m hoping the grandkids can stay over at least one night so they can use the pool – it’s become a recent tradition for their winter vacation.
So, one holiday down, one planned for, and one (Christmas) to go.