on reading, thanksgiving menu, etc

Liam has the whole week of school off for the first time. I actually love this as the past two years, when he was in kindergarten and then first grade, he's only had Thursday and Friday off which has made Thanksgiving such a whirlwind. I wish that I wasn't so busy right now, but I am (the before and after school sale, and the 3 big holiday sales in Portland and San Francisco). 

We have a house full of friends arriving for Thanksgiving in a few days. I think the final count is 17 adults and 6 kids, not including Ben and Liam and I. And so I'm trying to get a lot done – because starting Wednesday afternoon through Friday night, I'm on vacation, right here at home.


Of course, we left off cleaning the basement til this weekend. It's not like this task has snuck up on us; it's just gotten pushed to the wayside again and again. But I am happy to report that it is spic and span down there now – and much of the reason why we were able to do this is that reading just clicked with Liam on Saturday. Now, he has been a good reader, well above average for sure, for some time. We read to him every day, and he reads out loud most days. On Saturday, though, Ben set him up in his stander in the basement with the first Harry Potter book (which he's had read to him before). And he read. And read. And read. Not out loud, just to himself. From Saturday to this morning, he read 118 pages. All by himself. And I think that is wonderful. 

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Thanksgiving Menu

dry brined turkey (a la Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken, my favorite, from this local farm)stuffing with celery, sage and chestnuts
mashed yukon gold potatoes
seared brussels with lemon and cream
swiss chard gratin with buttery bread crumb topping
raddichio salad with parmesan, anchovy olives, baguette toasts and lemon-olive oil dressing
gravy

That's what I'm making. Others are bringing snacks, a ham, cranberry sauce, green salad, pumpkin pie. Can you tell I have a hard time not cooking EVERYTHING all by myself? 

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I really want to make and eat these. I meant to make them over the weekend, but didn't have time. Maybe tomorrow, as a pre-Thanksgiving treat. Liam will love them. We are serious about our pumpkin pie around here. (For me, it's all about the pumpkin pie – no other kind – and the stuffing and gravy.) Liam asked me a few weeks ago when I was on a pumpkin pie making binge whether I could make just the filling. He called it a pot de pumpkin.

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I'm having such a hard time remembering that it's already pretty much the end of November! I don't know for sure yet, but my online shop is probably going to need to close a little earlier than usual this year because I'll be leaving for San Francisco on December 15th and not returning til the 18th. I don't know that I will have time to ship again when I return – nor will I know what sort of inventory will be left. I'll make a decision soon and let you know.