It is cold and windy out and a storm is a brewin’. I love this weather! After a quick trip to the market to get more stuff for the big meal, we are about to head over to see the in-laws and watch some football. I’ve got a roast in the Crock-Pot and I am trying to bribe rally the kids into sitting for a holiday pic. Each year, it gets harder and harder to take pics of them and I’ve got nothing good to put on the Christmas card. Seems like a simple request but I swear, they act like I am killing them or something.
On the reading front, I am still reading 1Q84 and really loving it. It’s the type of story that you digest in small bits because it really makes you ponder your existence (in general). I’ve been enjoying a couple of chapters here and there, but come Wednesday, I will be reading King’s new one so I have to finish 1Q84 before then. Time to pick-up the pace a bit. I am also reading Sunset Park and that is also a book that you ponder after putting it down, so my brain is in overdrive right now. I love it though.
This week I am working Monday and Tuesday and then I am off the rest of the week. We will be enjoying another year of “Thanksgiving in Pajamas” which means that on Thursday, we will be absolute slugs. We will eat, drink and be merry and do nothing but watch movies and maybe The Twilight Zone or I Love Lucy. A long time ago we did away with the pretense and it’s made the holiday super fun for everyone. We still break-out the fine china but it’s casual and easy. It’s become my favorite thing.
Anyway, I am off to get those kids photographed. Wish me luck!
Book Chatter 
Luck! 🙂
Thanksgiving in pajamas: sounds perfect. That’s how I’ll pretty much be spending my Thanksgiving holiday weekend….and catching up on some reading.
You’re still reading 1Q84?!? And you wonder why I didn’t want to read it yet and wait? Hmmmm. 🙂
Yep, still reading that puppy but I am loving every minute of it. I am about 300 pages away from finishing it and it just keeps getting better and better.
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Thanksgiving in pajamas…I love this idea! I get pretty close to this as I usually have a grubby sweatpants and sweater on all day long! We had kind of a mini snow storm here yesterday. It didn’t really snow hard, but it was consistent all day long so we ended up with about 6 inches of the fluffy stuff when all was said and done. I had to wait for my hubby to plow the driveway before heading to the grocery store. Now to watch some Green Bay Packers!
Well, we used to take the family photo on Turkey Day because we were all dressed-up, etc. But, it became a chore. First off, I always had a million things to do and then to have to stop to take a photo? Nah. And the kids would always get messed-up in some way. Now, we just sort of lounge around. We still shower and all because I cannot work without a shower but we put clean jammies on and just hang-out. Soooo much better.
Green Bay made the hub happy yesterday!
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I say just dress your dog up and put her on the card! that is what I might do this year!!! As for the pretense…yay you! I love how you are nothing but honest. We just make our meal with each of us saying something we’re thankful for and then we dig in. Holidays should be fun not pressure for everything to be ‘perfect.’ I only have to work Mon and Tues too!! I have no big plans for those days off other than enjoying time with the family, getting my book room in order, getting all of my stuff out of our bedroom because the hubby is gutting it on Monday! We’re having new insulation blown in, drywall put up and finished, new carpet. Finally I’ll have a bedroom that I will want to spend time in! Whew…I sort of wrote a mini-chapter didn’t I?
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 😀
The dog is in the pic too. She was worse than the kids!! BUT, I got the photo! Took 18 attempts but I got it.
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You are killing them! Or something. What if their friends saw them on the family Christmas card? The horror. I feel your pain. Think I will draw a picture of them this year. Easier. 🙂
Enjoy your shortened week, the family fun, and that appreciated door stop. Happy Thanksgiving!
LOL! I told The Boy that if he continued to be such a pill, I would be sure to post the pic on Facebook. That worked for all of three shots but I did get the pic I wanted. Eventually.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!!
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My daughter actually suggested this year that it’s time to do Christmas pics of the kids again so there’s hope that your kids will get there, too! I love the idea of Thanksgiving in pjs! I’m all of the tradition and, I suppose, it’s good to dress up and go a little crazy once in a while but it is exhausting. Once in a while I wish we lived too far away from family to have to do it every year!
I also got tired of the family drama. People bringing FROZEN hams and the like. If someone offers to bring something and they say “ham” wouldn’t you expect a cooked one? I’ll never forget when that person dropped it on my granite counter top. Bam..it’s frozen. I almost died.
No drama. Just us 🙂
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Love ‘Thanksgiving in Pajamas’ and it sounds like what we do here unless I rally and the weather’s right for the Parade. More often than not it’s a quiet day of casual wear, good food, The Odd Couple marathon, a couple of good movies, football, a few games of scrabble etc.
Great reading (except Sunset Park but I’m just not an Auster fan).
Enjoy football and such at your inlaws. Good luck with the Christmas photo. Sometimes kids make a big deal out of the smallest things. But when I was a kid I thought having my picture taken was torture! lol
That’s right! You could actually see the parade in person. I saw it once, when I was a kid (2). I didn’t know there was an Odd Couple marathon. I loved that show, too.
As for Auster, I really like his writing. I know my book club had mixed feelings about Invisible, but I liked it and Sunset Park has the same feel to it.
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Frances’ comment made me laugh. I know you and I have had this conversation, but mine are horrible with pictures. And I sneak them in all year long, not just now, trying to get one that is casual and cute and not posed. Not only do I do the Xmas cards but a calendar, so I need not one but TWELVE pictures. Ugh. I am totally excited about King’s new book. I’m on hold for it on audio. Who knows when I will actually get it…
I could never do calendars for that reason. Twelve pics. Good Lord! I think I got the pic that I wanted, but I have to blow it up and see what’s wrong with it. I thought a pic was really good one year and it had all sorts of “noise” in the background that I could not fix in editing. I used it anyway but it was a shame.
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I read a chapter of 1Q84 last week at the library, and it’s everything I love in Murakami! I can’t wait to actually eventually read it!
I can’t wait for you to read it for real! I am about 300 pages away from finishing it and it’s even better than I had hoped.
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Yay for time off work! I was thinking of you today. I was at World Market and everywhere there were different varieties of caramel salt chocolate or whatever order you say that in! Hope the pics go well!
I know! I was at World Market getting coffee and saw all the wonderful stuff.
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Did you get a “Moooooooooooooo-ooooooooooooooooooom?” Or just eye rolls?
I got a “Moooooom” and a couple of rude “Come on. Take the pic” type comments.
Can I come to your house, I love the way you celebrate. I am hosting 34, can you see the crazed look on my eyes!
I used to host about 28 for years and years. I got good at it, but it’s a lot of work even if they bring stuff. 34! Wow!
Happy Thanksgiving! I will be thinking of you!
Ti, I’m loving the idea of Thanksgiving in Pajamas 🙂 As for the Murakami, like you I’m reading it slowly – piece by piece, because there is just so much there – I love it!! I need to get my hands on the King book – its on my TBR list 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!!
I don’t know how Murakami does it. Each sentence has meaning which is really amazing when you think about it.
Happy Thanksigiving to you!
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Your Thanksgiving sounds uber-relaxing! Can I come over?
I love our Thanksgiving, but we definitely trot out the works, and it’s sure a lot to do for a meal that disappears in what seems like mere minutes. 😉
The meal always tastes better the next day. At least, for the cook anyway 🙂 Have a good one. Drink some really good wine and enjoy the experience!
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I love Thanksgiving in Pajamas!! That sounds like a perfect fit for me. I think we’ll have to try that!
If you try it, you will never go back.
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I love your very fine idea of Thanksgiving In Pajamas…it sounds like the perfect way to spend the day…
I do most of the big stuff the day before so the day of is a lot easier. Do you watch the Parade? The Girl and I always watch it while sipping something good.
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Very cool Thanksgiving in PJS…jealous.
I started 11/22/63 yesterday and it’s very addictive. I also have 1Q84, but it looks like we’ll be reversing our order here…LOL
Have a great holiday.
Glad to hear that the King book is addictive. I sort of expect that from him. Happy Thanksgiving!
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That sounds like the perfect way to spend Thanksgiving! We don’t even know where we’re spending ours yet.
My slug day is Friday 🙂
I cook the big meal…already have made dressing and sweet potato casserole 🙂 and then take Friday off to do whatever I want…p.j.s and books are what I want!!
We were invited to someone’s house but I have cooked ever since I moved out on my own. I like my cooking 🙂 I thought about how nice it would be to go somewhere else, but what if I don’t like the cooking? Plus, I am gluten-free now. That would be difficult.
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Good luck with the photo. My three year old little grand daughter is going through a stage where she just will NOT allow herself to be photographed. It is tiring and frustrating.
We are prepared to be slugs on Turkey Day as well:)
The Girl still poses so she is not usually the problem. The Boy and pup gave me a really hard time this year, but I got it!
I have GOT to get pictures taken of my kids! It’s making me crazy to not have any and they are just getting bigger and bigger!
I love Thanksgiving, it’s my favorite meal of the year. This year I have to work in the evening, but that’s ok.
My problem is that I never carry my camera around anymore. It’s a big SLR and it’s just easier to take photos with my phone, but they aren’t nearly as good. So then when I go to upload them, they are out of focus or the lighting is sub par.
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This is our first year having a family portrait done, and I am sort of excited about it because I am going to have one pose with everyone lounging around reading their favorite book. That’s not the one that is going out to family, but the one I will keep for myself. I can’t wait for your report back on the new Ishiguro. I have wanted to read it, but I need to read a few reviews first.
I hope that you have a very relaxing few days off, and I am hoping that you also enjoy your turkey as well!
Your portrait idea sounds fabulous!! Good luck with it!
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Love the pajamas idea. We are hosting this year and have explained that everyone should come very casual. For us is it’s also a day to relax, eat a good meal and watch football. Ending the night with a movie.
I hope you were successful with your photo challenge. 🙂
I think I’ve got the photo. I have to blow it up to see if there is anything weird about it but hopefully it is okay. The Boy gave me a really hard time, looking constipated the entire time but I tricked him at one point with a fake 1, 2, 3 and snapped a decent pic.
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I am looking forward to both your reviews of King’s new book and the Murakami, which I hope to get to one of the short story collections I took out from the library soon and review in December. King’s book is on my TBR wish list!
The big question now is, whether I will read it on my Kindle or buy the actual book. I am not a fan of the cover art or even the title so I will probably go the Kindle route.
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SO many things to smile about here in your post and in all the comments. Happy Thanksgiving! I *almost* bought 1Q84 but I’ve signed up for a readalong in January. If I buy it now and start it now, what will I do then? ontheotherhand, what if i need all this time to get through it?!
I can tell you, that the book is not hard to read. However, it is not the type of book to rush through. You will find yourself reading a bit slower and even repeating parts just to get the full effect. I’d say, if you want a little leeway but don’t want to be too far ahead of the game, start a couple of weeks before Christmas.
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I’m so jealous that you get to hang out and rest on Thanksgiving! We’re going to two family get-togethers and will be visiting with 30-40 relatives between the two. Then my mother-in-law and I are hitting the late night sale at Wal-Mart. I’d much rather be at home in my pj’s but will make the best of it.
I got 1Q84 from the library but have few hopes of finishing it before it’s due back (there are a ton of holds on it – but I got it first before any other patrons, so can’t complain about that). I think I’m just going to see if it catches my fancy and then if it does I’ll think about buying it or just put it back on hold.
That Walmart sale is going to be nuts!! I don’t think I could shop after eating such a big meal. Heck, I can’t even stay up past 10 these days. Our Walmart is open 24 hrs anyway so it’s not that exciting to us.
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I think I’m going to borrow your Thanksgiving in Pajamas. I know I won’t get any arguments from my husband. 🙂
Everyone always looked forward to the food, but they grumbled over the forced merriment. Now, it’s so much easier and they look forward to it. You should definitely try it next year!
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