And so I have experienced my first Thanksgiving weekend since starting upon the Weight Watchers journey. It could have been much worse.
I started the weekend early enough, on the 20th of the month. Without objection, I claimed three vacation days for the 22nd through 24th. Nine days of no work. I like how the math worked out.
Saturday I fixed something at work. But at least I had the rest of the day off.
Sunday I played hockey. But you'll have to read elsewhere in this journal about that.
Monday I got a lot of stuff done. Most importantly, a huge pile of electronic crap was sent to Weird Stuff and they even gave me money for the few bits that actually worked. I also spent time at the gym, in what was probably a futile attempt to fight off future food consumption.
Tuesday: pickup hockey (four people showed up), cooking the spinach fritada, and a batch of chicken stock. Now we have lots of chicken stock ice cubes.
Wednesday: driving.
Thursday: fifteen people (fourteen of whom are in that photograph) sat around our table. Hors d'oeuvres included Grandma's filos. The salad course was Granny's salmon salad and Mom's permutation of the spinach fritada. For the main course, Amy brought sweet potatoes, Vicki was supposed to bring cranberry relish. Mom made the rest: roast turkey, rice dressing, mashed potatoes, challah, green beans, peas. Dessert had a traditional pumpkin pie. But we mustn't forget Sahna's dessert plate, with baklava, hazelnut truffles, coffee truffles, and chocolate walnuts.
Friday, I tried to burn off some of the food by ascending Sandstone Peak at the Circle X Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Six miles, many elevation changes, and about four hours of walking. And then there was another family gathering, where Vicki foisted upon us her apple crisp. Accompanied well by vanilla ice cream.
Saturday I accompanied my parents to breakfast with Granny. We wasted some time at the Los Angeles Zoo, where I took many photographs and threw away about two-thirds of them. And then I drove home with a file cabinet and more of my childhood possessions in my car.
And now I need a vacation from vacation.