A Moveable Feast

"A Moveable Feast" is the title of a literary work composed of Hemingway's memoirs of Paris.  That's not what this post is about.  I'm using the phrase more literally--this year our Thanksgiving feast is traveling with us up to the Wild Child's home in Humboldt.  We did this last year, although I don't think we hauled as much "stuff" with us last year.  Another difference was that we had our Thanksgiving feast ON Thanksgiving.  That's not the case this year; we'll have our family Thanksgiving meal on Saturday because the Wild Child has to work today.

Soccer Son and his Lovely Wife, their dog Izzy, Hubby and I, and my sister-in-law are heading north in two vehicles, taking with us a Weber (to barbecue the turkey), folding chairs, a folding table, luggage, and various items of food.  Thanksgiving at the Wild Child's little apartment is a bit of an adventure since she doesn't have an oven or a stove top; hence, the Weber.  She does, though, have a microwave, a toaster oven, and an electric burner or two.  So dinner takes a little planning, but it's very "do-able."  Besides hauling all that, though, we also have a big box and a second bag filled with this stuff--and more:

It's become our family tradition to make gingerbread houses every year, and we've done it on or near Thanksgiving for the past couple of years.  So after we've eaten turkey and all the other dishes that accompany it, we'll settle down to be as creative as our full bellies will allow.  Why, you might wonder, are we hauling all of the gingerbread house stuff with us instead of buying it once we get there?  Well, last year the Wild Child and I went shopping for gingerbread house kits in Eureka and absolutely could not find any pre-assembled houses.  And if you've ever messed around with a gingerbread kit, you probably know that trying to construct the walls and roof and getting the pieces to stick in a short period of time is incredibly frustrating.  So this year, when I found a variety of pre-assembled house kits, I bought them.  Besides the four you see here, I have one more PLUS one kit of smaller houses that--yes--do need to be "glued" together, but they're extra in case anyone else shows up or if couples won't collaborate on a shared house.

Today, on Thanksgiving, I'm making the dressing to take with us; Hubby's baking a pie or two and some homemade honey wheat rolls.  And we're treating ourselves to a Thanksgiving meal in a restaurant we love, Seasons 52.

Seasons 52 uses fresh and organic ingredients and each of their dishes is 475 calories or less--the perfect choice for those of us struggling to shed a few pounds during the holiday season.

So it will be a fairly relaxing and quiet day for us, but that's just as well since we'll be up early in the morning, attempting to shoe-horn everything we need to take into our two cars.  I hope you and your family are enjoying the holiday together.  Happy Thanksgiving!