Aren't You Glad You're Not a Turkey? [On This Thanksgiving Day]

Sorry for the brief hiatus - daily posting becomes more difficult when balanced with a social life. But I'm back in the 'ville, so let's caught up.

Thursday:
1. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I wasn't such a fan of the pre-taped performances, but I did enjoy Tanni's running narration - "Ooh, ooh! It's Buzz Lightyear! NaVAH, I said it's Buzz Lightyear. Come see!" - as I attempted to make the Thanksgiving meatballs (Ripps family tradition of unknown origin).

2. Ugly boots.
For two years, I have scoured the shelves and websites for the perfect brown boot to stick my jeans into in the wintertime. Admittedly, I have been very picky: too short, too tall, too round, too pointy - I was like Goldilocks. And then, on Wednesday, I gave up. I got the Ema, "I-can't-believe-you-spend-your-money-on-this-stuff-but-okay-fine-I-like-them" seal of approval, and bought the first pair of boots that I tried on (I wore them on Thursday. It totally counts.). They're ugly. I love them.

3. Rice and gravy. Say what you will about turkey, stuffing, and all the rest; this super unhealthy but absurdly delicious combo is my Thanksgiving treat. Yum.

4. In our family, everyone has their Thanksgiving responsibility. Mine is to make the meatballs. Yosef Saadya Ripps Kogen's is to make the apple pie. Alas, the Sefster is far away in Eretz Moladeteinu, and as such, could not be counted on for pie production. My grandmother decreed that no one else could make the pie, and we were left lacking a dessert. I decided to enact a small social experiment - I made squash kugel in a pie crust, and called it squash pie. It was a hit.

...I always knew cran crunch et al. had no business being called "side dishes."

5. Lupper: n., a meal occurring in between or in place of lunch and supper. See Brunch.
The Deerson arm of the mishpucha splits Thanksgiving between the two sides of the family. On off years, we see them for Shabbat dinner instead. However, this year Aunt Ethel served their (real) Thanksgiving meal at 2 pm - giving them ample to eat and shmooze, while still arriving at our meal "to visit" approximately 15 minutes after we all sat down to eat. Gotta love the lupper.

6. Slides. The old slide projector unfortunately didn't make an appearance, but we did discuss - half-heartedly - the possibility of digitizing. Long live the old-school slide show.

7. Seffi stole my gimmick. His Thanksgiving post has a list of, ahem, seven things he missed about Thanksgiving in Jersey. He also solicited thankfulness lists from potential commenters. No big, Sef - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

As a bonus, check out my Thanksgiving messages to the Sefster (shoutout to Shoshana "Shoshmosh" Brownstein for organizing all of the messages Nativers received from their families. You rock, Shosh.).