November 2008: Elections, Turkeys, and BOLT

November 4th, Tuesday - Daryl and I left early to vote. There was a long line at our polling place. It took 90 minutes. A woman brought her two kids with her and they would jump up and down saying "O-Ba-Ma! O-Ba-Ma!" It was cute. I also realized that our neighborhood is full of polite, patient people. We were going to Mo's election night party, when we heard the news that Obama won because people in our neighborhood were shouting and screaming. I felt bad because I made Daryl wait while I ate dinner. I knew Mo didn't have any food for me and I knew it would be hours before we could get away and eat. And Daryl wanted to be there at the election party when it was announced. Who knew we would know by 8p? When we finally got there Mo set me to work on an Obama pumpkin and we listened to Obama's speech. There was a pool to see who would guess when McCain would give his concession speech. Once again, who knew it'd be before 11p? Met a cool friend of Mo's named Lolly, a drummer at Acme, or is it Comedy Sportz? I liked the fact that she didn't know you could legally get marijuana in Venice with a doctor's prescription. The only reason I knew is because I read about it in THE NEW YORKER magazine.

November 22nd, Saturday - My first free Saturday after working 7 days a week. I've discovered that I'm pretty cranky when I work that much. It's extra, extra important to get plenty of sleep if you work that much. I think I need at least eight these days. It also helps to not have to cook as much, too. Thank God I have a house cleaner!

November 27th, Thursday - Thanksgiving! I did my usual dinner of cornbread sausage stuffing for a deconstructed turkey. I didn't believe my thermometer so we had to make Christian and Yuri wait for an hour while the turkey got to the point where it was safe to eat. I made giblet gravy and while I was pouring it into the gravy boat, Daryl called it "brown gold." I liked that. I also made candied yams, haricot verts, Yorkshire pudding, and Daryl set out a cheese plate for appetizers. I also baked a pumpkin pie and served it with whipped cream. Yuri brought mashed potatoes and I loved it because she served it on lettuce with little tomatoes around the edges. It was all lovely. It really is the best holiday of the year.

November 28th, Friday - Saw BOLT. In 3D. It was delightful watching this movie. There's a scene early on where Bolt gets chased by helicopters and it was so fun to watch the rotors come out at you and see the dog run by! It's a Disney movie,so you know the ending will be happy, but it was fun hanging around the characters until they got there. And the dog looked so cute. I cannot express how much more fun it was to watch it in 3D. It made up for the children behind us. One of them peed her pants, and another threw her sock at me. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOVIE! Maybe next time I go see an animated movie, I'll go to the late show. Maybe all the little kids will be asleep by then.