The Daily Rave

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Originally Posted by Tybee

We hooked up our woodstove and I made a cup of tea with a pan of water on the top burner.

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That is so cool, Tybee!!! DH had been looking for a cast iron kettle to sit on our wood stove, and he finally found one this year--at the antique place that's a short walk from our house! We use it for humidifying the air when it dries out with the use of the stove in the winter. I'm sure your tea tasted great!

My rave of the day is about one of the joys of getting older. For over 30 years now DH and I have been the family vacation bookers, funders, coordinators, and tour guides. Basically the kids just followed along, which was fine with us! After all, we're the parents!

So one of our DILs suggested that instead of hosting Thanksgiving at one of our homes, we might consider renting an airbnb. None of our VT houses are large enough for our growing family which is now, locally, 4 couples, two toddlers, 1 infant, and 2 dogs--not to mention DH's BIL who may be coming up here in November.

Well, once everyone bought into that idea, DH and I did nothing. They scouted properties and asked everyone's opinion. We chose a place, and DD grabbed the reins and contacted the owner, and booked it and sent us all a bill for our equal shares.

This is awesome!! I'm finally like my dear MIL who was happy to just tag along and let us "kids" take the wheel. Sometimes I think, "Wow am I really at that age where the familial roles are reversing??" And then I think, "That's fine. I can relax a little."

That sound wonderful, Catherine, and is definitely part of the joy of getting older. My husband was talking about the same thing this morning, about how much pleasure we get from watching the two local granddaughters growing up, and how it feels to be the elders in the family--really good. The Air bnb is a fantastic idea. I was talking about potential funerals for myself this week as I had to go in for major surgery, and told my husband to rent a bnb for the kids for a week to gather, unless they just wanted to do a zoom funeral. Either would have been fine, but they would have business to conduct and better to get them all together.

But surgery went well and here I am, grumpy and in pain but still here, so will think about using bnb for something nicer like Christmas.

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Originally Posted by Tybee

That sound wonderful, Catherine, and is definitely part of the joy of getting older. My husband was talking about the same thing this morning, about how much pleasure we get from watching the two local granddaughters growing up, and how it feels to be the elders in the family--really good. The Air bnb is a fantastic idea. I was talking about potential funerals for myself this week as I had to go in for major surgery, and told my husband to rent a bnb for the kids for a week to gather, unless they just wanted to do a zoom funeral. Either would have been fine, but they would have business to conduct and better to get them all together.

But surgery went well and here I am, grumpy and in pain but still here, so will think about using bnb for something nicer like Christmas.

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Oh my goodness--so sorry to hear about the surgery!! I'm glad it went well--definitely slow-play the holidays this year! DH needs hernia surgery and he's trying to put it off until the new year. I'm not sure that's wise. Take care!

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Originally Posted by catherine

Oh my goodness--so sorry to hear about the surgery!! I'm glad it went well--definitely slow-play the holidays this year! DH needs hernia surgery and he's trying to put it off until the new year. I'm not sure that's wise. Take care!

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Thank you!

That was what I had but then she found more in there so did two other things, a different kind of hernia and stitching abdominal muscles back together where they had separated. Honestly, I would say go ahead and do it and get it over with at a time of year he can't be out on the boat, but that you can still drive him to the hospital and it's easier to get around . I wasn't happy that I had to do it unexpectedly, but now it's over and it's not a bad time of year to be laid up. Definitely happy it is not gardening season, that would be such a waste. If he did it now, he should be healed from the worst by the holidays.

Sorry to hear about your surgery Tybee, but glad your family doesn't need to have that Air B&B funeral gathering. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Thanks, Rosa!

Catherine, such a great idea. No one has the pressure to host since everyone is hosting.

ah, I cannot count the number of times I have heard senior citizens in my former neighborhood express the idea that they bought a gisnt-ass house for the purpose of being able to seat their family at .Thanksgiving and provide sleeping quarters for all.

how much more sensible would it have been to hire out an air b n b house for the weekend saving thousands of dollars annually. And the houses in my neighborhood are not only big but they they are old, ca-Ching ca-Ching.

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

Catherine, such a great idea. No one has the pressure to host since everyone is hosting.

ah, I cannot count the number of times I have heard senior citizens in my former neighborhood express the idea that they bought a gisnt-ass house for the purpose of being able to seat their family at .Thanksgiving and provide sleeping quarters for all.

how much more sensible would it have been to hire out an air b n b house for the weekend saving thousands of dollars annually. And the houses in my neighborhood are not only big but they they are old, ca-Ching ca-Ching.

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When I bought this house, I didn't know it was going to be our only house so soon after buying it, but I always thought of it as our exit from big house ownership at some point. I don't want to spend a fortune on a mortgage, heating, cooling, furnishing, etc. I can't afford it, anyway!

The other benefit of not being able to host Thanksgiving, as you said, is all the work of cleaning and cooking! When people say they'll bring stuff, it's still the host's job to keep the ship on course. And I'm not a good natural hostess. DH is my shield in those occasions--he can regale guests with jokes and ply them with liquor and do most of the cooking, so people don't notice the cobwebs I've missed or the fact I forgot to set out soup spoons and salt. Last Thanksgiving I forgot to buy a turkey! So now, all success will be shared success, and I'm sure we'll have no meaningful mistakes or omissions. It should be nothing but a good time for all of us.

I'm glad to have a 600 square foot excuse to say "Sorry, we can't host this year."

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Originally Posted by catherine

When I bought this house, I didn't know it was going to be our only house so soon after buying it, but I always thought of it as our exit from big house ownership at some point. I don't want to spend a fortune on a mortgage, heating, cooling, furnishing, etc. I can't afford it, anyway!

The other benefit of not being able to host Thanksgiving, as you said, is all the work of cleaning and cooking! When people say they'll bring stuff, it's still the host's job to keep the ship on course. And I'm not a good natural hostess. DH is my shield in those occasions--he can regale guests with jokes and ply them with liquor and do most of the cooking, so people don't notice the cobwebs I've missed or the fact I forgot to set out soup spoons and salt. Last Thanksgiving I forgot to buy a turkey! So now, all success will be shared success, and I'm sure we'll have no meaningful mistakes or omissions. It should be nothing but a good time for all of us.

I'm glad to have a 600 square foot excuse to say "Sorry, we can't host this year."

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We actually went out to dinner for Thanksgiving by ourselves the last two years. The funny thing was in Michigan, who was at the next table but our farmer, the guy who we buy straw from, sitting with his big family, and he has the real deal farm and farmhouse and large extended family. This year in Maine we felt all sorry for ourselves and went to our favorite small town with a buffet and I swear, everyone in that town must have been there, and it was delightful, and fun, and you could talk to people if you wanted. I don't think anybody in that town stayed home and cooked dinner.

I'm really hoping our little volunteer fire department will host a town-wide potluck Thanksgiving dinner this fall. It was canceled for the past two Thanksgivings due to Covid. It was really a wonderful way to have a Thanksgiving dinner and see a bunch of people, share the duties and not feel like the onus is on any one person! The best part is you can leave any time you want when you've had your fill of socializing!