A Thanksgiving to Remember

A cherished holiday memory -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I normally don't do warm fuzzy stories drawn from personal experience. It might make my blog interesting. But 'tis the season to relay personal tales about heart-warming family events. My family isn't especially heart-warming but I'll do my best. I spent 4 days across Thanksgiving in Round Rock, TX. My mother and step-dad have a beautiful house off of Sam Bass Road, and their house is pretty much the holiday hub for all the relatives in North and Central Texas. It was Grand Central Station this holiday, with cousins, aunts, uncles, in-laws, etc, showing up across the time I was there. The Thanksgiving buffet was pretty much available from noon onward, for any stragglers that happened in after the official dining hour.

HONEY

My Aunt Diane (who's close to my age, more like a sister), brought her new dog Honey. Honey is an English Spaniel mix, about 5 years old. She has one blue and one brown eye (I kept saying she reminds me of David Bowie). Her coat is white and brindle -- very pretty. We suspect she was abused in her previous life due to the way she responds to a few things (a little bit shy and skittish). One thing Honey did was stake out the kitchen -- she was very attuned to the food.

While we dined on pumpkin pie and Mississippi Mud cake in the dining room, we heard a big THUMP in the kitchen. Honey had knocked the trash can over, and had scored a big turkey bone.

My aunt was mortified. "HONEY! You know better than that!" We straightened everything up and let bygones be bygones. About an hour later, we were all in the den watching football. I hear my mother say, "Honey! what is that!?" Honey had a Styrofoam plate in her mouth -- with lots of food residue. Looked like she had prepared a little meal. She had violated the trash can again. My aunt was in disbelief. Honey's later misdemeanors included nabbing some turkey foil off the counter and tinkling on the den rug. We concluded that she might need some obedience training, although she's otherwise a sweet and affectionate dog. It actually made for a more interesting holiday in some ways. Her behavior was only a little more over-the-line than some people I've known.

SHELL GAS STATION

I had to put gas in my PT Cruiser before I returned it to Alamo-Rent-a-Car. I was pleased that the entire fill-up was only $12.99 -- gas is cheap in Austin. The screen on the pump posed me a YES/NO question and I didn't have my reading glasses. I thought it was asking, "Do you want a receipt?" and I entered "YES".

It was actually asking "Do you want a car wash?". Much to my chagrin it flashed up a screen with car wash options...
"Rinse only - $3.99, Rinse and Dry - $4.99". I really can't see well without my reading glasses. I thought the last option was "NO THANX - $0.00". This would be a gracious way for someone to cancel out of the car wash entirely. Instead, it said "RAINX - $9.99". I purchased the most expensive option, for an already clean rent car no less. I was in a hurry so no time to fuss with it. I'll just have to eat the cost and consider this "tuition in the school of life". Blind men, always bring your glasses. Vanity, thy name is expensive fill-up.

APRICOT SCRUB

Going thru TSA at the airport is always troubling to me. Maybe it's because I'm nervous and have shifty eyes, I don't know. It seems like I always have a snafu of some sort. I have travel sizes for all my toiletries EXCEPT for shave cream. I purchased a 6 oz apricot scrub at Krogers which was pricey ($8.00) and not even what I needed, but all I could find there. The TSA agent chastised me for having a too-large toiletry and confiscated it -- at least he didn't chastise me for having a girly-man apricot lotion. It would've been too much. Maybe he’ll use it now and smell all apricot-y.

In conclusion, this trip cost me an extra $18, for some things I should've anticipated. This trip was also characterized by a klepto English Spaniel, stealing food off the counter. All told, it was probably one of my better, more memorable holiday travels.

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