What I did the day before Thanksgiving

I missed yesterday's post. Here's why.

1. Had to take one of our cats (Thor) to the vet's for a quick procedure at 8:00. This involved actually getting him in the carrier to take him to the vet's - no easy feat. After I gave him breakfast, I was able to grab him and lock him in a room. Then I ate my breakfast, took a shower, extracted him from the room, stuffed him in the carrier, and ran him to the vet's.

2. When I got back I uncrated Thor, got back in the car, and ran across town to drop the car off for inspection. The inspection isn't due until January, but this was my last easy opportunity to get it done. After dropping off the car,I walked back across town.

3. I planned to get started on the pies - coconut cream and lemon meringue - while the car was being inspected. But it got done faster than I expected, so I found myself walking back across town to pick it up.

4. The inspection and associated maintenance came out to less than I had budgeted for, so I set out on a quest. My search for My-T-Fine lemon pudding and pie filling revealed that it should have been available at multiple stores in my area. Most of them had come up empty, but there was one chain I had yet to check out - Price Chopper, and the related Market 32. But first, I needed to get gas.

5. I was $18 in grocery purchases short of getting fifty cents a gallon off on gas. So first I hit my regular grocery store and...overshot. I bought $27 in stuff, bringing my points total to 508.

6. From the grocery store I headed for what I thought was the location of the nearest Market 32 at the Narrows Shopping Center in Edwardsville. But along the way I watched the fuel gauge drop, and drop, until I realized I'd better fill up before doing anything else. So I replotted my course to hit the gas station first.

7. After getting gas at the Sheetz in Wilkes-Barre, I headed for the nearby Price Chopper. But first I decided to stop at the Wegman's next door. (We have a lot of grocery stores in Northeastern Pennsylvania.) Wegman's didn't have any Mu-T-Fine, and according to the woman stocking the pudding shelves, didn't carry it. I bought a much more expensive substitute. (My-T-Fine at Weis used to be 50 cents a box. This substitute was $2.99 for enough to make a single pie.)

8. I went to the Price Chopper next door (actually, on the next hill over) and realized I had never been there before. I entered, a stranger in a strange land. I found the pudding aisle quickly and joined the crowd of people scanning the shelves. Suddenly I saw it - My-T-Fine lemon pudding and pie filling! Eight boxes! I snatched them all, thought about it, and put two back for anyone else who might be looking for it. The shelf indicated it was normally 99 cents a box, but was on sale for 69 cents for anyone with a member card. I didn't have a member card. I told this to the girl at the checkout. She gave them to me at the member price and told me I could get a card at customer service. So I did.

9. Since I was already out and about, I figured I may as well head out to the comic book store in West Pittston.

10. On the way back from the comic book store I spotted another Price Chopper at the Midway Shopping Center in Wyoming. Armed with my shiny new member card, I headed for the pudding aisle and once again found My-T-Fine - dozens of boxes! I bought another six to bring my total haul to twelve.

11. I continued down the road I was on to get back to the Market 32 I was going to make my first stop. Market 32 is an upscale rebranding of the Price Chopper stores. But it had the same general layout as the two Price Choppers I had just been to - and their pudding aisle was also spilling over with My-T-Fine! But this time I was just here on a reconnaissance mission. I walked out empty-handed.

12. I came home to find my mom was still working on her cranberry relish. I helped her out as best I could, mostly with the heavy lifting - the Oster blender I bought years ago to replace our old dead Waring blender is an excellent piece of equipment, but heavy as anything. While we were doing this, an old friend I haven't talked to in a long while called. We talked while I shuffled back and forth, emptying the blender after my mom filled and ran it.

13. When she was done, my mom advised me that there was now not enough sugar left to make the pies. So, back out to the grocery store - my fifth grocery store of the day.

14. Back home, and decided to check my emails before I got started on the pies. And there was a long-awaited, life-complicating email I had been hoping to see. But nothing to be done about it on a national holiday. Follow-up would have to wait until Friday.

15. Pies at last. Lemon meringue and coconut cream. I didn't undercook or burn either of the fillings. I didn't bleed yolk into the whites and toughen the meringue. Everything came out exactly as it should have. But Thanksgiving dinner will be the real test.

...And after Thanksgiving, we'll see what happens.