Turkey by Noonch via Flickr

Happy Thanksgiving Firepups and FDLers of all stripes and persuasions!

I thought it would be a great idea to have a special thread this morning. Some of us are preparing to have guests. Others of us are preparing to be guests. Some of us are not doing either of those things. And, because I did my cooking last night, I plan to be here, too, until we leave about noon… Paul and I are going to spend the day with my daughter’s family… Theressa (daughter), James (son-in-law) and Michael (grandson), along with their two cats, Snowball and Cat, and their dog, Max, as well as an assortment of fish. And, I may be able to check in from their tech-savvy home, too, and maybe Paul will let me see what’s happening in the thread on his iPhone while we’re in the car.

Theressa is preparing the turkey and some side dishes, including a mushroom soup, which she cannot eat, since mushrooms cause an allergic reaction for her. She’s also making pastry crust, since dessert will be small tarts. I’m making butternut squash soup, which she can eat, as well as roasting Paul’s tofurkey roast. Given my dietary restrictions, I’ll probably make some mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, too, and maybe some stuffing for Paul, with those small cubes of potato bread that he likes. Theressa usually has some sort of sausage in hers and Paul doesn’t eat any meat or fish.

James will probably be cleaning, since he’s better at that, and Michael will, if I’m lucky, ask me to sing later on when he plays Beatles Rock Band.

Usually, there will be another guest or two, but not this year. They have a friend who often comes to holiday dinners and with whom I love to discuss politics, but he won’t be with us this year. Instead, he’ll be visiting his family.

If Paul and I leave on time – around noon for the 45-minute drive – we will get to listen to Arlo Guthrie sing the long version of Alice’s Restaurant, about a half-hour’s worth. We love it! Of course, we both came of age during that time.

What do you have planned for today? Are you going to dinner somewhere? Are you staying home and watching movies or preparing dinner for family and friends? If you are watching movies, which ones will you be watching? Or, maybe you have an iTunes list or mixed CD prepared for the day? Please tell us!