Pie crust is made and in the fridge. I am trying to talk myself into baking the pies (pecan) tonight rather than tomorrow morning.

For the last couple of years we've culled our book collection every so often and passed on ones we didn't want to keep to our high school teacher friend for her classroom library. (Her city school library has a pretty dismal selection.) The kids especially love the comic books and graphic novels.

eBay is not a good option for me, because I am horrible at getting packages in the mail.

I am v v bad at this also, as you know because you still haven't gotten your necklace. Why is something that's so simple, so hard? Sorry... shame face

I am rushing everything so not chilling my pie crust dough. So far I have made one batch regular and one batch gluten free. Neither cooperated with getting into the pie pans, so like most years, I have Frankencrusts.

So far, I have cooked butternut squash and chestnut casserole, and I've got cornbread baking now. Tomorrow, I will make green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, and put the t shame frozen apple pie t /shame in the oven. (There was a limit to how much I could cook, and cutting all the apples for the apple pie was where I decided to draw the line. Plus, I can buy a vegan frozen pie -- most of the other stuff can't be bought vegan.)

I'm glad I started the pies tonight, because it turns out I was short on the corn syrup. Anyhow, the honey-bourbon pecan pies are in the oven, and I used some of the extra bourbon to make myself a nice, stiff drink.

So, I need to stop finding exciting new ways to fail.

Important pre-story disclaimer - no one is hurt.

To start at the beginning, this morning the truck didn't start the first time I turned the key, so, having been trained by my car's supposed loose battery cable, I pop the hood and hook up the handy battery charger that my dad had put in there. I realize as the car starts up that I didn't put the clutch in the first time and maybe just having the transmission is not enough to allow the car to start, so maybe I didn't need to pop the hood at all. This detail will be important later.

Go to work, work work work, get the day-before-a-holiday early end of day notice. Call my dad and tell him when I will be off work, and he finds a convenient train to come up on. I decide to take the highway route back to downtown rather than Cordelia Rd because that will be slightly more convenient for the train station.

Halfway down the highway, the hood flies up, completely blocking my view out of the windshield.

This is pretty terrifying and disorienting.

Luckily, there was no one right in front of me to plow into while I figured out that I needed to pull off the goddamn highway. Also luckily, traffic was light enough that everyone could move to the left lane when they passed where I was pulled over, because no way could I have gotten the hood back down by staying safely on the right side of the truck. As it was, one windshield wiper got ripped off and I couldn't actually close and latch the hood, so I drove at about 10 mph down the breakdown lane with my hazards on to the next turn and onward to my house.

Could not reach my parents, because my dad had left his cell phone at home and my mom had hers, but it was out of juice. Left them several messages.

The train station is less than a mile from my house, so I figured I could walk down and catch my parents, because they should be expecting me to pick them up and should therefore be waiting for me at the station. I'm not going to walk down to the train station without bringing the dog, that would be cruel, so Walter and I end up taking our usual route along the waterfront.

Get to the train station, no parents. Leave more messages. Decide that I will not wander off looking for them, I will stay put at the train station because goddammit that is where we were supposed to meet.

After a while, get a call from an unknown number which turns out to be my dad calling on my neighbor's cell phone (must remember to thank her, she also offered to give them a ride to the train station) because they figured they could walk down Main Street and see me coming since I would be driving their truck. So they saw the damage and were relieved I was okay and managed to meet up halfway between my house and the train station and walk together back to the truck.

Found some rope and tied down the hood because this is still the only vehicle we have available to us and the hood is physically unable to close all the way. Go get my car, which is purring happily and has all its lights working and tires aligned and all that good stuff AND starts right up first try. Have dinner (which was hell early for dinner but since I never had lunch was sorely needed) and plan out the best way for them to get home while avoiding the freeway as much as possible because who knows how well that tie-down is going to hold up against freeway speeds. They have not called to say they got home yet, but I promised not to fret because they are supposed to be going slow, after all.

It's been a day.

We are doing a Thanksgiving feast tomorrow, but it's just the three of us and no schedule or timetable needs to be adhered to and we will have at least two bottles of wine and all the necessary ingredients among us, so should be relatively stress-free.

ETA: Ack, x-post! So sorry about your awful day!
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I am in food prep central. We have about 17 coming tomorrow; 14 adults, 3 kids and the inevitable straggler who will show up for second dinner. I’m so relieved that I finally have a few people coming who can do the sides; for a long time I was the only cook and kind of had to do everything. Now I do the turkey, the veggie apple stuffing, the gravy, roasted parsnips, and mulled cider. Everything else is coming in from the outside. Winning.

Alas, also losing, because I just realized I have to make a grocery run for a few odds and ends I forgot. DAMN IT. EVERY YEAR.

Also, pro tip: do not leave your slotted spoon too close to the open flame when preparing your turkey brine. It will melt.

Oh man, -t! I'm glad things worked out more or less OK.

That's scary, -t! Glad you're okay.