Giving Thanks

Flirting With Disaster

This Thanksgiving was not without a small number of mishaps, negligible and up-ending.  I admit to one  pre-guest minor meltdown, primarily directed at J when I accused him of not accurately planning the correct amount of time needed to cook the turkeys on the Weber grill.  I requested finished fowl at 1:00 pm (knowing full well that it would most likely be closer to 2:00 pm) so that I could have both birds carved, neatly arranged in pans and the counter cleaned up long before guests arrived at 3:00. I needed to allow enough time to arrange the chafing set-up on my only kitchen island.  He brought the second turkey into the house at 2:45. Ahhhhhhh! But luckily no one arrived on time, although, I am sorry to say, it was due to the misfortune of someone else on the road to grandma’s house, causing traffic delays.  I do hope that no one was injured.  But all the fare was in place by the time the first person rang the doorbell.

My aunt made the most beautiful platter of butternut squash… tiny dark orange cubes laced with delicate greenery and shiny cranberries.  I dropped it all over the floor.  I misjudged the weight of the dish and I should have kept it supported until it reached its destination on the counter. My trusty sister-in-law, T, always at the ready, got me through the disaster with a smile and a roll of paper towels (as well as a later eruption of a malfunctioning coffee machine). I hope my good-natured Aunt A will give me the butternut squash recipe someday because it really looked good, even from my teary vantage point to it's undeserved location on the floor.  But at least the remainder of the meal made it to the launching pad safe and sound, everything was hot at the same time and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The Meaning of the Day

“Thankful” lists are not a foreign exercise for me.  I post them often, just to remind myself of all the good things in my life, especially when I’m trapped the occasional quagmire of temporary darkness.  So… there may be repetition, but nevertheless, these are things I am thankful for.

1. My family – husband and two children.  Present and accounted for. Functioning and intact.  And most importantly, healthy or getting healthy.  The biggest entry on the thankful inventory: no more cancer. 
2. My mother.  She recently turned 87 and she is doing pretty well these days.
3. My mother-in-law.  And her children, their spouses and her grandchildren, who take such good care of her.
4. My sister, her husband and her three children.  
5. Reconnecting with extended family, and you know who you are.
6. Good friends, newly acquired and lifelong.
7. A roof over our heads.
8. Good food.

The Calorie Factor

I have decided that the most difficult part about Thanksgiving is the day after… all the leftovers!