Thanksgiving Day

Hubbie set the clock for 6 a.m. yesterday morning, so that we would be sure to have the turkey ready for the smoker by 7 a.m., but for some reason the alarm didn't go off, so we didn't wake up until about 6:30.

We hurried downstairs, got the 21-pound turkey out of the fridge, and washed it. While Hubbie fired up the smoker, I seasoned the bird, and stuffed it with chopped celery, onions, and carrots. With cooperative effort, we still got the turkey into the smoker by a few minutes after 7 a.m.

After that, we dressed, had a cold cereal breakfast, and got busy preparing for a big family gathering. I spiffied the house a bit, while Hubbie peeled potatoes, and then I joined him in the kitchen to do other kitchen chores before getting the side dishes, like deviled eggs, ready for the meal.

Sis arrived first, about 7 a.m., and she went directly to Mother's house to help her fix part of the meal...two kinds of dressing, bread and cornbread, plus a separate turkey breast roasted in the slow cooker. Mother had already baked pumpkin pies, cooked giblets for gravy, baked squash, made a low-sodium version of the corn/green dish, and two varieties of cranberry sauce. Sis brought along a pan of cornbread dressing, also.

Niece, homemade rolls and cherry cream cheese pie in hand, and Daughter, arrived about 8 a.m. They, along with Sis, set the tables, filled butter dishes and pickle trays, and sliced bread.

About 11 a.m., I seasoned three canned hams with cloves, brown sugar, and pineapple slices, and put them in the oven, along with a large dish of sweet potatoes that I had pre-cooked Wednesday. At 11:30, I started the potatoes boiling, and put two dishes of the corn/green beans that I had pre-cooked Wednesday into the microwave.

Mother made two kinds of gravy...giblet for most of the family, and plain, low-sodium for herself and me. I mashed the potatoes, and sliced the turkey and hams, and Niece filled bowls with gravy and potatoes and placed them, along with the other side dishes and platters of meat on a buffet table. Hubbie made tea and coffee and filled the ice bucket.

By this time, everyone had arrived for the feast, and 29 of us gathered at three large tables. After Hubbie said grace, we were off to the races, each person responsible for filling his or her own plate (as many times as we wished).

Following the meal, those who still had room chose from the dessert table, where, besides pumpkin and cherry cream cheese pie, there was a pecan pie, brought by one daughter-in-law, and a mincemeat pie, brought by the other daughter-in-law.

I stayed pretty busy while everyone was here, so there wasn't a lot of time for visiting. But every chance I got, I captured a little one and planted a kiss on his or her head...and there were plenty of heads to plant kisses on, with five babies and toddlers crawling or running around the house.


After lunch, daughter-in-law showed us a CD slide-show of granddaughter and her Company in Army basic training activities. She also provided us with photos of granddaughter in uniform. Granddaughter, whom we missed at the Thanksgiving table, is scheduled to come home on leave in a couple of weeks, and we are looking forward to seeing her. She is physically fit and strong, except for an injured knee, which will require surgery. We don't know yet how her Army career will be affected by the injury.


About 1:30, Nephew announced that he needed to leave early, so I asked everyone to gather outdoors on this beautiful, balmy afternoon for a family photo. It was amusing to hear twenty-nine of us loudly tramp through a blanket of dried, crackling leaves to group in front of the leafless dogwood tree for a snapshot.


The rest of the family left about mid-afternoon, since they all had to travel about two hours to get home. Son and Grandson were on their way to deer camp, while some had to get ready for work on Friday, and others simply wanted to relax in the comfort of their own homes.


We were ready to nod off in front of TV, too. We had all pitched in on after-dinner kitchen duties, so things were in pretty good order for the evening, and anything that was left could wait until morning.

Kitchen glitches: fortunately, only two bloopers happened while preparing the T'Day meal. Right after I opened a can of jellied cranberry sauce for Daughter, who won't eat whole cranberries, a family member came into the kitchen, and in an attempt to hug, I dropped the can, open side down, on the kitchen floor.

Also, as I tried to lift the extra turkey breast out of the slow cooker, it broke and fell to pieces into the broth. Sis commented that this was probably the first turkey breast that basted and sliced itself in one motion.