The time is 7:08 AM on Thanksgiving morning 2019. I had hoped to get up much earlier for a quiet, serene morning in which to write but I did’t get out of bed until 6:00 AM. As soon as I sat down to write this post my son walked into the living room and has begun to do what he normally does first thing in the morning on a free day and that is to play Fortnite. Usually I’d play with him but I really want to get my annual Thanksgiving post up before the busy day really beings. So now my ‘serene’ morning is punctuated with the sound of gunfire.
The first thing I did this morning was to make a GIF of my favorite Thanksgiving scene (above). It looks like it could be a setting from The Shire (Hobbit/LOTR) but it really could be from any number of wonderful fantasy stories. I posted the same picture but not animated in 2014.
I then wanted to post my favorite Thanksgiving recipe but couldn’t find it doing a Google search so had to turn on my computer. Not a big deal to turn on a computer but it is an old rig and I have to also sign in to Veracrypt to get to my files. Not a big deal but I’d rather just leave the computer off (I’m typing this on my tiny, Linux OS laptop which is much faster. Anyway, here is the recipe.
How to Cook a Turkey
Step 1: Buy a turkey
An internet Turkey Recipe
Step 2: Have a glass of wine
Step 3: Stuff turkey
Step 4: Have a glass of wine
Step 5: Put turkey in oven
Step 6: Relax, and have another few glasses of wine
Step 7: Turk the bastey
Step 8: Wine of glass another get
Step 9: Ponder the meat thermometer
Step 10: Glass yourself another pour of wine
Step 11: Bake the wine for 4 hours
Step 12: Take the oven out of the turkey
Step 13: Floor the turkey up off the pick
Step 14: Turk the carvey
Step 15: Get yourself another wottle of bine
Step 16: Tet the sable, and pour yourself another glass of turkey
Step 17: Say grace, throw-up, and pass out.
After I had found my recipe I then made the coffee and got my meditation in. Meditation is one thing that I must do before everyone wakes up. Now I’m writing this post and can do so when it is only Kai that is awake because he’ll just play his games or watch YouTube. However, when the wife and youngest come down it is almost impossible to be able to concentrate enough to write.
The next tasks this morning are to do the turkey prep and get it in the oven by 10:00 AM so it is ready to take out at 4:00 PM. Turkeys take a long time to cook. This is my one time of the year to shine when it comes to cooking and with so many people coming over the pressure is on not to mess up! I’m not worried though because I have notes and recipes very organized in my Note program which I modify and improve every year. Last year I consolidated everything and wrote down very clear instructions so it should be very easy to follow this year. I also got a new, high quality turkey rack so I could make the gravy directly in the pan. The previous rack was on the cheaper side and the coating was coming up in the pan so we couldn’t make gravy in it as nobody wants pan coating in their gravy.
I don’t plan on drinking a lot of wine this Thanksgiving because as I’ve aged I just don’t like the feeling the next morning even if I only drink a little. I like a clear mind and alcohol will fog it up and make me somewhat depressed. So I bought myself sparkling grape juice, the kind that comes in a wine bottle. I still will have some wine but I won’t be following my recipe above this year.
Yesterday was a productive day; I realized I needed to get some things done to be prepared for Thanksgiving and the weekend. For the first time this year the house was very chilly in the morning, so much so that I wanted to turn on the heater. I didn’t want to turn on the heater as I had not yet changed the filters and didn’t want to get bombarded with extra dust. So I turned on the gas fireplace which I hadn’t one in a year or two because I didn’t want an outrageous gas bill. I also brought in the heat lamp from my office. The chill of the morning made me realize I better go get new filters so our house isn’t cold for Thanksgiving!
I also had to clean out the gutters as the “ridiculously resilient ridge” which has kept California dry for a very long time finally broke down. We had one strong storm, now have a two day pause and then will get several straight days of rain. The storm left a lot of debris around our house so in addition to cleaning the gutters I had to clean up the yard as well. Then we did one karate lesson and that was the end of our activities for the day.
Therefore, I’m feeling pretty accomplished and on top of things this morning. The wife has now come down and with two family members in the living room now the ideal conditions for writing have now ended this Thanksgiving morning of 2019.
My next chores are to attempt to fix two Nintendo Switch controllers then prep the food for the Turkey. If I have time I’ll try to write another update.
Update 12:01 PM.
It has been a busy morning. I published my Thanksgiving post and only now, 5 hours later, I have a break. The turkey prep went pretty well thanks to my instructions from last year and I only needed to add two or three modifications. The house is now filled with a wonderful aroma of cooking turkey filled with aromatics, rosemary and thyme. The wine is open and decanting and I’ve got the giblets simmering on the stove to make turkey stock.
Everyone is expected to arrive around 1:00 but there is a curious phenomenon that happens to Japanese people when they’ve lived in America for a long time. In Japan they are always extremely prompt as being late would be insulting to the hosts. However, I’ve found that our Japanese friends NEVER arrive on time here in the states. It isn’t just 10-15 minutes either but often an hour late. I told the wife we’ll just have to tell them the start time is earlier than it actually is.
Side Note: I just got done reading a few entries from Thanksgivings past. I read one from 2014 and am shocked at how quickly time passes. That Thanksgiving was 5 years ago but in my mind doesn’t seem so far in the past. This Thanksgiving I’m especially thankful for my online journal. It is really something to be able to read about my own thoughts and life from long ago.
As for the kids, they argued as usual this morning but are now sitting together on the chair. They fight, they play well, they fight, they play well, all in the same morning.
