Word of the Day

Morical - Possessing a strong moral value.

My brined turkey didn't work too well. Although the meat was tender, it was a lot drier than I was expecting...even the dark meat. I'm not sure if it was just my turkey or what. It tasted OK and that's the best I can say. Thank goodness for gravy. Next year I'll stick to my traditional recipe which has always worked out just fine. Other than freeing up the fridge space and the desire to try something new and different...it just wasn't worth the effort. I can still free up the fridge space by sticking the turkey (unbrined) into the same cooler I used for brining along with ice. My side dishes were wonderful. The unstuffed stuffing tasted wonderful but it doesn't seem right not to have stuffing if you aren't going to actually stuff it so...I'll return to my traditional methods next time I make turkey. I've got plenty of leftovers even though I sent leftovers home with my friends. The turkey will taste good on sandwiches this week and with a bit of gravy, HTP and I will enjoy another Thanksgiving meal tonight...with all the trimmings. Heck...that even sounds good for lunch. I'll have to cook up some cranberry sauce...sugar free. I do love turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce. The cranberry salad that my friend made was wonderful but she didn't leave any for HTP and me. *pout* She didn't leave me any of the pumpkin pie either. *sigh* Oh well...HTP and I are on a diet.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Even though we got some rain in the morning, thunder and lightning, the sun came back out at about the time that our friends arrived and the rain didn't return until everyone had gone home. We were able to sit out on the patio as we waited for the turkey to finish roasting as we chatted and sipped on our wine. And then after all the food was put away (eaten or stored in the fridge), and the first batch of dishes were being washed in the dishwasher, we took a leisurely walk around the neighborhood with Gypsy. Gypsy had a wonderful time and totally forgot about all her training when she was greeted by a few of the neighbor's grandchildren. She was loved!...and she didn't even piddle...well...only a teeny bit. No-one really noticed. They were busy giving her lots of hugs and kisses. After returning home, we watched the movie Ironman. Our friends had brought it with them since there really weren't any football games that looked interesting. The movie was great. None of us had seen it before. Afterwards, we enjoyed some pumpkin pie that my friend had made. It was a wonderful way to end our Thanksgiving together. They headed on home and I put away the clean dishes and loaded the dishwasher with the few remaining dirty dishes and finished cleaning up the kitchen.

It's Black Friday. However, I have no intention of hitting the stores. Any Christmas shopping that I need to do this year can be done over the Internet. Gypsy and I did take our morning walk around the neighborhood. I saw the dachshunds' owner and her friend and greeted them...at a safe distance. There weren't too many people out walking. I think the grandchildren had all gone home. The sidewalk was still a bit wet from the rain that we got last night after I'd gone to bed. My rain gauge reads that we've had 1/2" of rain.

I dressed my dining room table for Christmas. I thought it might get me into a Christmas mood but then when I started to spread the tablecloth out, I discovered that it had grease stains on it. I guess I didn't notice them last year after I pulled the tablecloth out of the dryer to fold it. So....I sprayed the stains with Zout and threw it into the washing machine along with my Thanksgiving tablecloth and some other things that needed washing. It's not Laundry Day but.... Anyway, the stains came right out with the Zout so after pulling out my Christmas candles and such, my dining room looks like Christmas. Since it's just me and HTP this year, I'm not going to do all that much besides maybe setting up my Charlie Brown tree and hanging our Christmas wreath out on the front door. It won't take me long to change out the bulbs in the carriage lights on either side of the garage and I may tuck a few sprigs of holly into the grapevine wreath my Dad made for me that I've got hung outside on the wall of the house adjacent to our front door.

I'm trying to get myself in the mood to write my annual Christmas letter and maybe start my Christmas baking. Maybe next week? Again, it's just HTP and me, and HTP and me are both on a diet. Even sugar free cookies aren't calorie free. I don't plan on doing as much baking as I've done in previous years. I think I'll just bake enough for gifting for the neighbors and my friends. But...I think I'll just take it easy today and see what might be interesting to watch on TV while I work on yesterday's Sudoku puzzle from the newspaper.

Murphyism of the Day

Shirley's Law

Most people deserve each other.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Don't laugh at a youth for his affectations; he is only trying on one face after another to find his own.

- Logan Pearsall Smith (1865 - 1946)