It was a nice day. A very nice day. My Mum flew here to keep me company, help me with dinner and to spend time with our family over Thanksgiving. My husband had the day off and my kid is still here (he will be leaving for college next year). I slept as much as I needed to and got up at my normalish 11am. Mum and I had our usual soft boiled egg and toast for my breakfast/her lunch. It seems to be the best breakfast for my body. It likes the protein and carb combination.
After our meal I made GF brownies from a mix and got that in the oven. Mum, hubby and I prepped the turkey. It was too heavy for me to lift, a measly 12 pounds. I have no muscles left. Anyway, he lifted it for me while I slimed it with olive oil and herbs. After adding the sherry to the cooking pan, draping oil soaked cheesecloth over the top and tenting with foil, hubby lifts it into the oven. I am exhausted. Mum and I clean up a bit and I get my kid to empty out the dishwasher so we have somewhere to pile the dirty dishes. I'm really beat.
I go lie down in bed and stare out my window for a while. The sun is barely breaking through the overcast sky and I'm looking at it through the bare branches of the Linden tree in the front yard. I think of the cold tundra of Alaska. I would love to go there someday. For some reason I'm fascinated with Alaska and the wilderness there. Like Alaska the sun doesn't bring any warmth today. It is quite chilly outside and I'm glad I'm in my warm bed. I put on the radio and listen to a lady talking about the lyricist of Guys and Dolls. Of course I can't remember his name just that he would have been a hundred years old if he were still alive. I listened to stories of his life, of his getting in a huge fight with Frank Sinatra and punching the leading lady in the nose. I add more blankets to the bed and drift off to sleep with the smell of rosemary and turkey filling my bedroom. I wake up two hours later thoroughly refreshed.
I put on my new black slippers with little white kitty paw prints that my Mum got for me when we went grocery shopping. I wandered out to the kitchen and called my husband to help me with the turkey. It hadn't been basted in the two hours I had been sleeping. He pulled it out of the oven and it looked and smelled spectacular. I basted it and he shoved it back in. I called my son in and loaded up his arms with vegetables from the fridge and supplies from the pantry. This dinner was going to be a group effort for the first time ever since I've been making turkey dinners. My son prepped the green beans; my Mom prepped the potatoes; I dumped the bag of carrots out in a pan and measured out the ingredients for the Pepperage Farm stuffing. It was to be a simplish meal. A combination of partially prepped food and stuff from scratch. Anything that would make things easier but still tasty and healthy. The menu was all natural turkey from Whole Foods, Pacific Foods GF turkey gravy, home made mashed potatoes, carrots, greenbeans, peas, Pepperage Farms stuffing mix and frozen dinner rolls and GF Against the Grain frozen rosemary rolls. The only butter used was for the rolls and in the mashed potatoes. The only indulgence was the GF brownie sundaes for dessert.
It was only the four of us for dinner but I was happy. I didn't feel left out like I usually do. Everyone had pitched in to help with the meal. Hubby had lifted things and taken care of the basting after I showed him how to do it. Kid prepped vegetables and did dishes and set the table. Mum helped me with everything. It was wonderful. The only thing that bummed me out is that my stomach has shrunk since I have been eating much smaller meals than I used to. I couldn't eat a huge meal or even have seconds. I did have a wonderful meal that was delicious with my family.
I was tired again so Mum and I sat and watched the Rockettes Christmas show on PBS. Again I was grateful for her company. Usually I end up watching stuff like this on my own. Instead I could hear my Mum's foot tapping out the beat of the music on the television while I thought about both of our past involvement with theatre, shows and ballet. It was a shared moment that made me very happy. Hubby walked in and found out that I was cold so he added more wood to the stove and put a blanket over me. What a wonderful day.
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