Tomorrow is the Big Day

river morning with tail 1
Originally uploaded by mygothlaundry

Every year, I swear I run a marathon. It starts tonight with brining the turkey (thank you Jim for reminding me about the mop bucket! You are a genius!) and then continues through the ritual making of pies and cleaning of the bathroom (what do you mean you want to take a shower? No showers until after Thanksgiving! The tub is clean.!) Tomorrow, of course, I go into full overdrive mode. Miles bitched a little this year about the food - why, he asked, does it have to be exactly the same year after year?
"Because," I said, "That's what Thanksgiving is all about."
"I thought you said it was about family and friends," he said (child is too damn smart for his own good) "And our family and friends would probably rather have something different."
This was of course a way to talk me into deep frying the turkey, which is not going to happen, but even leaving out the frying, he has a point.

I don't know why I feel as if everything must be the same, year after year, life without end, etc., but I do. I think I'm afraid that if the rites are not properly observed, the monsters will get us. I mean, you just never know. They could be waiting for the year that I branch out and try a different stuffing. I have eliminated, over the years, the stuff that became leftovers which got thrown out instead of eaten - sweet potatoes, I'm sorry to say, and carrots; we must just not really like orange things - and the world has not ended in fire and dismay yet, but you never know. My mother's stuffing and creamed onions might be the only thing keeping us from apocalypse. And I'm thankful that worked out, because I love creamed onions.

SO tomorrow, as always, I'll be cooking like a maniac and flying around and, quite possibly, tweeting it all. You're invited. Cocktails at 5:00; dinner at 6:00. Happy Thanksgiving!