peel, chop, boil, roast, bake
stir, strain, mix, cool, slice, serve, eat
then time to have pie!

I have read that cooking appeals to some folks as it is a do-it-yourself project that you can do in less than one day.

Count me in.

Thanksgiving maybe my favorite holiday.

I think its great that we have a day put aside to recognize that we have much to be thankful for.

I like that it was Lincoln that issued the 1st Thanksgiving Day proclamation.

I love the food.

I love the anticipation of the food.

I love the smell of the food.

And I love the preparation of the food.

Starting with a vast selection of ingredients and turning them into different dishes that are all ready to eat at the same time.

I love the challenge.

And I am thankful that I don’t have to do it every day.

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Please note there is some historical discussion that the proclamation was written by Seward and not Lincoln.

Nevertheless, Lincoln was the President.

turkey anxiety
big enough, thaw, roast, carve, eat
all these leftovers

Each year the same anxiety.

Turkey presents such interesting problems.

Often overlooked is, will it fit in the oven?

And don’t forget that bag of stuff in the backend.

Don’t throw out the neck but save it for soup. (Oh, right)

I got rid of much of my turkey anxiety but how I view the overall operation.

My wife’s favorite part of the meal is mashed potatoes and stuffing COVERED with TURKEY GRAVY.

For me the meal prep is all about the gravy, the gravy, the gravy.

For me, the entire meal comes down to the gravy, the gravy, the gravy.

As I view it, I am just making gravy.

Gallons of turkey gravy.

The fact that the turkey gets cooked in the process along with a bunch of other dishes is incidental to my goal.

It is amazing how much less anxiety there is for me overall since I am focused on the gravy.

All my eggs are in one basket and I am watching that basket!

Somehow, it all comes off.

The Butterball Turkey people maintain a HOT LINE for those whose turkey anxiety has put them out on a ledge.

They also handle any turkey related questions.

The Butterball people have published some of their favorite queries.

One that stands out for me was from a lady who discovered a frozen turkey that was 20 years old.

She called to ask if it was still good to eat.

The Butterball people told her that as long as it had not been thawed out, it was okay.

But, since it was 20 years old, the flavor might not be the best.

The Butterball people, to their credit, did recommend that it while it was okay, it might be best if she bought a new bird.

The lady paused and then said, “You are right. I’ll donate this one to my church food drive!”

Maybe the meal is designed so that we can give thanks that it happens once a year.

But I will have a repeat performance on Christmas.

Gosh darn those Pilgrims.