A Thanksgiving List

The best thing about having Thanksgiving dinner in the city instead of the country is that everybody can come. We invited exactly the number of people that matched the number of available chairs (18) and they all said yes! So, as you can imagine, this post is late because we needed time this morning to recover and to finish off the apple pie and pumpkin muffins.

It was a busy week. First we had to buy the turkey. I found Tom, a big boy at almost 25 pounds, on sale. I wrestled him into the grocery cart and wheeled him out to the car. Oops – where Was the car? Then I remembered that I had parked in front of the LCBO, where carts are not allowed. I grabbed Tom and pulled him up into my arms. In a mad embrace, we reeled and swayed towards the car. I opened the door and threw him into the back seat. “You’ve got a hot night ahead, Tom.”

Then I started making lists. I’m a big fan of lists. It seems less stressful to write everything down – the menu, the decorations, the cooking times, and so on. Next we figured out the seating arrangements for our Lower Banquet Hall, aka the basement. I spent some time working out the pot luck arrangements. Who would arrive early and could bring an appetizer? Who might be late and would be better to bring a dessert? What fresh produce would Peter likely buy form Sunnyland Produce store at the last minute and then ask me to cook?

Things were shaping up nicely until I stopped to take a break with a cup of camomile tea and the latest Food and Drink magazine from the LCBO. And there it was: an article titled “Thanksgiving Made Easy” followed by an entire list of things to do to ensure the perfect Thanksgiving feast. I almost gobbled it up with delight. The first item on the list was “Make a plan.” Well, for sure this article was going to be very helpful.

I read item number 2.”Begin your fall cleaning. Start in the dining room with the chandelier.” OK skip that. I continued down the list. Numbers 3 and 4 were obvious ones about setting the table and clearing the moldy leftovers from the fridge. Number 5 was something about buying all new spices and labeling them with the date of purchase. Really? Somebody would actually do that? Number 6: “Use all your small appliances (air fryer, pressure cooker, George Foreman grill) to heat up food when you run out of space in your oven and on your stovetop.” What kind of meal is this going to be anyway? Are we feeding dignitaries? I glanced down nervously at number 7.

Item number 7 said, and I am not making this up: “Swap out your art work hanging on the walls from their existing frames, and replace them with inspirational quotes and words of thanks.” This was when I decided to close the magazine. BUT, not before I noticed one small warning in a corner of the last page: “In case of Turkey Trauma, call the Butterball Hotline at 1-800-288-8372.”

Today, I can happily report that yesterday everybody came on time with their pot luck contributions, the stove worked fine on its own, Tom was delicious, the kids played happily while the adults talked, there was no Turkey Trauma, and Peter and I are very grateful that we moved to the city.

Sue