Happy Thanksgiving 2014

I am so proud of me: I put the stuffed 25 pound turkey in the oven at 6:31 a.m.! For me, that's the middle of the night.

Here's the Turkey!  Of course, I'm using my favorite Aussie dish towel.

Speaking of the middle of the night, I woke up at 3:15 a.m. and it was a darn good thing I had brought my cell phone into the bedroom (and set the alarm).  The power had gone off (again) and my alarm clock was an hour slow.  Meanwhile, I had learned the hard way that when my alarm clock loses power, it also loses the alarm setting.  It would have been a disaster to be an hour late with the turkey.

Emily is driving here this morning because the snow last night made it a bit tricky.  She will help me get the hot pan with the cooked turkey out of the oven.

We seem to have received about 6 inches of snow.  My faithful plowman was out there in the wee hours plowing (and I appreciate it).  He nicely offered to deliver the turkey for me but I told him I have to get to the Senior Center because, after all, I AM THE GRAVY QUEEN!  

I always arrive in grand style with whisk aloft.  Some of the other volunteers are not amused.  They have been slaving for hours peeling and chopping vats of potatoes and squash and I waltz in looking as if that's all I do. I make one large stock pot of gravy.  I used to make less and one year it was very tense as I ran low.  Those elders get MEAN if there's no gravy.  We almost had a riot two years ago when the stuffing ran out during seconds.  Everything has to be even on the plate, don't cha know. 

Ah, what I go through for you, Faithful Readers!  I went through the garage (in my jammies) onto the deck to show you the snow.  And when I backed off my perch (I didn't want to have the snow go over the top of my shoes, I stepped on a wooden rod and it rolled.  Nope, didn't fall! Guess all those years of ice skating served me well.  That's an idea.  Maybe I'll go ice skating this weekend ...

Standing on my front porch, looking east.

Looking directly across the street from me.  That's my decorative crab apple tree on the right.

This is my neighbor's shed (and his fence too).

My backyard.  Notice dawn appearing? I was getting too chilly to wait for full color.

Soon, as the rosy fingers of dawn appeared ... (That's from the Odyssey in case you have forgotten.)

Okay, that's it for the cold scenes. I'm going to fire up the Keurig.  Man, I love that thing!  Ciao for now.

Oh, wait: I have started reading Not With My Father by Andra Watkins.  It's "One Woman's 444- Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace."  This is an advance reading copy and, so far, I really like it.  I had been invited to a house party to meet Andra when she was actually pushing her other book.  Wait, I have to look it up.  

Her acclaimed first novel was To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis.

This just didn't seem like my cup of tea.  But I loved listening to Andra and I knew I would want to read her second book.  

So I offered to host her at the Jones Library and she will be

 coming in March.  Bring a sweater, Andra! It will be cold for a southern girl!

By the way, the woman who hosted her visit had met Andra through her blog, Andra Watkins, the Accidental Cootchie Mama.

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A good time was had by all at the Bangs Community Center, which is where the Senior Center is.

Here are some dedicated workers checking on one of the four turkeys.

Here is some of the turkey ready to go into the bain marie.

Nancy is in the center -- her 40th year of this giant production!  Lorrine is another volunteer (on the right).