so sleepy ...

[ursamajor]

but i have turkey boobies roasting in the oven!

(just blame technomancy)

and i have cornbread stuffing in the fridge (which will be yummy) and pumpkin rice pudding chilling in there as well (which will be even *more* yummy :) ), and after another wee break, i am going to go make my sesame green beans.

and then i will sit myself down at my window, the steam heater whistling at me on one side while the fan blows in cold air on the left from the open window in front of me. and i will eat a yummy thanksgiving dinner that i made ALL by myself.

and then maybe after dinner i'll get around to that laundry and cleaning that i was supposed to get done today ... hehehe.

happy thanksgiving, everybody.

bending tradition slightly, putting John Denver and the Muppets on *during* dinner as opposed to right after. :)

7:45 am: yawn bemusedly at the sun. roll out of bed. gossip with theducks for a wee. learn what a merkin (rhymes with gerkin) really is. wonder why on earth people would need one of those.
8:20 am: realize that starting cooking is probably a good thing. wander into the kitchen. search for mixing bowls.
8:25 am: add "normal size" mixing bowls to christmas list upon realization that all i have are two bowls that could easily double as babybath basins, and a bunch approaching dollhouse size.
8:40 am: stick cornbread in oven. do first load of dishes.
8:50 am: read recipe for pudding. realize belatedly that not only do i not have six cups of milk, i don't have ANY milk in my fridge except for a carton of vanilla soy milk. realize that i also need pulp-free, "normal" orange juice as opposed to calcium-enhanced.
8:55 am: oh thank heaven for 7-11. run across street in pajamas and sandals. forget to put bra on. oh well. get roll of quarters while i'm at it.
9:05 am: return to the lovely scent of cornbread. :)
9:15 am: take the cornbread out of the oven.
9:20 am: finish mixing the pudding and put it on the stove to simmer. wonder if it should be covered or not. eventually, the liquid is supposed to be absorbed into the rice. does this make a difference?
9:30 am: doesn't matter right now. it's boiling over.
9:40 am: the pudding is to the simmering stage--i *hope*. we will find out in 20. hopefully the milk mixture will be absorbed magically into the rice. do i cover it now? i hate when the recipes don't tell you when to cover, when to not. :P
9:45 am: well, major lesson #1: two cups of rice and seven cups of liquid may fit into your largest saucepan pre-cooking, but when they get a little hotter, they will overflow. i suppose this really should be major lesson #2, major lesson #1 being: make sure you have *all* your ingredients before you start. (or #1a, which I prefer: live across the street from a 7-11).
9:50 am: okay, it's almost 10 am. if the neighbors aren't yet up cooking, too damn bad. *turns on Great Big Sea - Road Rage*
9:55 am: note to self: your back right burner's hotspot is to the upper right of center. keep rotating that pot.
10:05 am: take pudding off stove; add canned pumpkin. taste. not *quite* sweet enough, but it'll be topped with brown sugar at serving.
10:10 am: put pudding in to chill. check the cornbread--cooled, ready to make the stuffing.
10:20 am: find recipe. break over. :) trot into the kitchen to crumble the cornbread and chop the peppers.
10:45 am: transfer stuffing to container for the fridge. put it in to chill for 45 minutes.
10:55 am: change the CD (now playing: BNL, Stunt)
11:30 am: wander into the kitchen to put the stuffing in the oven. wonder idly just how a merkin would: a) be attached, b) stay on! also wonder idly about the mechanics of the end of the most recent buffy episode.
12:00 noon: check on the stuffing. not quite done. starting to get the
munchies.
12:15 pm: stuffing's still not done. start feeling a little intimidated. wonder about the bird. wonder if it's too late to have a vegan thanksgiving (partly inspired by rabi's latest link).
12:20 pm: go get cheese and crackers from the fridge. today's cheese: Les Fermiers Lingot du Quercy. yay for the bread and circus cheese sampler bin. mmm yummy, like a brie with a ch�vre center. realize belatedly that cheese made from goat's milk isn't vegan. oh well. there goes my vegan thanksgiving. ;) actually, 'twas probably gone when i used the egg in the cornbread this morning ... and the real milk instead of the vanilla soy milk in the pudding ... :)
12:25 pm: check on the damn stuffing again. crunches on top, moist in the middle. close enough. tastes kinda bland, though. dammit. forgot the onions. oh well. it's all getting mixed together eventually anyway. bird should be next.
12:30 pm: put in U2 and veg out for awhile.
1:15 pm: realize i should probably start the bird.
3:00 pm: post-nap, start the bird. decide to mostly improvise as none of the turkey recipes sound quite right. chop up asian pears and onions, and drizzle the turkey breast in lemon juice.
3:20 pm: put the turkey breast in the oven. now was it 20 minutes per pound?
3:25 pm: realize i cannot, for the life of me, find my turkey baster,
despite the fact that i OWN two of them. (one: from thanksgiving last year; the other a present from em (long story, x-files related of course)). use spoons instead.
3:30 pm: baste.
3:40 pm: baste.
3:50 pm: baste.
4:00 pm: baste.
4:10 pm: baste. the turkey still looks a little pink. and i still need to make the beans.
4:20 pm: start the water boiling on the beans.
4:30 pm: take the turkey out.
4:35 pm: make the glaze for the beans.
4:40 pm: wonder why it's taking so long for the water to boil.
4:45 pm: dump the beans in anyway.
4:50 pm: reheat the stuffing.
4:55 pm: dump the beans in a bowl and glaze them.
5:00 pm: sit down to dinner. :)

thank you for letting me be where i am right now.
thank you for keeping my friends close to me, both physically and otherwise.
thank you for my generous and bemused but proud and supportive parents.
thank you for a life filled with music.

thank you for not making my life *totally* boring. ;)
thank you for bringing more good people into my life, especially the ones taking the form of eye candy ;)

thank you for our safety and courage.

thank you for the hope that keeps me going.

thank you for the reminders to pursue things passionately.

i have many things to be grateful for, but especially you. thank you.