Thanksgiving was great, despite several attempts by Fate and Me to screw things up.
Gloria and I (but more Gloria) did a lot of work all week getting ready for Thanksgiving, and Thursday was the big show. We got up before four in the morning to get the bird into the brine. It turned out, though, that our bird was not a prize specimen. It had some bruises, some cuts, and quite a lot of feathers (for a plucked bird). Mostly they were just pins, but there were a few serious quills left in. I took photos, which will be up sometime.
I called Wegman's and explained the situation. They said they'd replace it, and said "sure" when I said it would need to be a fresh bird. Once we arrived, though, there /were/ no fresh birds. We took the bird back to my parents', and Gloria finished feathering it. It took a long time.
We got the bird brined, got a little more sleep, and then headed back to get cooking. We spent several hours cutting, peeling, stirring, mixing, and cooking, and everything turned out all right. The only real failure was the squash. Gloria had gotten sqaush, opened, seeded, cut, baked, and pureed. I've had it, and it's good. As it sat there on the table, I carved the turkey, and managed to pull the cord in such a way that it knocked the dish of squash onto the floor. It was the one new dish that we'd been excited to make for quite a while, so I came very close to throwing the new electric carving knife at the wall and shouting obscenities. My will was strong, though.
My potatoes were a little bland (they needed salt!) and my pie wasn't great, but everything else was awesome, especially the new gravy Gloria made. Well, and everything else, but we knew from last year how good everything else would be.
Today, we bought new groceries, took out trash, did some laundry, and relaxed. Lori and Adam are in town, and we all got some (great) lunch at the Olive Branch. Mostly, I played Metroid. I beat the stupid moth boss, and I've been enjoying the game immensely until I got to the next boss, which is fine until its last stage. I really, really like Metroid Prime 2, but I really, really hate the bosses. They are not fun or challenging like the first game's bosses. They are annoying and stupid, and often boring. I want a "accept shame and skip boss" button.
Gloria and I are both really, really tired, so we're turning in early, tonight. Tomorrow: a movie.
