The Big Dinner Is This Week

So much hustle and bustle in the grocery parking lot, in the grocery aisles and in people's minds.

I saw some incredibly stupid driving in the parking lot.  And the backing out of spaces?? Yikes.  It's like everyone checked their common sense at home and was out looking for trouble.  Or they were just wondering where they put the shopping list.

I found myself walking about trying to "remember" that important item I had forgotten to buy the last two times I had shopped.  It was sweet potatoes.  The big ones.  I had gotten smaller ones for dinners 1, 2 and 3 but the "BIG" dinner requires very large sweet potatoes.

I went a bit nuts on the turkey.  I think it's 21 pounds.  I managed to get it into the fridge to thaw.  I was worried that it wouldn't fit on any of the crazy weird shelves in my fridge.  I even had a shelf left over after the REPAIR.  I can't even figure out where it fit.  So I stored it in the guest room closet and will use it if any of the others break.

The turkey is thawing.  I have the potatoes (I just realized I forgot to buy the regular white potatoes- cause my daughter likes mashed not sweet), squash (it's New England), B. sprouts in the garden, pumpkin for the pie, fresh cranberries and brandy for the sauce and I'll use the neck to make stock for the gallon of gravy we go thru.  Oh, and the green beans for the green bean casserole--the star of the meal in IMHO.

This coming week is #36 at work.  My last week is week #40.  So the clock is ticking.  Short timers attitude.  I made a bunch of State of Maine wreaths on Friday.  Nine in an hour which is pretty good.

It's VERY cold here in Maine, but no snow.  I see pictures of Buffalo and cringe.  And it seems very dark here.  Dark when I wake up.  Dark when I am working in the greenhouse.  Darkest when I drive home.  In Germany they referred to this period as the "dark times" and I think it helped them through it when the Christmas markets set up shop.  Lights, food and Christmas things.  I know that I wish we had outdoor Christmas Markets as part of our American holiday.  Not the Mall.  Never the Mall.

My daughter has had a second interview for a possible job.  She is very interested--so we are hoping it works out for her.  We'll all just send positive thoughts her way, okay?