Another Successful Year

Thanksgiving in Weaselville was busy, as expected. A day that started extremely early, even for Weasel standards and filled with hours spent in the kitchen -my favorite part of the day- and very little down time.

Eldest Weasel was running in a Turkey Trot with a friend first thing in the morning as Mr. Weasel smoked the bird of honor over indirect heat on the grill. I began chopping and prepping for all the various dishes of the day, including the feast of turkey parts that come stuffed and bagged inside the bird for Matilda The Hun.

All of the Weasels were disgusted and awed to watch the dog enjoy her special treats that they would dare not ever put into their mouths. Matilda then followed me around the kitchen for the rest of the day in hopes that I had some more tasty little morsels for her. Who says I can't make a feast fit for a dog?

Mr. Weasel fights a battle against the weather every year as he cooks the turkey outdoors, either by deep frying or smoking. The cold and the wind usually make it difficult to keep the temperatures high enough to cook the bird. This year however, he had trouble keeping the temperature from going too high, even though it was snowing when he started, and a cooking method that should have taken 12 hours for a 24 lb bird, was finished (overly so) in 5. The smokey taste however, was fantabulous and the dark meat - that I am not typically a fan of - was pure heaven. The white meat was a little on the dry side, was still delicious in flavor and there was plenty of gravy to go around. The stuffing was also smoked with the same result and once again the smoky flavor was outstanding, even if it was a little dry.

All the other dishes went off without a hitch and were tasty indeed, but the best part of the day was spending with our family and hearing all of the Weasels speak of what they are thankful for in their lives. The range of their gratitude extended from "my faith" to "the dog" and it was heart warming to hear them speak. We enjoyed sitting down to a wonderful meal without the spillage of a single drink! Miracles do happen!

After dinner and before pie, we turned to family movie night, as we are not a football kind of family, and shared the joy of Ferris Bueller's Day Off with the Weasels (edited for TV, of course), followed by the introduction of Home Alone to Smallest Weasel.

Weasels are now fully excited and ready to take on The Christmas season. Not only did Santa come to town at the end of the parade yesterday, but even better and more exciting to the Weasel's is that our dear friend Patsy is coming back to town on Saturday! They have been speaking of it constantly for weeks and asking "How many more days". It brings me such joy and pride that this is the focus of their hyper energy. That have such a love for this wonderful lady who is so special to me.

We have so much to be grateful for in Weaselville everyday. Mr. Weasel has a job this year. There is plenty of food on our table and dear friends in our lives. We are all healthy and happy and have the opportunity to share our blessings with others and be blessed by having others in our lives.

I wish you all the blessings of Christ and family this Christmas Season and want you to know that you were on my list of what I am thankful for. Especially, but not limited to Tom, NukeDad, Melisa, Momo Fali, Mrs.4444, PJ Mullen and I could go on, but would spend the rest of my day linking.