One Way to Have a Happy Thanksgiving
Taking a tip from Monty Python and "Now For Something Completely Different," we went camping in the central mountains of Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving. Yes, I realize it's November and no, I am not crazy. We stayed in a camper with most of the comforts of home and at least one extra.
Since the camper has only a tiny oven , we had a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey and skipped dessert altogether. Surprise, surprise! No one missed it. Instead of stuffing down pumpkin pie, I did the dishes in a sink smaller than Barbie's hot tub. Meanwhile the less glamorous parts of the turkey simmered for stock. I threw in the carrot sticks I'd brought for snacking on the drive up, the leftover mashed potatoes for thickening & a few noodles and had the best turkey soup I've made in years. (An onion would have made it perfect; I was just glad to have an easy lunch ready for Friday.)
Cassie had resisted the whole idea, shopping being her favorite contact sport and believing we wouldn't be near a mall on Black Friday. But, dear child, it's all in the attitude. We just had to get up a little earlier than 5 AM to accommodate the drive and her diligence was rewarded with the perfect pair of chocolate brown suede boots. After 6 or 7 hours of shopping (but not much spending), we trotted back to a nice lunch of turkey soup and spent the rest of the afternoon recuperating.
Cass & I (and even more critically, our deer-colored, almost-deer-sized dog) came back to Virginia before hunting season starts on Monday. Vince stayed to stomp around the woods with 6 or 7 guys in orange.
And that "extra" I mentioned? The moon phase was new on November 20. The nearest city big enough to throw up any light pollution was 20 miles away. On Thanksgiving night we celebrated a sky filled with stars from one edge of eternity to another. You should have been there.
Since the camper has only a tiny oven , we had a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey and skipped dessert altogether. Surprise, surprise! No one missed it. Instead of stuffing down pumpkin pie, I did the dishes in a sink smaller than Barbie's hot tub. Meanwhile the less glamorous parts of the turkey simmered for stock. I threw in the carrot sticks I'd brought for snacking on the drive up, the leftover mashed potatoes for thickening & a few noodles and had the best turkey soup I've made in years. (An onion would have made it perfect; I was just glad to have an easy lunch ready for Friday.)
Cassie had resisted the whole idea, shopping being her favorite contact sport and believing we wouldn't be near a mall on Black Friday. But, dear child, it's all in the attitude. We just had to get up a little earlier than 5 AM to accommodate the drive and her diligence was rewarded with the perfect pair of chocolate brown suede boots. After 6 or 7 hours of shopping (but not much spending), we trotted back to a nice lunch of turkey soup and spent the rest of the afternoon recuperating.
Cass & I (and even more critically, our deer-colored, almost-deer-sized dog) came back to Virginia before hunting season starts on Monday. Vince stayed to stomp around the woods with 6 or 7 guys in orange.
And that "extra" I mentioned? The moon phase was new on November 20. The nearest city big enough to throw up any light pollution was 20 miles away. On Thanksgiving night we celebrated a sky filled with stars from one edge of eternity to another. You should have been there.
posted by Gail | 6:30 PM
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