The turkey cometh

Turkey day is fast approaching (two days away as of right now). With that of course comes the Christmas season. Although, if you pay any attention to commercials and retailers, the Christmas season is already here. When I was just knee high to a grasshopper, stores didn't put out their Christmas stuff until right before Thanksgiving. And slowly over the last 30 or so years they have moved it up and up and up and now some stores put their Christmas displays up before Halloween even.

Not that I'm complaining (much) but it does make it hard for the kids when they see and hear all the Christmas paraphenalia and must still abide by my extremely strict and no exceptions policy of absolutely no Christmas decorations, music or talk except between Friday after Thanksgiving and 6 January (Epiphany...or Three Kings Day... or the 12th day of Christmas - however you want to call it). After 6 January, not a peep until the next day after Thanksgiving.

It is usually my duty to carve the Turkey at Thanksgiving since I have moved back to Topeka. My younger brother had to get used to it because it was his job while I lived away. I think he thinks he lost some status when I returned (which, of course, he did - plus I'm a better Turkey carver drunk than he ever will be sober). After my grandmother died, my mother gave me her set of carving knife, fork and sharpener stick thingy. Now its become a tradition almost that at any family gathering, that is what is used to cut the meat (whatever kind of meat that is).

Even though we are going to my brother's house for dinner this year (as with every year), and he fries up a turkey every year which is very good and all that, but we bought our own turkey anyway. We'll probably pop it in the oven and cook it all day Friday while we put up our Christmas decorations. The problem with turkey from the frier is that you don't get that good "in the bird" stuffing that you get when you cook one the proper way.