TastyTuesday200pix Welcome to my new home   Tasty Tuesday

Last week, you shared in the comments some of those “Bedlam” Holiday moments, and it was so fun to read, chuckle and commiserate.

It was just what I needed to know we were all in this together, but little did I know I was setting myself up for a similar moment. We always take our traditional jaunt to the NC mountains with my side of the family Wednesday through Friday. We eat our Thanksgiving meal at a restaurant, but then come back and prepare our own traditional meal on Saturday.

Being the proactive family manager that I am, I took the turkey out of the deep freeze a full FOUR days before it was to be cooked, and placed it in our refrigerator while we were gone. I was even more proud that I actually remembered to take it from the outside fridge on Friday at 11:00pm upon our arrival home. My son brought it into the house, set it down on the counter, and it made a rock like thud. Surely, he had brought in the wrong turkey (since I bought two, of course, at those rock bottom prices)?  Nope, it was THEE turkey that I was supposed to brine all night long, and then bake first thing Saturday morning. Solid as a rock after FOUR days in the fridge. What’s with that? I soaked it in water all night, and it was still partially frozen in the morning. So much for the nice marinade that I had prepared (in my mind.) ARG! Eventually, it thawed.  (Although I do admit  it was just a tad icy when it went in the oven). Definitely not the juiciest turkey ever baked, but the flavor was delicious, and it’s amazing the multitude of mistakes that an amazing gravy can cover. (Mine did just that.)

The beauty of that small moment of panic on Friday evening, was that it just didn’t matter. Truly, I remembered some of these stories. I remembered my own words, and realized that turkey or no turkey, the time  gathered as a family was what was etched in our minds and hearts.

importance of family timeI don’t know about you, but I feel like I need a few weeks to inhale before heading into Christmas. I haven’t even thought of getting the Christmas decorations down from the attic, and yet that needs to be on the “to do” list this week.

Couldn’t the Pilgrims have timed their arrival a little earlier in the season? (ha…I jest…really.)

I need a little pep talk about swapping out the fall decor for my Christmas items. (Now the shopping? I have that covered. For the first time ever, I am doing almost all of it on-line, and it’s delightful.)

I know seeing all your recipes will get me in the holiday mood. I can’t wait to take some time to browse your inspirations.

Simple Rules for Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods – If you’re joining in with a recipe link, two simple requests. As always, please link directly to your recipe post and not your blog URL, so that everyone can find the recipe months from now.
Also, please link back to my site so that everyone can join in the fun. I don’t ask much in order to participate, but many of you are not linking back, and it’s just common courtesy of blog carnivals.