Thanksgiving had the marks that it might be somewhat disastrous but actually turned out pretty well.

Initially the plan had been that we would cook veggies but that the turkey itself and some other parts of the meal would be catered elsewhere. However it took long enough for the go ahead to be given to order the turkey that the place which had been picked out to cater couldn’t get a bird in on such short a notice as their supplies were already well booked up by other peoples orders.

So, I volunteered to cook the meal. However I was wondering where we would find a turkey/if we would be able to find a turkey and so on. Mum to the rescue on that one. We were planning on having Thanksgiving at my FILs place, and he had invited Mum to come too so that she wouldn’t be by herself for any major portion of the day and everyone could be together without splitting time between two houses. She had previously bought a 15lb pre-cooked turkey several months ago when it looked as though my Gran might be here for Thanksgiving. So, she brought the turkey and I looked up recipes for sausage stuffing, green bean casserole and got all the ingredients and we set to work.

We got things going by around 1 p.m. and were able to eat right around 5 p.m. not bad, even if I do say so myself. We’d thought the turkey might not cook in time as seemed like it was still pretty frozen but it was actually done just before everything else was. Then all we had to do was warm up the stuffing and carrots and finish up the roasted potatoes and we were set.

A friend of my FILs brought French Silk Pie, Mince Pie, Apple Pie and ice cream, and we sat down to eat.

It was a really great experience. The first time I cooked a major meal, and I didn’t feel stressed at all, perhaps this had to do with the fact I think my MIL was watching over things and also that my FIL had white wine for us cooks to partake in, or that my step-father wasn’t there causing huge amounts of aggravation. Maybe all three? Who knows? Who cares?

There were some moments that were a bit strange, because it was the first big holiday we’ve had without my MIL being there. She’s definitely missed, but as I say I feel she was there in spirit, kicking the turkey into submission and making mushroom soup appear in the cabinet given I’d forgotten to buy a can.

Here’s hoping our other get togethers go well in the future.