Thanksgiving

It's the day before Thanksgiving. Yesterday afternoon I stood in line outside Just Food Co-op to pick up my fresh Callister Farm organic turkey. Today, the turkey will go into brine (water, kosher salt, honey and fresh thyme) to soak overnight. Brining a turkey is the best way I've found to keep the breast meat from drying out, and it produces the best gravy. I'll also make the mulled cranberry sauce today, and spend some time cleaning the house. We're having eleven for dinner tomorrow: the four of us, Clara's brother and his family from Roseville (including their Turkish exchange student), Clara's brother's brother-in-law from Minneapolis, and a Carleton student whose travel arrangements left her stranded in Northfield for the holiday. My niece and my son Peter are vegetarians, so we'll have a leek tart as a meatless alternative. There will also be two dogs, ours and Clara's brother's, and fires in both woodstoves. I'm hoping that, in the midst of all the preparations tomorrow, we can fit in a walk out to the Iron Bridge.

What am I thankful for this year? Family and friends, of course, and the place where I live. I'm thankful for books and music and art. I'm thankful for the year we spent in England. I'm thankful for people who leave comments on my blog. I'm thankful, after the past seven years, for the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.