The Year We Didn't Get Salmonella

Overall, it was a good Thanksgiving:

I don't have any pictures of our Thanksgiving meal.  

It was tasty, but it was served in parts, so we never had the whole spread on the table.  This year, I am grateful for many things, chief among them our ability to pivot when the turkey wasn't cooked all the way through.

I was hungry, the bird had been cooking for longer than the time given as average cooking time, and the juices ran clear--that's my excuse.  We did use a meat thermometer, so we knew that part of the bird wasn't temping high enough, but part was.  We cut into the part that we thought would be done.  The juices did not run clear.  I told my spouse to keep going.  As he put pieces of dark meat on the platter, which were moist, but not in a good way, I said, "We can't serve this."

So since the oven was hot and vacant--because the side dishes were on the table already--we put turkey slices back in.  We ate our sides, then we ate turkey, then we ate dessert.  We washed a load of towels that had cleaned up the turkey mess.  We let the rest of the turkey keep cooking for several more hours, and we ate some more for the evening meal.  As far as I know, no one has gotten sick.

In future years, we will remember that we had a feast, and that we laughed.  I will remember everyone being good natured about it all--I know that there are families that would have had an ugly day with this kind of turkey mishap.  Instead, we had a day of good food, good conversation, games of all sorts, competitions that didn't leave anyone in tears (the little ones are growing up, and the big ones are too smart to be mean to each other).  We even had a Zoom call with the ones who can't be here in person--technology can be a wonderful tool.

Before the turkey mess meal, we had the annual turkey bowl, and while the players went to heroic (painful) lengths to score a touchdown, no one broke any body parts--hurrah.  I made this Facebook post:  "The turkey bowl is underway! It kind of reminds me of the football scene in "The Big Chill," except with a wider variety of ages and a less tortured history between the players. I will confess that "The Big Chill" football scene had a better cinematographer!"

There were other joys:

I stitched intently for part of the day.  I am working on a project that's different for me, working on a smaller scale, working with scraps that I would have once thrown away.

I'm doing it as a final project for a class, but also because it brings me joy.  I'll write more about the project in the coming days, but I am surprised that I am liking it so much.  For so long, I've been working with much bigger pieces of cloth.  Putting together intricate pieces has been such fun.  

For decades, I've said that I didn't like working on such a small scale when it comes to patterns and fabric.  This holiday, I have loved it.  Yes, it does make me wonder what other decisions I might need to revisit.