A Bit of Relief

For the first year in so many years that I cannot remember, I won't be making a whole turkey in the oven...or anywhere else for that matter. I will, however, be making a boneless turkey breast if I can find one in our area. I have only checked one store so far, and will be checking another before the weekend. The good thing about making just the breast is that I only like the white meat anyway. And I won't have to start picking the bird apart immediately after we finish eating. The bad thing is there will be no turkey barbecue, something I always make with the leftovers.

As far as our Thanksgiving meal goes this year, I think I have everything I will be needing to put together a nice meal for the two of us. Except the turkey, of course.

I also have all the items needed for my massive cookie baking project, too. Yup, there are seven packages of different varieties of Betty Crocker Cookies. (Hey, I never said I was a Martha Stewart-type person). I also have a box of mix that came with Hershey Kisses which will be put on each cookie. I am ready as I'll ever be to get that task underway. A few years ago if someone would have asked me if I was making cookies for the holidays I would have told them to go pound sand. But last year I stumbled onto something that makes it so easy to bake them that I am more than happy to do so again this year. I only need to carve out one or two days of my *a-hem* busy schedule.

Ask me about Christmas and I'll tell you no lies. Since my parents are not with us anymore and we are all pretty much grown up and gone our separate ways, Christmas isn't the same, nor will it ever be again. Those days are over and gone and it sometimes makes me sad. Instead, we have a quiet day at home. My daughter and her boyfriend usually stop by either on the day itself or sometime afterward. Either way, it works for me.

I have about 90% of the gifts (unwrapped) and that's only because I look for things all year long. I am not a haphazard kind of gift buyer. I usually like to get something that I think the person will like, or something that has to do with their personal likes.

We lost a lot of Christmas decorations when our basement flooded a couple years ago so I don't decorate all that much either. We stopped having a live Christmas tree because of the cats, but I do have a wall tree complete with a string of lights. I have a lot of small decorations for it and it always turns out really nice. And the cats can't get at it. The last thing I need is to be playing hide and seek with a cat in a live Christmas tree. Especially after it has wreaked havoc on the tree.

I even have all the floral displays for the three cemeteries we always visit. Just writing about all this scares me. I have never been this far ahead of the game...ever. I'm feeling pretty cocky right now, so I had better quit while I'm ahead. I will now go sit in the corner waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Just kidding!