Good Thing My Mother Called

Thanksgiving is in TWO days. TWO! My Mom called and left a message on my machine about what her plans were going to be - we were outside last night when she called the first time, and when she called the second time - I must have been in the shower or something - because I never heard the phone... DH was probably in the living room watching TV. You have to be in the study - or in a very quiet house - to hear the States phone ring. Saw the light blinking this morning. Oops. Dear Mom was already in major preparation mode. Huh? Thanksgiving is THIS Thursday? Really?

There were FOUR turkeys left in the freezer at the Commissary. I got the smallest one. I don't eat it and cannot stand the smell of it cooking so I want it to be in the oven for as little time as possible. This is the first year that I can remember the DH hasn't won a turkey playing golf - but this year the rules changed so that some of the people that have never won turkey's in the "turkey shoot golf tournament" could win. Yeah - his buddy John! Dayum you, John. You have OUR turkey. So I forked out 127 riyals [$34.04] for a ten pound turkey. $3.40 a pound. For turkey! Half of which is completely inedible because it either a full-out bony carcass or guts. [The direction say to cook the guts in a pan and add them to the gravy - or stuffing, which they provide a recipe for - yeah - thanks. Fat chance of that ever happening in this household. That's precisely why they make gravy in a jar and stuffing in a box!] Outrageous. Just outrageous. What is the going rate in the States - per pound? Just curious.

No matter. We're having the traditional dinner and DH will be happy. He gets turkey only once a year, unless someone else makes it for him. [He doesn't get chicken, either - unless it is served outside our home. I'll cook beef and seafood and pork - but not poultry - unless, of course, it is for The Kids. That's a whole different story.]

Turkey, instant mashed potatoes - I honestly think the Betty Crocker Butter & Herb instant mashed potatoes are just as good as any I can make - and a whole lot less fuss and mess, Stovetop Cornbread stuffing, broccoli with Velveeta cheese sauce, rolls... and for dessert? Mrs. Smith's Peach Cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Dinner - in an hour or so - not including cooking that nasty turkey.

Just cannot get into the whole Holiday's thing, here, yet. Perhaps in a week or so. Have given Christmas absolutely no thought at all, but for having done shopping for friends and relatives in the States while I was there. They were wrapped and delivered before we left. Here, though? Barely on my radar at this point. Oh well... Not like there are decorations on the street-lights, Salvation Army bell-ringers outside of the department stores, Christmas carols on the radio, and a whole lot of Christmas-y things going on in the Sandbox. The Holidays have never really been quite right over here on this side of the world. They just aren't the same. Gee. Go figure. In a country where only ONE religion is allowed to be practiced. Who'd have thought...