Excess... or Just in case?

Do you like to chew ice? I do. I like it a lot! Today I got a dayful of bliss with a large cup of Sonic (the fast food place) ice for 54 cents!! And it lasted all day. But I digress...

Today was prep day. I made little fall leaves from pie dough to decorate our (yes - store bought) pumpkin pies. You have to make some things simple when you can.
Liz made the mincemeat mixture with all the dried fruits and apples and brandy and rum and really great stuff tomorrow we will do the phyllo and the boozy whipped cream...
Jim shredded the brussel sprouts on the (As seen on TV V-slicer) and I toasted pecans and made maple syrup butter to toss them in. Liz crafted a corn salad with black beans, corn, scallions, roasted peppers and will add some feta tomorrow. Sorry no pics, I was working on a glass of 2 buck chuck sauvignon blanc.

All this cooking took place in Liz's beautifully open house, lots of light and open space, a beautifully redesigned kitchen, along with 4 dogs 2 cats and pig who lives outside. It's a busy, busy place. The Persian cat, which we suspect has no brain, immediately took up residence on the counter on the tea towels I brought (which are now property of Liz). Our dog, Bullet, was pacing all over the house looking for love in all the wrong places. Buddy, the German Shepard just wanted to lie down...in the middle of any traffic path. Gigi the small dog, has to be locked up and she barked and humped the bed a lot. Ziggy the pig, while not tangled up in a blanket was eating apples and turning away from brussel sprouts.

We had many managers and a couple of workers trying to fit a 22 lb turkey into a slightly too small cooler for brining. I made the brining solution and just let the engineers work out the details.

In observing all this, so many dishes, so many pets, so many options (we are cooking 3 turkeys >.<) 3 desserts, several wines. I wonder are we a family given to excess? Yes. no doubt. But we could also be described as a family of "just in case"? We have extra desserts just in case someone has a different preference. We have 3 turkeys just in case one doesn't work out. I don't know, maybe this is rationalizing the excess. I am one for simplicity myself. I get rid of anything extraneous by going to Goodwill or toss! toss! toss! I choose 2 maybe 3 dishes for a special meal. Interesting comtemplation for me.



Anyway tomorrow is the big day! Lots of cooking and connecting left to do. We are all eager .. there are more family memebers arriving tonight ( while I am back at the lake in safety) Even the pig is happy!!! Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone and safe travels. Lots of pics tomorrrow.
See you soon!