Is It Possible to Gain 15 Pounds In 4 Hours?

Canadian Thanksgiving was a roaring success. I am significantly fatter. That is, of course, the measurement by which I judge the success level of a holiday.

The football (see IG, I said FOOTBALL) match I was supposed to play in on Sunday afternoon did get cancelled. I was highly bummed. But hopefully the one planned for next Sunday will stay on. And it was probably for the best anyway, because we had a lot more preparation to do for dinner than I thought we would!

In our house, Chuck and I team up on cooking big dinners. Chuck's favourite dishes had to be started the earliest. Here his is chopping a pukeabaga, I mean, a rutebaga...





We actually had a small argument about the difference between a turnip and a rutabaga. Luckily it did not come to fisticuffs.

I made sure the table was set, and the beer was stocked!






Yes yes, the orange stuff was for the one teetotaler that we invited. We're not all sots you know! Just most of us.

We cooked a ham and a bone-in turkey breast, and when we went to open the turkey breast, we found that there were no giblets in the cavity!

Chuckles was highly disappointed. His specialty at thanksgiving is making his famous giblet gravy.

When I first met Chuck, I went down to Florida with him for American Thanksgiving in November. His sister had made some giblet gravy, and I was slightly horrified.

"Turkey HEARTS? IN MY GRAVY??? And what the hell is a gizzard??"

I must have turned green.

I've always been a picky eater, but I decided to suck it up and try it.

And it was delicious!

To this day I can't actually touch giblets without being grossed out. But I sure do love the word 'giblet'. Giblet giblet giblet. If I had a son, I'd name him Giblet. Gib for short. It would be cute! (This is why it's a good thing I'm not a mother.)

Anyway, with no giblets in the cavity, I ran off to the grocery store for the express purpose of seeing if they sold giblets seperately. And they do! Score!

They look way more delicious when they're chopped up, I promise.


My friends came over after 5. They came bearing ramekins of pumpkin mousse, and a nice bottle of Shiraz. And more beer!



I forced my friend Sean to carve the turkey while we were getting the last of the dishes ready to serve. He insisted on using the electric knife for obscene purposes.



Hell, all three men attending are Irishmen. I should expect shenanigans.

How many Irishmen does it take to carve a turkey? Two.

I don't even have a punchline. It just takes two, huddled quietly in the corner.



That's Sean's girlfriend Andie on the left, and my friend Kristyn from work on the right. Her boyfriend Dave was probably outside smoking.

Here's me showing off the present my Mum sent me. Perfect for Canadian Thanksgiving!





My stepdaughter was also in attendance. Here she is in her natural habitat...in front of the computer, watching YouTube.



Dinner was absolutely delicious. We decimated the meal. After we were finished eating (actually we were kind of grazing like cows until late night), we all fell into a tryptophan coma. A couple of us had the meat sweats.



Andie had the same reaction to the gravy that I first had when I heard about it. Although she didn't find out until after she had eaten it...which was probably a good thing.

"You mean giblets are organs? There are organs in this? I just ate organs??'

Luckily it was delicious, so she forgave us.

And now that thanksgiving's over....I'm gearing up for thanksgiving!

In 4 short weeks, we'll be ready for round two!

If you need me, I'm going to be jogging. A lot. Because if I put on another 15 pounds, someone might accidentally shoot me with a tranquilizer dart and tag my ear.