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Nobody would hold still for me, so that’s your blurry picture of Avery Peppermint dressed up for Thanksgiving in her first dress. Still knock-your-socks-off adorable.  Nobody could hold still!  It was a full day.  First, everybody woke up groggy – we think we’re collectively coming down with something.  Man the vitamin cannons!  Then Fresh Direct delivered pretty much our whole dinner so we sorted all that out.  Then I got to work on the big newsletter for the site launch.  Interested?  Here’s the link to the newsletter: http://eepurl.com/r7qlv

I was up late last night finishing the edits on the two articles, so I didn’t even get started on the rest of the layout and content until this morning.  Bad planning, I think.  T-Day is for cooking, and family, and ideally several drinks.  Working feels like you’re ripping someone off, and you suspect it’s you.  I did manage to have a beer.  Anyway, the newsletter finally passed muster near 4pm.  About time to get the bird in the oven, no?  Yes.  Marjorie had already very thoughtfully helped me out by prepping the rub, so I was able to dive right in with the ceremonial rinsing and dressing of the bird.  My first ever!  If you can believe that!  I mean, back in the day I hosted many T-Days, sometimes for forty or more, but the deal was that the designated cooks would come over and drink on my dime all night.  Worked like a charm, but the downside is that, at this end of the timeline, I’ve never been captain of the bird.

So this T-Day is a first on a few fronts.  Our first as a family, my first as Captain Turkey, and Avery’s first T-Day ever.  Also, I’m pretty sure this is the first Thanksgiving Marjorie and I (as a couple) haven’t been guests elsewhere.  We’ve been fortunate (in the wealthy sense) that way.  Rich in high-quality friendships.

Anyway, much like the meandering of this post, today was a bit of a scatter for all three of us.  Tired, busy, hungry.  In the end, though… in the end:

Eleven pounds of pancetta-wrapped turkey loveliness all for daddy.  Today is a Good Day.

Yes, those are seashells on the ends of the skewers.  We forgot toothpicks, so last year’s stocking stuffers became this year’s fancy T-Day sacrifice.  Again, Marjorie to the rescue.

The verdict on my first bird – undecided.  The delicious parts were delicious, but while I thought we would end up with a dry bird from cooking almost 4.5 hours instead of the recommended 3.5, the bird was about as tender a thing as you can imagine.  We have a gas oven, and we found we weren’t getting the desired interior temp when the clock said we should, so we kept on cooking, finally giving up and eating when we couldn’t stand to wait another minute.  So now I’m hoping that I don’t contract salmonella and die from my first turkey.  I told myself the flavour was from the spice blend in the rub, but maybe that’s how salmonella gets past your face: mmm, cumin and stuff!  Or, it was an organic turkey, and I’ve never had one of those before.  Maybe they taste different, the same way bison tastes different than cow.  I dunno.  So, the verdict is pending.  It’s been almost four hours since we ate, so I think the jury is nearly ready with a decision.  The pancetta was wonderful, obviously.  Though next time I would specify thin slices when ordering.  Did not think I would have to do that.

Marjorie had her brussels sprouts and squash and Chick’n Bites, and we shared the Stove Top and mashed potatoes.  She made whipped cream for the pumpkin pie – delightful.

Avery had her usual.  Probably a bit of coconut oil from her massage.

All told, the Taverners’ first American Thanksgiving was a magnificent feast.  We have a lot for which to be thankful.

Thankful (so thankful) for my wife – our history is epic, and our journey is golden.  None of this matters without you.

Thankful for a gorgeous, perfect baby girl, already full of life and love.

Thankful for the growing family – Taverners and Phillips – we feel the unconditional love and support all the way over here.

Thankful for the New York family by proxy – for making a career feel like home.

Thankful for my health – fracturing a rib getting hit by a truck will do that to you, but I’ll still skydive.  Life is for living.

Thankful for whatever it is inside me that drives me to create – it can be so frustrating, but the rewards are spectacular.

Thankful for my writing partners – powerful, powerful stuff, lads.  The sky is limitless.

Thankful for where I am in space and time – I could not do what I do if I were anywhere and anywhen else.

Thankful for my friends, close and not so close, and I’ll make so bold as to include you here, dear reader – if we are but the sum of our experiences, then you have made of me a large sum indeed.  May we continue to count for a long time to come.