h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Taking a breather from house cleaning--we actually looked at the floor last night, so I've been steam cleaning today. I need to give Penny a bath when I get off here, so the house takes a bit longer to smell like dog. I even cleaned the upholstery on the couches and chairs! Though this couch isn't quite dry at this end

I've got a bit of prepwork to do in the kitchen tonight, because I want to have dinner a bit early tomorrow, so the turkey will need to go in a couple hours earlier than usual. Patty (Tom's mom) and I are splitting dinner duty--I've got the core of turkey, stuffing, potatoes and gravy, and she has vegetables and fruit salad, with the grocery bakery having taken care of pies and rolls. So tonight I'm going to fry up the sausage and chop and saute the onions and celery--I'll put the stuffing together in the morning, but those bits are the most time consuming. I'm thinking of opening the turkey and seeing how close it is to being thawed tonight--I can store it in the roaster in the fridge overnight. If I do open up the turkey, I'll cook up the innards tonight as well--I like to cut up and add the softer bits to the stuffing, as well. The chickens will get the neck (I usually use it for soup, but it's always a pain the pick the meat off, and the chickens could use the protein) and I think I'll let Penny have any turkey innards I don't use--most likely the gizzard, 'cause it's usually a bit chewy, and maybe the heart.

Hard to believe that there're only 3 more journals to go!

My brother and his wife are handling the Thanksgiving dinner. My job is to drive a couple hundred miles, picking up my father on the way. When I drop Dad off after the dinner, I will serve him beef stew that I made last night.