Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States. It’s the one holiday that hasn’t been commercialized here. It’s a day of football and feasting. This year, Mrs. Lion and I are hosting two guests who invited themselves to our dinner for two. One of them is a former coworker with Mrs. Lion. She not only invited herself but also announced she was bringing her mother. Last year, she invited us to Thanksgiving dinner at her friend’s house. Amazing!
We declined.
We plan to have a smoked turkey breast with all the trimmings: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, biscuits, and apple pie. Note the absence of nutrition. It’s a celebration of protein and carbs. I love it! It isn’t too big a deal to make enough for four. I’m spending a good part of today preparing some of the goodies. This will be the first turkey breast I’ve smoked. I hope it turns out tasty. If it doesn’t, our impromptu guests will have to deal with it. I love Thanksgiving dinner. There are always leftovers we can enjoy for a week afterward.
I like good food. I like it too much. However, my body is shedding its excess pounds. I’ve lost a lot of weight but still have more to go. All diet bets are off for Thanksgiving and the days after. That means my lunches will be uninteresting, low-Calorie frozen entrees. I’m used to paying for pleasure with pain. Usually the pain comes first; but not with food.
Sadly, crass commercial interests intrude on some family’s Thanksgiving. Many stores are open on Thanksgiving. Mrs. Lion used to work in retail. She would have to spend the holiday working. This doesn’t just impact the people who have to go to work. Their families also end up as victims to this cruel practice.
Then, there’s black Friday. It’s a sick tradition that retailers have now extended into Thanksgiving (which, of course, is on Thursday). I never shop on black Friday or the weekend following. It’s simply insane. I do most of my shopping online. However, Mrs. Lion’s present this year will require her presence and probably will have to be purchased in person. No problem.
Mrs. Lion has a ton of work to do by Thursday evening’s dinner. She is handling the cleaning. I can’t help there because of my allergies. I will do most of the cooking. That’s typical for us. We both work hard.
We will have a great time. We love to be together and this year, apparently we are doing a good deed too.
