I am leaving on my trip to Tampa tomorrow for the Thanksgiving festivities at my mom’s house.  Of course, we’ll have the usual fare—13 desserts, 15 casseroles, a 20-lb turkey, and a vat of stuffing—because my mom envisions cooking for the entire city of Tampa and not just a small group relatives.  I’ve decided that next year I’m flying her to Atlanta so that she can cook for Hosea’s Feed the Hungry and Homeless program.  She would get great satisfaction from watching a silo of green beans being consumed by gracious, hungry people.

Anyhow, my trip down to Florida means that I will get to spend a delightful 8 hours in the car with my grandmother, Nanny.  Lovely as she is, I’m kind of sad that I no longer have my grandfather, the Dukester, to entertain me with 8 hours of war stories and snoring.  Nor will I have the entertainment of my grandmother yelling at the Dukester in the back seat to discuss his bowel movements or waking him up every five minutes to ask if he wants a Mountain Dew or a cracker.  It will be just my grandmother, me, and a couple of dime store gospel CDs.  It will be a long 8 hours.  And, God help me, I will blog about it be thankful for it.

Speaking of being thankful, I am thankful for my blogging buddy, Mrs. W.  She has been a longtime sufferer of my blog, and she has tagged me with a Thanksgiving meme.  Thank you, Mrs. W!  And I must say that your Panettone French Toast looks amazing!

Which do you like better: hosting Thanksgiving at your home, or going elsewhere?
Considering that I feel compelled to deep clean my house before anyone steps foot in the door, I’m all for going elsewhere!  Lulu does not like to clean.

Do you buy a fresh or frozen turkey? Organic? Free-range?
I’m not sure that I would know the difference.  But I once stopped at Bates House of Turkey in Alabama to eat lunch, and their free-range turkeys are unbelievably delicious!  Plus, they’ll ship them anywhere in the U.S.!

Do you make stuffing or dressing? What kind?
This is a serious point of contention between GR and myself.  He thinks that his mother makes the Best. Dressing. Ever.  He will barely bring my dressing to his lips.  I make mine with cornbread, canned biscuits, and a mixture of other top-secret ingredients.

Sweet potato pie or Pumpkin pie?
Hmm…this is a tough one. I like both, and it’s sometimes hard for me to tell the difference between the two.  However, this year I will be having neither.  I will be having pumpkin fluff—a Weight Watchers recipe:

1 can pumpkin
1 small package fat-free vanilla pudding
½ cup skim milk
1½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Mix all ingredients well and fold in 1 cup of fat-free whipped cream

A 1¼ cup serving is only 2 points!  Have that along with one fat-free graham cracker sleeve and you have a guilt-free pumpkin pie dessert!

Are leftovers a blessing or a curse?
Cursed leftovers!  I can eat them for one day only.  I’m apt to change the rule for turkey or ham.

What side dishes are a must-have in your family?
If it were up to my mother, um, everything.  For me, it’s definitely dressing and deviled eggs.

What do you wish you had that might make Thanksgiving easier?
I’ll go with this baby right here:

If/when you go to someone else’s house for the holiday, do you usually bring a dish? If so, what is it?
I usually only go to my mother’s house, and I end up cooking while I’m there.  I would definitely bring a dish if I were going elsewhere.

What do you wish one of your guests would bring to your house?
A check written to me for $1 million dollars.  Or one of these babies right here:

What do you wish one of your guests would NOT bring to your house?
Fleas.

Do you stick with a particular menu from year to year, or do you mix it up?
There’s no mixing it up at my mom’s house.  She’s very strict about her 50-dish, Southern-style menu.  And no sage, onions, or steamed anything for her, please.  Must use plenty of milk, butter, and lard.

Is Thanksgiving a religious or secular holiday in your home?
Besides the “Good food, good meat, good God let’s eat!” before the meal and the “Oh, God, what have I done!” after the meal, I would say it’s pretty secular.

Share one Thanksgiving tradition.
People have Thanksgiving traditions?

Share one Thanksgiving memory.
There was one certain Thanksgiving in Key West that I spent on the rooftop of The Garden of Eden (by erroneous mistake, no less), but that’s probably something that I shouldn’t mention here or especially in the presence of GR.

Name five things you’re thankful for.
1.) My family and friends.
2.) My job.
3.) My teeth.
4.) My paid-for Buick that has a window held in place by masking tape, as well as a missing hubcap.  You have no idea about the thankfulness.
5.) That my son, Gus, is going away to college in January. Not necessarily thankful for the away part (I’ll miss him!), just the going part!

And since I waited so long to complete this meme (Thanksgiving is Thursday, right?), then I’ll skip tagging anyone else.  However, feel free to play along if you wish!

I hope that all of you have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!