Brined turkeys and Christmas villages...

Yep, Turkey day is tomorrow. Since Mom and Dad are going to be up this weekend, we are doing a Thanksgiving dinner Saturday at our house. We are staying with the traditional meal theme, but are doing some kind-of-different dishes. We will have turkey and stuffing and such, but are trying some different things like grilled asparagus and a "gourmet" mac and cheese bake. We also just got a turkey breast instead of the whole turkey, but I think the turkey it came from must have been hopped up on steroids as this thing is HUGE. I'm going to try brining it this year - I hear a lot about how good and juicy it is when you do that. Hopefully it will be defrosted tomorrow and I can brine it while we are away at my in-laws.

Hokie got loose on Sharon today, but she couldn't chase him because John was asleep. He actually came back rather quickly, which leads us to believe that he doesn't really want to run away, he just wants us to chase him. Blasted dog......if he wasn't so cute.......

We've been struggling with how to re-arrange our living room area for the Christmas tree and decorations. It hasn't been hard in the past (we just put the tree in the foyer), but since we are starting to set up a Christmas village, we need room for that too. So, we have resolved to put our big chair in the foyer and set up the tree where the chair usually sits. This means we can get a tall tree, since our living room is vaulted (though I don't know that we have enough ornaments for a really tall tree). We will then use the DVD tower and two end tables, covered in "snow" blankets, to the side of the tree to house the village. We've only been collecting for a year, but due to gifts and big sales, we have 5 houses so far, along with several accessories, lights, and trees. The houses are pricey (regularly $75 - $125 each, though we've NEVER paid close to full price for any of them), but the detail is incredible (I think that's why I like them so much - I appreciate the artistry).

The tree reminds me of a kind of funny story. Our first Christmas "together", 4 years ago, we were in the 2nd floor of a little house in Christiansburg. The ceilings were probably 7 1/2 feet high, but Mr. Excited about Christmas went and bought what was probably a 9-10 feet tall tree (hey, it was my first ever tree purchase). I kept assuring Sharon that it would fit, but once I set it up and saw the top of the tree bent against the ceiling, I was reminded of the tree in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Luckily, no squirrels in this one. I did end up sawing off about 2 feet. We will be doing our new tradition this Saturday; visiting a local tree farm to select and cut our tree for the season. Sure enough, I will remember that first tree fondly, and that first Christmas; the first together of many to come.