Some thoughts after Thanksgiving

-- Want a delicious turkey with a brown and crackly-crispy turkey skin? Thaw (if applicable). Wash and pat dry, inside and out. Rub cavity generously with kosher salt. Butter the outside of that sucker to within an inch of its life, then butter it some more. I recommend using a brush, but if you can handle the melted butter without discomfort, use your hands. Preheat oven to 350F, then reduce to 325F as soon as the bird goes in. Time at 15 minutes per pound (12 pounds = 3 hours). Test with thermometer to avoid emergency room unpleasantness. Is delicious.

-- For leftovers, it's hard to beat the following: Soft white bread; sliced turkey breast; mayonnaise (really paint it on there, too); Clausen pickle halves, cut into quarter-inch half-moons. Combine into sandwich and consume. It's amazing.

-- For excellent pumpkin pie, use: 1 can filling + 1 can condensed milk + 3/4 c. brown sugar + 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. ginger, 1/4 t. nutmeg, 1/8 t. cloves. Pour into pie shell and bake in preheated 400F oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375F and bake for 35 minutes. It's the brown sugar (instead of white) that really makes the difference.

-- Home is where the heart is, and family is where you feel at home. It sounds really corny, but this year I discovered that it's really true.

-- They're showing commercials for the Tintin movie, and I am so darn excited it's not even funny. And it doesn't come out for like three more weeks! Argh! #firstworldproblems

-- One part Trader Joe's Wintry Blend coffee + two parts World Market-brand decaf = my stash may just last me 'til summer this year, and I won't get the jitters. (Yeah, I'm drinking coffee again. It's soothing. But I'm stricly half-caf.)

-- Now that my household is all organized and clean and running smoothly, I understand like never before the saying that cleanliness is next to godliness. An ordered environment is the sign of an ordered soul. (Messy desks and genius are in a different category.)

-- I have never been so thankful for my situation as I am right now. I'm almost reluctant to let myself feel it because I'm afraid, at a visceral level, that something will come out of left field and ruin everything. I take this as a moment to practice my reliance on God. And for that, I am doubly thankful.

-- Leftover dressing with giblet gravy is the bomb.