Today...

...I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

OK, so it's a little late, but Mom was sick last week. Unfortunately, *I* am sick this week - nothing life-threatening, just a cold, but it's annoying - so am feeling a little harassed. Add that to the fact that I only got three or four hours sleep last night, and desperately need a nap, and I couldn't find my other leggings to cook in, and the McCalls cookbook has gone missing in the black hole that is my house, and things are more than a little hectic. I wouldn't even be online, except that I was hunting down a recipe for cornbread since the one I use is in the McCalls.

Luckily, my cornbread is now in the oven, and will hopefully turn out pretty good, although I think the oil I used wasn't very good quality, and the top looks a bit greasy. I expect I can dab it all off, though. My potatoes are ready to cook a little later (I'm going to cheat and fry them instead of roasting them with olive oil; they taste pretty much the same anyway) and the chicken (instead of turkey; none of us like turkey much) and stuffing are cut and refrigerated, since we're having them cold. (We only have a single oven - I desperately want a bigger one, but there just isn't space for it in the kitchen, even if I had the money to spend.)

Please excuse all the parentheses - I'm probably explaining too much.

Sadly, all my nice crockery and glasses are packed away for when I move to my own place, so we're left with a couple of 4-person sets that don't match each other. I'm not sure how many people we're going to have - Mom and me, and my brother and his wife are coming, which makes four, but they may bring any or all of her kids. (Who aren't really kids, they're 22, 20 and 19.)

Ack, my cornbread has puddles of oil at the sides. What the heck was the person who wrote that recipe thinking, to use so much? I used only half of what they said, too. And what the heck was *I* thinking, to not smell the oil before I used it, to make sure it was good quality?

Well, I guess I was thinking I have a cold, and I assumed that if it was in the cupboard, it was OK.

*shrugs*

I can pour the excess off and then dab it with kitchen towel. Worst-case scenario, we have to cut the sides of the cornbread off.

I need a bath, and so does Mom, and I think that Ry - our new sort-of ward, long story which will be explained later - may have used most of the hot water up.

But it'll be a really nice evening. I love to cook, and I like entertaining well enough, as long as it's small groups of people that I know well. (I'm not really the party type, normally.) I haven't seen my brother and his wife for months, and it'll be really great to talk to them. And the food will turn out well, I'm sure.

I'm really glad to be back here on AFF - I haven't had internet for more than a year, and the library wifi won't let me access adult sites, even on my own computer - and when this cold clears up and I feel a bit better, I imagine I'll start posting regularly. Or semi-regularly, at least.

Hope y'all are well, and enjoying the winter.

Oh, one last thing - I'm not sure if blatant promotion is allowed on here, but unless AFF emails me to tell me to take it off, I want to use this end bit to promote the LMHR Christmas party. My place of work works closely with the Love Music Hate Racism movement, and I said I'd help spread the word, both about the campaign itself, and the Christmas party.
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Party details: 7.30pm-1.30am, Tuesday 15th December 2009
Proud Camden, The Stables Market, Chalk Farm Rd, London, NW1 8AH

I'm not sure exactly who's performing, because there have been some changes in the lineup, but I'm sure it'll be a blast. Tickets are £10 in advance, £12 on the door, with all proceeds going to the LMHR campaign.

Weirdness, I put the link for tickets in here, but AFF changed it to their own site. Hum. I guess you'll have to Google it, or search on facebook.

I sadly can't get there - my last Japanese class before Christmas is that night, and I think I have an exam to take - but everyone's welcome, as long as they buy a ticket.

Anyone who manages to get there, tell me how it went!