It's nearly noon and I've got just about all the major cooking done except for the bird, which is out of his brine bath and is chilling in the fridge. I really want to have as little to do as possible when people start showing up, so once the turkey is cooked. it's just a matter of reheating the side dishes while the bird rests and I get the gravy done. This is probably the most organized I've been preparing Thanksgiving in a long time. Any pots or utensils have been cleaned as I went and the potatoes, yams and dressing are in disposable pans so that cleanup will be a lot easier.

I just love that I just need to walk to my back yard to pick my herbs. I've got sage and thyme and rosemary and parsley, so I'm pretty well set. And oh, do they smell good! I just want to roll around in the rosemary. It's got to have the best smell of any herb on the planet.

Am taking a short break before I start cleaning the house. Figure that the bird will be popped into the oven in about an hour so I'll go retrieve it from the fridge and let it sit on the counter so he can lose the chill. Once he's roasting, I'll finish cleaning and hop into the shower to make myself human. People are going to be showing up at around 4 (which will be plenty of time to get the bird done) and I figure we'll start eating at around 5:30. There is going to be a LOT of food. And then dessert. And finally, the Turkey Coma.