Thanksgiving was a huge event for me. I've been so busy at work that by the time I get home, all I really want to do is sleep. This past week was particularly hectic because I decided that I should host an open house Thanksgiving, initially for my duty section but then expanded to everyone in the department. I also invited a couple of others, not knowing who would show up or not. Considering the lack of parking spaces available in Japan, I was a bit concerned (not too much, just a bit).

There was a lot of shopping involved the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving (25 Nov). We don't have a regular oven in our house in Kamakura. I have conventional oven/microwave, but it definitely wouldn't do a 15 lb. turkey. The first thing I had to find out was HOW was I going to prepare this bird. We'd tried deep fried turkey at Dana and Robert's house (was that really only last year?). I was inside with Mom F. and Dana and Baby Charlie so I didn't really watch HOW Robert cooked the turkey. So a couple of weeks ago, I paid $39.99 for a Bayou Classic Original Deep Fryer at the NEX Depot and another $25 or so for a filled propane tank at the base Autoport. Unfortunately, although nearly everyone who had previously deep fried turkeys in the past loved the results, they also had a lot of warnings to be careful with the amount of oil that was used or else it could be very dangerous. Needless to say, I was now really nervous about using the deep fryer.

As I was going through the NEX Home Store on base looking for this deep fryer earlier this month, I did take note of the RonCo Rotisserie for a mere $149.99. The box looked huge. How would that fit in my already packed kitchen? I knew that David would not like yet another appliance. So last Sunday, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I took a photo of the box and emailed it from my phone with a request for him to call me if he could. I knew he was at work. It look little convincing; I think he was worried too that I'd blow myself up in the process with the deep fryer. Frankly so was I. So that's how we ended up with yet another appliance on our small countertops.

Now the next challenge was how to feed all these people? On paper plates? I didn't want to do that so how would I overcome this challenge? Easy--100 yen store! (With hubby's blessing as he'll have to deal with the crowded kitchen when the rest of our household goods arrive with him next Spring... I'll unfortunately be on our summer deployment when that occurs) I bought a dozen 8" stoneware plates (blue, tan, green) that I thought could complement what we already have here and in storage. I also bought 2 sets of 12 piece flatware place settings (fork, knife, spoon, etc) FOR $29.99 each... stainless steel with a basic design that actually looks a lot like the Oneida flatware I already have. I know we have another set in storage, so I suspect these will be "gone" when I get back from cruise at the end of next summer. Granted all these "real" dishes and flatware means a lot of dishwashing, but heck, it's Thanksgiving! I wasn't expecting a lot of people to show up because of all the other events going on just in the medical department.

WHY GO THROUGH THE TROUBLE...My roommate, Ellen, was hosting Thanksgiving at her house and my original intention was to go over there, but since we have such a big house, and a nice one too, we should go ahead and host one here. I'll be having another get together on Saturday for whoever wants to show up, mainly because I have so much food still in the fridge. I will have to get more Ziploc containers at the NEX though for leftovers. I still have one 10 lb honey roasted turkey and a smoked turkey breast in the fridge. Thank goodness the turkeys are already cooked and can even be microwaved. They were on ice for a day and are now in the fridge (now that the 15 lb. is out of the way and is only a carcass). I have no room for what's left on the carcass though (there's quite a bit of white meat). The fridge is still full of food: 3 bags of salad greens (I'll make that this weekend), tomatoes for salsa/chili con queso, bell peppers that were supposed to be roasted with the turkey but I forgot to do that... oh well, thank goodness there's going to be a combustible gomi (trash) day on Monday.