My Turkey Roasting Pan

For those of you who do not know I have to confess that I am a Craigslist aficionado.  I could entertain you all day with stories of purchases made or things I have sold using Craigslist.  [Note: I live in a big military area so people come and go frequently and there are safety measures I follow that I would be happy to share.]

On Sunday, I was poking around and saw an advertisement for a stainless steel turkey roasting pan for $15.  It reminded me that the holidays are nearly upon us and I felt a little rush of excitement.  I quickly emailed the kind lady posting the ad and we exchanged a volley of emails.  I met her yesterday outside of the county clerks office and after we exchanged cash for goods we exchanged stories.

Her mother had just died, being advanced in age, and she and her husband had been left with the task of figuring out what to do with all her things.  She, herself had been married, probably well over 45 years, and they had come to the conclusion that they had too much stuff.  I had been inquiring what else she had to offer and her reply was too much to even begin offering a list.  An entire storage shed, in fact, and she had no idea what was in it.  I think she was overwhelmed with the enormity of this task.

I shared with her my health struggles and I saw her shudder.  She confessed that she had some close calls but so far she continued to be healthy.  She promised to pray for me and add me to her church's prayer list.  I smiled to myself as I got in the car.  I don't know what is more fun about Craigslist.  The fabulous finds or the interesting people I would otherwise never have had the privilege of meeting.

The holidays are coming.  I am looking forward to them with a zest I have not had in years.  I am hoping that this Thanksgiving we can skip the hair shaving portion but truthfully, it is looking iffy.  I am reasonably sure that I will be able to sit at the table and share in the bounty without difficulty.  Last year holding myself upright for more than 10-15 minutes was almost out of the question.

The roasting pan is beautiful and will aid in providing me with the Thanksgiving dinner I look forward to all year.  Mom will be here and we will make all the family favorites.  Last year the baby sat in his walker and had just begun eating solid food.  We gave him a bite of squash and he immediately rejected it.  This year he will sit and feed himself with his little fork and spoon, which I have to say, he is pretty skilled at.

Sadly, not all the family will be here.  As we are from Maine, my extended family will be there gathering and celebrating and spending time together.  We are growing in number and being in one house on Thanksgiving day is becoming harder and harder.  I wish that I could be there too, but I will have to make due with my own scaled down version here in Colorado.  I want to embrace each of them and tell them how much I love them and how important family is.  We need to make time for each other.  I can see that now so clearly, even when it seems difficult or like too much trouble.  I wish that I had visited more often when I was healthy and traveling was easy.  Hopefully, I will get a second chance to strengthen those relationships and shore them up before they slip away.  This can happen when a family begins to get really big.

I also found Mom a Creme Brulee set that included a torch from a delightful family from India.  They are selling everything because they are returning to India.  Her Creme Brulee desserts are really something and we are going to have fun learning how to make the crunchy top coat that is the crowning glory of this delicious treat.  Sigh.  We are quite committed to this field of research, so if you are in Colorado and stop in for a visit, you might find yourself employed as a taster.