Saturday, October 30, 2010

Thanksgiving Weddings ~ Part Two

Thanksgiving morning dawned with a fresh layer of snow on the ground. We hurried with our breakfast and I made the last rounds through the house to make sure everything was spotless before we headed for church.

We decided to leave the wagon at Uncle Eli's house, that Ivan and Raymond could walk the rest of the way which would save us the embarrassment of showing up at church pulling a wagon. especially since there would be so many visitors there.

Right after the wedding ceremony we started for home instead of staying to visit with friends for a while first. It took a little longer to walk home than I had hoped and I immediately starting making lunch. David had invited LV and he would be coming at any minute. Desperate to have the kitchen smelling good from cooking I poked at the few lonely red coals remaining in the bottom of the cook stove. I sent Mahlon to the shop to gather an armful of small wood scraps in hopes I could coax the fire to burn sooner that way. I was more than a little frustrated that I had forgotten to bank the stove properly before leaving for church that morning.

LV came before I had started cooking and I breathed a sigh of relief when the fire finally started burning nicely. Going into the pantry I brought the turkey and potatoes. I was going to make mashed potatoes and fry the turkey in a pan with melted butter and flour seasoned with choice spices. I lifted the lid from the pot containing the turkey I had cooked the previous day and lifted out a few pieces. They were totally coated in aspic and I tried my best to scrape it off before putting them in the frying pan.

I felt extremely self conscious with LV sitting in the kitchen watching and it didn't help knowing that he could only stay for an hour since he had to go home and do all the chores on their dairy by himself. Getting a pack of frozen corn from the basement he told me I don't have to make a huge meal that he would be happy with just turkey and potatoes.

I put all my focus on the turkey which was fast becoming a disaster. The aspic that I had failed to remove was melting and instead of the turkey getting a nice crispy coating it was sticking to the pan and was surrounded by the most disgusting looking glop. With most of my attention fixed on trying to salvage the turkey I forgot to monitor the potatoes which gleefully burned to the bottom of the saucepan. I frantically removed the top few layers and mashed them and then turned back to the turkey which was now hopelessly stuck to the bottom of the frying pan. Trying to pry it loose a whole drumstick catapulted out of the frying pan and landed on the floor and just as fast a bad word that I hadn't said in years popped out of my mouth.

I was absolutely mortified as my brothers all looked at me with wide eyes and LV watched my cooking efforts with a slight grin. Dishing everything out into bowls I placed them on the table and sank wearily into my chair.

After a silent prayer everyone took a helping of potatoes and turkey. The potatoes were lumpy and too late I realized I had forgotten to make gravy. The turkey was even worse. The outside was slightly warm but the rest was still thoroughly cold.

After we were done eating my brothers started clearing the table while I followed LV to the basement to see him off. I thought the whole day was ruined when he paused at the door and looking into my eyes he held my hand and said, "I love you. I'll see you tonight when we go for the wedding reception."

I headed back upstairs. My heart singing. Even after being served such a disastrous meal LV said he loved me.

To be continued

19 comments:

  1. Oh who cares that the main meal didn't go to plan!!The dessert certainly made up for it-VERY sweet and delicious!:)Congrats on your 600th follower!

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  3. I bet he was just as nervous as you were and didn't even taste the food. That story is hilarious and I can just see that turkey leg go flying. I'm sure he's more than happy to remind you of that event whenever turkey's on the menu. LOL!

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  4. Oh bless your heart. I know how those embarassing meals go, especially when you want everything perfect.
    until next time... nel

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  5. ::tear:: Stories like that always make me tear up. How lovely!

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  6. What a lovely story! I remember the first meal I made for my husband when we were just courting. I made spaghetti and garlic bread. The garlic bread was lacking in butter, too garlicy (skunky-garlicy) and as hard as a rock! I remember feeling so embarrassed as he crunched away at the piece of garlic bread, dutifully. To make it worse, I had a huge plateful of garlic bread and all the rest had to be tossed.

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  7. Thank you for the comment you made on my latest post. I checked out your profile, and saw you grew up Amish, and I am intrigued by the Amish. A lot of the Christian romance I read, are about the Amish. I have now become a follower of your blog. I am going to enjoy reading your posts.

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  8. I enjoyed this story. It reminded me of the first meal that I made for my husband when we were dating. My sister let me use her house, they were going to be gone. I made a chicken dinner. When we got back to my sisters after church and we walked into the house I didn't smell the chicken. To my horror I had forgotten to put the chicken in the pan, only had cooked water. We still laugh about it.

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  9. Why do these things always happen in tense situations? As an Amish young woman, I'm sure you could put together a great meal -- it's ingrained in us.

    Can't wait find out if your parents find out that David invited LV. Looking forward to the next installment...

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  10. I lovee this post!! You are such a wonderful writer and make your experiences come alive. I felt your frustration, disappointment and anger and I even felt your heart swell with delight when he told you he loved you.
    Keep on writing dear. You have a beautiful gift to share.

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  11. I think it was sweet!

    ps. I opened my blog up. There are several posts you might find interesting. :)

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  12. Just wanted to pop in and say hello and tell you how much I am enjoying your blog. I've been following your blog for a while now and am always so happy to see a new post from you.

    Louise in New Zealand

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  13. I'm still laughing about the turkey leg. Isn't this just the way it is...when you want everything to be perfect, nothing works! But then, I guess it did turn out perfect!
    Regina

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  14. That is so sweet! Definitely love for him to see you at your near-worst and still love you for it. Gives me something to look forward to. :)

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  15. I remember making Thanksgiving meal for hubby, before we were married.
    I made hot tea which melted the pitcher I tried to put it in and I didn't realize the turkey had a bag in it til I had cooked it and was ready to serve it.

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  16. oh my goodness! i have been reading your blog from the begining for the past two weeks every nite after my children are asleep and the houseowrk finished. i have been enjoying them so much! i must say, alot of them bring tears to my eyes or laugh out loud, and this one was definitely both! i dont know why i laughed when you let a cuss slip, perhaps becuase I can relate, I have done that too, and at the worse times! and then when LV said he loved you!? well that just put a lump in my throat!!!
    I cant wait to see what happens next!!

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment. I love hearing your thoughts.