Thanksgiving in the Breezeway

When my oven gave up the ghost exactly three weeks before Thanksgiving, I didn’t panic. I was calm and if I do say so myself, I handled it brilliantly. I was relaxed and confident that this was only a minor blip that would be rectified in very short order. So, I waited a few days before I began my quest to repair it. I ask myself now, what dreamworld/parallel universe was I living in?

I eventually tackled the problem by making phone calls to appliance repair companies and got several potential diagnoses which left me with heart palpitations and a massive headache. The general consensus was that the control panel was done and it was prohibitive to replace. That led to a few more days of procrastination while I came to terms with this massive disappointment.

Finally, I hit paydirt! I found an appliance company with reasonable pricing and a technician who diagnosed my issue as a common one, requiring only two relatively inexpensive parts. I naively thought I was home free…….not so fast there sweet pea. The parts had to be ordered and would likely take at least two to three weeks to arrive. My computer-like brain immediately calculated that I was thus likely destined to be “ovenless” for Thanksgiving.

Once again, I remained calm, however, my dilemma was compounded by the fact that I was the designated Thanksgiving host for our family. This would include our children and grandchildren, who were in our “bubble,” in addition to Little Sis and her husband who were sort of in our “bubble.” By that I mean, we had seen them during the summer but only outside and it worked well because the weather had cooperated.

What to do? Well, the only conclusions we could come to, were:

1. We needed to be creative when it came to our Thanksgiving menu
2. We needed to eat outside and our house was the only one to offer relative shelter should the weather not cooperate
3. We needed to cook most of the meal at my daughter’s house and transport it to ours

Did that sound like an insurmountable challenge? No siree! Not in our rose colored, optimistic world. Since this would be an unusual celebration anyway, my daughters chose this opportunity to suggest a non traditional menu. This would include the traditional turkey and stuffing, but they added a host of unusual and ambitious items. It was an enormous undertaking, but we agreed that they would do most of the grocery shopping and preparation. They were blissfully unaware of the magnitude of the challenge ahead and I was thrilled that my involvement would apparently be somewhat minimal.

Next on the list of challenges was convincing my husband that we had a viable plan. He had several other suggestions that just didn’t align with our “vision,” but no matter how hard he tried, it was obvious that he was no match for three determined women. He finally agreed that we would set up tables, chairs and white patio lights in the covered breezeway between our house and garage. We had heaters lined up if needed.

“The Logistics of Keeping Food Warm ” became our next challenge. Fortunately, my warming oven still worked, and we made good use of a few slow cookers and an InstaPot. In addition, we were sure the barbecue would help in a pinch.

Social distancing also had to be addressed. Little Sis and her husband would have a separate table, placed at a responsible distance and they would bring their own dishes, cups and utensils. We would serve their food separately .

The only issue left to contend with, and it was major, was the weather. We checked updates daily and were soon confronted with the fact that we were doomed. Not only was it forecast to rain, but it was predicted to come pelting down with a vengeance, accompanied by near gale force winds. (Wouldn’t it be a lovely twist if I was to tell you at this point, that the sun miraculously shone down on us and blessed us with a gentle breeze?)

No……Thanksgiving Day dawned as bleak as ever. During the course of the morning the sky grew darker and the winds picked up. By 4:00 we were faced with a “weather rocket” that came as predicted with full force, but we bravely forged ahead. Everyone was in their warmest clothing and tarps were secured to block the wind. The heaters were lit, the barbecue lid opened to add a bit more heat and blankets were at the ready. We had come this far and we were not giving up!

There were, however, a few minor food issues….. some of the stuffing was burnt, the brussel sprouts and spaghetti squash didn’t live up to expectations, the timing was all wrong for an appetizer, the turkey was dry and the macaroni and cheese was by no means creamy. Other than that, it was great!

And in the end, the food was moderately warm, the candles kept blowing out, the table cloths were flapping in the “breeze” and our hands and feet were cold, but our spirits were high. We laughed and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Who knew if we would face the same obstacles next Thanksgiving? Who knew if we could all be together next Thanksgiving? Who knew if my oven would be working by next Thanksgiving? None of it mattered because we all knew that we were making memories and this would be a family story for years to come.

Betty Would Love That!

Post Script: The next day dawned sunny, warm and beautifully calm….and as we speak, my oven still isn’t working, but that’s a story for another day…….Oh Well!

We plan to publish a new post every Monday, so stayed tuned for our next one entitled “Sing, Sing a Song.”