And holy shit it’s 11 freaking pounds. (The choices were “small”, 4-8# or “large”, 8-12# and I didn’t want to risk going with small and getting a 4 pounder. There will be enough leftovers to freeze, YAY!

Other items have been picked up at the market, and it was kinda hilarious as we’re all wandering around with our lists while also staring off into space trying to remember what “that thing” was that we’ve forgotten. I think I have everything? Might need to get a bag of ice for the brine tomorrow depending on how well the icemaker performs overnight, but I think that is it? Did have to go fancy with the toothpicks, LOL.

Mashed potato experiment is a success, done today because WE DO NOT EXPERIMENT ON THANKSGIVING. Made a small batch of instant potatoes with chicken stock instead of water – I’ve read good things, and it certainly does wonders for grits, why not mashed potatoes? And they’re really good! (Yes, we do instant potatoes here, because it’s just easier and I have attempted real mashed potatoes and it has not gone well.)

Then I assembled two more sets of shelves for the dining room – getting those for the dining room was a fucking brilliant move on my part. Got three to start with, ordered two more and lined the whole damn wall with them. They’re just the perfect height/width/depth.

And thanks to those shelves, the kitchen is now functionally ready for tomorrow!! All the paper products have a convenient home as well as other kitchen adjacent things that are no longer taking up space on the counters, WOO FREAKING HOO.

Now it’s time to go slice up some cheese and sausage and make some cheesy ranch dip and then kick back for the evening.