Turkey remains the hands down holiday tradition for Thanksgiving Day.  Did you know that Ben Franklin thought the turkey should be our national symbol?  Cooking a turkey can be tricky.  You want the bird thoroughly cooked for safety’s sake, but not dried out.  Here’s a recipe I discovered last year about this time, and it’s fool proof.

Delicious Turkey Recipe

8-15 pound turkey
1 cup melted butter
1 cup stuffing (Pepperidge Farm is good.)
1 cup uncooked popcorn (Orville Redenbacker’s Low Fat)
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush turkey well with melted butter, salt and pepper. Fill cavity with stuffing and uncooked popcorn.

Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven.

Listen for the popping sounds. When the turkey’s butt blows the oven door open and the bird flies across the room, it’s done.

And you thought I didn’t cook.

Uncle Jay is a rerun this week, but: it’s from January 19th, the day before Obama was inaugurated president.  I looked back in the archives, and it turns out I wasn’t posting Uncle Jay at that time.  As a matter of fact, the inauguration took place about one week before the advent of My Other Blog.  On January 19th, it was still Clark Bunch’s Weblog.  Sad, huh?  So, here is today’s Uncle Jay (from last January). 

I have already seen them: Christmas lights on people’s houses.  The City of Manchester, KY has already turned on their lights, and I imagine other cities have done the same.  I saw on Facebook just a few minutes ago that a good friend in GA is decorating right now.  It’s the 14th of November, and you’re turning on the Christmas lights.  Really? 

I’m not anti-Christmas.  I believe it should be the most wonderful time of year; but it’s not time yet.  If we start now with the decorating and holiday shopping, we will burn out before Christmas Day.  I would like to wake up on the morning of December 25th still looking forward to Christmas, not thankful that the “holiday season” will finally be over.  By the time Christmas actually gets here, will we even still bother turn on the lights? 

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the same day we have Columbus Day, but ours is still the fourth Thursday in November.  Let’s have Thanksgiving, then start in with Christmas.  Both holidays will mean more that way.  Waiting makes it more special.  Come on guys, turn the lights back off.

But I’m afraid it’s not.  Dang.

More funny cats at I Can Has Cheezeburger.

911 has saved countless lives over the past 30 years or so, and has become even more valuable as we all have cell phones and devices with us all the time.  I have called more than once to report breakdowns, reckless drivers, and even one wrong way driver on I-75.  But this takes the cake.

A lady in Wisconsin called 911 to report a drunk driver; herself.  “Are you behind them?”  the dispatcher asked.  “I am them,” was her response.  The dispatcher told her to pull off to the side of the road and turn on her emergency flashers – and she did!  She waited for police to arrive and admisiter a sobriety test, which she failed. 

This story and others reported here by CNN’s Jeanne Moss:

It took us a long time to become parents, so if I keep posting first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July, birthday, etc. you’ll just have to indulge me. Yes, that’s also Johannah in the Cuteness again (see the left sidebar).

She matched her mom as well.

Teresa and I moved to KY in 2003, and this week helped produce our 14th school play since we’ve been here. 

Pictured is the cast of Fairy Tale Courtroom, in which the Big Bad Wolf and the Wicked Witch stand trial for their various offenses.  This play has dwarves, princesses, flying monkeys, a prince, one magic mirror, and the list goes on.  We were able to cast many of the staff children in their first play, and everyone had a great time.

I’ve seen some bad parking, but watch this.  Unbelievable.