An actual knitted item

What's this???
That's right, actual knitted gifts!!! My mom likes to wear socks to bed and complains about how they always leave marks around her ankles. So I decided to knit her a pair of socks with non-binding cuffs- and I actually got them done in time for Christmas! These are made out of Wildefoot sock yarn. I cast on 2x the number of required stitches, knit a couple of rows and then did a row of k1, k2tog till I was down to 1/2 the sts. After that it was just a regular ol' sock pattern. I think she was pleased!

We celebrate Christmas with my mom on Christmas Eve (my parents have been long divorced) and this year we wanted to have something besides the typical ham for dinner. The Dearest suggested lobster tails, so that's what we had! Steamed lobster tails, balsamic roasted asparagus and pesto pasta. YUM

The funny thing is, right after Christmas Eve dinner I got busy making our Christmas Day turkey. I learned turkey cooking from my Dad, who is one of the original Kentucky hillbillies. Remember the Beverly Hillbillies?
That could've been my dad's side of the family. They live in Appalachia, which is practically a third world country. Most of the males in Dad's generation were killed in real-life feuds with other hillbillies. Really. Some of his relatives still live on farms with no 'city water' (aka running water- they have wells) and have outhouses.

Anyhew, Dad's recipe for well-cooked turkey:
1- 12-15lb turkey (don't forget to take the buckshot out when gutting)
1- jar of mayo
1- paper grocery sack
stuffing (if so inclined)

Wash and dry turkey. Place in roasting pan. Open jar of mayo and proceed to slather the entire jar over the outside of the turkey. Stuff with whatever rocks your boat.

Place turkey inside the paper sack and put the whole pan into a 350 degree oven. Cook till finished.

Remove paper sack before carving!

Voila....
One perfectly cooked, moist turkey. No basting required! I love this recipe and everyone I talk to thinks it's the weirdest thing ever. "Doesn't the bag burn?" "Mayo????" Yup, mayo! And no, the bag doesn't burn because the turkey kinda steams inside the bag. Plus 325degrees isn't quite hot enough to catch the bag on fire.

Next year the Dearest wants to try a deep fried turkey. I told him it would be a go only if we increased our homeowners' insurance first.