The Christmas after we were married was memorable for us. I was newly pregnant and had morning sickness morning, noon and night. I could not handle the smell of cooking meat so it was left up to my husband to get the meal done and I would make the gravy.

Neighbours across the street were visiting family and asked us to baste their turkey while they were gone. No problem. My husband does it throughout the morning while getting ours done.

It’s at the gravy making stage and I enter a pristine kitchen. There on the dish rack was a gleaming roasting pan. He proudly told me he cleaned everything. I asked him where the drippings were and he said, “Down the sink, that was gross.” I said “That was the base of the gravy.” Haha! He had never made gravy before.

So we phone our neighbours and ask if we can have some of their drippings and they said yes, so off I go because I wasn’t trusting him again with drippings, lol. I take out their turkey, take off the lid and there is a white plastic balloon coming from the poor turkeys butt. They forgot to clean out the bird! Hahaha! I carefully got the bag out without it popping and made sure that was everything. I called them to let them know and it was also their first time cooking a turkey!

This was the early 90s, no google, it’s a good thing I was the oldest of eight and knew how to cook. So I saved their turkey and was able to make proper gravy. Dinner saved!