The Ghosts of Thanksgivings Past

I thought it would be fun to share memories of past Thanksgivings.... Feel free to go back in time however near or far you like, include experiences with the Murray family or your in-laws or your own family. I'll start with my top two silly memories:

1) One year in MN, I was given the task of drying the lettuce for our green salad. No problem, should be easy enough. Well, the pre-salad spinner method of drying lettuce in the Lobo household was to get a big dish towel, put the wet lettuce in the middle, close it up, go outside, and twirl the bundle around as fast as you can. The centrifugal force whisks away the water, and you are left with nice dry lettuce. Well, that's the plan anyway. Insert one very old and decrepit dishtowel into the story, and you have one very embarrassed girl, and lettuce strewn across the frozen, snowy Minnesota landscape. I went out and started swinging the dishtowel around, and ..... RIP! The old towel gave way and ripped open, and our salad was all across the front yard. Bits of it were even hanging in the leafless front bushes. I remember standing in the yard, cold without my jacket, staring blankly at the now inedible Thanksgiving salad, wondering how in the world I would explain this one to my mom. Nevermind the LDS missionaries who were there to share Thanksgiving, now salad-free, with our family. I now own a salad spinner, and this will never happen on my watch again. (hahahahahahaha)

2) I also remember the year we were working on preparing our Thanksgiving food when the power went out. That meant no dishwasher or microwave or access to the fridge. Luckily for us, our stove was gas and could be ignited with a match if necessary. Also lucky for us, it was (as usual) freezing cold outside, and we had an unheated screened porch that always doubled as a giant walk-in cooler for Thanksgiving. That was an interesting year....I remember it was a little dark. :) But fun.

Now it's your turn (YUP, you too mom!) to share your Thanksgiving stories. Hope everyone has a fun and safe Thanksgiving this year....I wish we could all get together!