Thursday was Thanksgiving at the LaRue family homestead, complete with a whole host of family and trimmings.

Friday was also Thanksgiving, complete with everything again. I had one sister working on Thursday and myself and another sister were working on Friday. It sure did make life confusing there for a little while.

My parents decided to have two dinners, including the one I attended on Thursday evening. It was held then to also accommodate a niece who had to work dayshift that day, while the Friday dinner was held at the more traditional time of noon.

Well, I don't suppose you could call a meal the day after Thanksgiving "traditional" under any stretch of the imagination, but I consider the Thanksgiving meal a noon affair, not an evening meal. I don't know why it matters or even why we observe such a thing. Upon further investigation, I have discovered that it was a clever ruse.

I think it may have been my mother's way of eliminating evil leftovers. She sent some home with me. She knows I could use a little home-cooked food. She turned on her kind motherly smile as she heaped turkey that was by now unrecognizable as anything other than a greasy pile of meat into a big green Tupperware bowl with divided compartments. I think it was made for one of those dip and chip deals or something like that.

On top of the dead bird was piled can-shaped cranberry sauce, slightly air-dried macaroni and cheese and stuffing and a heaping helping of mashed potatoes and gravy. (The gravy was found lurking inside that mysterious hole in the back of the turkey. One of my nieces, who has limited cooking experience, couldn't figure out which end was which, so she stuffed both ends).

During the meal, I sampled every thing but the butter beans. I don't like butter beans, but I am not sure if I really hate them or if I just think I hate them. As a child I ate lima beans and despised them, so I felt like butter beans, which are shaped about the same, must also taste bad. I kind of wish I had tried them so that I would know if I like them or not. Then again, I didn't like the onions and special sauce on hamburgers until after I grew up.

Besides, large meals are a space game - I have "x" belly space and I pick carefully to fill it with only the things I like best. Since I liked everything but those butter beans, I had a spoon full of about eight different things and no beans. Sometimes the plate is just too small.

As for the take-home version of the meal, I ate turkey salad until I was green last year. But Thanksgiving leftovers are a national tradition. Even so, I was still pleased to only have enough food for about three big meals.

That's two for me and, say, are you up for supper? I'm having leftovers.

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