Delicious Turkey Soup

That's what we had for dinner tonight and last night, even though I'm usually not a fan of leftovers, but this soup is *really* good, spiced as it is with bay leaves, marjoram, tarragon leaves and more, though I can't remember exactly which other spices I threw in. Miles likes it, too.

Thanksgiving weekend was a blast! We visited on Saturday with Amanda's family, sitting around a campfire on a chilly day and drinking and eating. Then on Sunday I cooked a traditional turkey dinner (from whence came the turkey of the aforementioned turkey soup), and it was fabulous! I had spent the previous week researching recipes from the internet, and everything turned out perfectly (except perhaps the Pillsbury bread loaf, but I don't count that since I had very little to do with its making). The menu was as follows: herbed turkey, stuffed with onions, celery, and apple; an amazing stuffing recipe that I cobbled together from several recipes (since I couldn't find just the right one); a lovely red-wine gravy; mashed, candied yams with pecans; a delicious broccoli casserole made by Mark's mom; mashed potatoes drizzled with truffle oil, bread; Brussel sprouts; and a homemade, fruity cranberry sauce. Dessert was homemade pumpkin and pear pies served with vanilla whipped cream.

This week at school signals that week in the semester where all my procrastinating gets the better of me: it is time to buckle down. This week I receive two batches of essays to mark in about a week and a half. I may also potentially start two other jobs; the first, a research assistantship that will be mostly photocopying and errand-running this semester, and the second, a TAship in another department. Still, I am happy with all the work and opportunities I have encountered over the past month. I think what pleases me most is that I am receiving work in my area of study. I am amazed by what can come along when I am open to almost anything.

So, tonight I am off to read my students' in class essays, and to group them into preliminary grades, then tomorrow I start marking another batch of papers and am going to a screening of Ang Lee's film, "Eat Drink Man Woman," for my grad seminar. All my weekend will be taken up with marking, marking, and prepping for giving a lecture to the first year students on Monday. The following week I give a presentation in my graduate seminar. And so it goes for the next two months or so. I think I have something due every week until then. And so it goes.