Of course we're just guessing 'cause how can you tell?

Rumors of an office Thanksgiving lunch began a few weeks ago. They were less rumors than they were e-mails asking who wanted to bring what, actually. Since my slender cooking skills were crushed by spending half a decade in a place it's silly not to eat out every meal, I didn't have much to offer. It wasn't until last week when I was standing around uncertainly downstairs that I was asked if I wanted to do anything, and I volunteered, sure, what do you need? By then all the mature grown-up useful parts had been spoken for, and even sodas and plastic cups were assigned, so they suggested I bring in butter and whipped cream. Or Cool-Whip, since that's easier than whipped cream. (Not my adjective.)

I wrote this in my notebook lest I forget, and spent the weekend trying to think of why I had this nagging feeling I had to go to some store, even if I couldn't think of which store. I finally remembered on the dismal Sunday afternoon. I got a small tub each of salted and of unsalted butter, and of regular Cool-Whip and of fat-free Cool-Whip, which is a lot of dairy-inspired product to bring in at once but seemed likely to cover most eating preferences. (Free usability guideline for the mighty Cool-Whip Syndicate: a package label which is prominently chocolate gives customers the belief this is the chocolate-flavored variant. While you may wish to emphasize that it can be used on top of a chocolate product, it will induce time-wasting study and comparison from customers who just want the ordinary white variant.)

The last e-mail I had said the lunch would be on Monday, November 21, which if taken literally suggests a bit of a wait before the big day. I figured to bring it all in on Monday, since neither butter nor Cool Whip are likely to perish in two days thanks to refrigeration technology. It turned out the date was Monday, and they already had the ordinary non-Thanksgiving-related tubs of butter -- salted and unsalted -- in the fridge. Also I had bought Cool-Whip Light and Cool-Whip Fat-Free, which somehow aren't the same thing. It was the Light which first saw use. Unless it was the Fat-Free that was.

Trivia: The turkey was domesticated in Mexico, and was known locally as uexolotl before the Europeans arrived. Source: Food in History, Reay Tannahill.

Currently Reading: The Impossible Man, J G Ballard.