Made turkey brine.
Unwrapped the turkey and wincingly pulled out the packages of innards and the neck bone.
Rinsed out the turkey and then put it into the plastic bag in the cooler, poured the brining solution over it, tied it off, and surrounded it with ice to sit over night.

Mixed up pumpkin pie filling and instead of pouring it into a pie crust, I poured it into a baking dish to cook, since I love the filling but dislike most pie crusts. 

Poured a bag of cranberries into the food processor, along with an orange (peel and all) cut into sections, a handful of pecans, and 2/3 cup of sugar.  Pulsed it until it was a relish, which will go nicely with the turkey.

Took the neck bone of the turkey and put it in a pot to brown in olive oil, along with chopped carrots, celery and onion.  When it was roasty, I poured in water, deglazed the pan, and set it to simmer for a couple of hours to make stock for our gravy. 

Our friend Mary came over again this year, total Godsend.  She peeled the potatoes, chopped celery and carrots, and we visited while I got the sweet potatoes going.  Two sweet potato dishes: one a sweet puree with struesel topping.  The other will be sweet potatoes pan roasted with a peppery seasoning.

Tomorrow I have to start the turkey at 7:00 a.m  to slowly roast for five hours until dinner time. 

I’m late posting, so this is mostly just  a list.  I’m exhausted, physically and emotionally, and hope to do better tomorrow.