"I was lead astray by artful and designing persons."

The above is attributed to my grandfather, who responded thusly to a question about why he started smoking at the age of 15 - he stopped more than fifty years ago, but I never knew he had started so young. In any case, it's that kind of wit and whimsical speech that I do remember from growing up. Nobody talks like he does.

I had my own small bout of wit this evening - we decided (given that it was a gray and foggy day, with storms to come in the next few days, leading to an atmosphere of tea and lots of soup) to cook the enormous turkey that had been in the freezer for the past month or so. So, the turkey was cooked and it felt like Thanksgiving, but with only three people and not huge appetites, a lot was left on the carcass - so I offered to break down the bird as well as I could  into various plastic containers - one for pieces that were good for sandwiches (dark and white), some for soup, bones in another container for soup, etc. In any case, I have never broken down a turkey before. I was there with my one hand half inside the thing, the other one slippery on a carving knife and I muttered to my dad, "I feel somewhere between a surgeon and a serial killer," which he deemed quite astute for that kind of carving.

A lovely, lovely evening.