Have on hand next to where you will make the gravy:

at least 2 cups warm water
salt and pepper
a bag of flour with a spoon to ladle it
onion podwer
garlic powder
anything else you may want to add to your gravy (celery seed, bay leaves, wine, stock, cream, melted butter)

oven mitt (a good one)
wire whisk
fork

Remove meat (and stuffing pieces) from the roasting pan. (Little pieces of meat can stay in.) Add wine here. Over very low heat, add flour to the remaining grease and meat juices. Mix the flour into the grease and meat juices with a wire whisk and slowly keep adding more flour until you have a thick paste. (You want the flour to absorb all the grease in the pan.) Basically, the more grease, the more gravy you'll have and the more flour you'll need.

After you have a nice thick paste with very little, if any, grease around the edges of the pan, turn the heat up to medium low and begin to slowly add water, stirring constantly with the wire whisk. Add spices now. (You can always adjust later.) You want to make a pourable gravy. Keep stirring, slowly adding more water as the gravy thickens. You can make thick or thin gravy, however you prefer. Just add more water to thin it to your preference. Turn off the heat once your gravy is the consistency you like. Remember that stirring constantly us the key to avoiding lumpy gravy.

After you have the right consistency, taste test. If it lacks something, add more onion, garlic, salt and/or pepper. Stir. Pour into serving bowl, and, if just a bit too thin, leave uncovered. Otherwise, cover the bowl.

If your gravy is sitting uncovered on the stove awhile before serving, it will thicken a little. Before serving, microwave briefly only if needed and add a little more water to thin it out, stirring constantly.

If you don’t have enough fat, you add some melted butter or margarine.

For a rich, flavorful gravy, avoid using plain water as your liquid. Use bouillon or soup stock.

If you are making gravy for poultry, you can add some milk or cream, but be careful that you don’t burn it.

If your gravy still comes out with lumps try beating it harder with a wire whisk, blender or Cuisinart. If lumps remain, run the gravy through a colander or strainer. Reheat over low heat, stirring constantly. Sauces are what differentiate a good cook from a great cook, and a great sauce can make even an unexpensive piece of meat taste much better.