Happy Thanksgiving!

Grace

Thanks & blessings be
to the Sun & the Earth
for this bread & this wine,
this fruit, this meat, this salt,
this food;
thanks be & blessing to them
who prepare it, who serve it;
thanks & blessings to them
who share it
(& also the absent & the dead).
Thanks & Blessing to them who bring it
(may they not want),
to them who plant & tend it,
harvest & gather it
(may they not want);
thanks & blessing to them who work
& blessing to them who cannot;
may they not want - for their hunger
sours the wine & robs
the taste from the salt.
Thanks be for the sustenance & strength
for our dance & work of justice, of peace.

~ Rafael Jesus Gonzalez ~

(In Praise of Fertile Land, edited by Claudia Mauro

A Different Thanksgiving

In honor of my vegan and vegetarian daughters:

And here is an article about new trends in the American diet concerning such holidays as Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dirty Dishes

Lots of dishes get dirty when cooking a big dinner. Although I am not officially cooking the Thanksgiving Dinner that will be at son DC and daughter AA's house, today I cooked a 14 lb. turkey with stuffing. I also made candied sweet potatoes and a pecan pie, which is baking right this minute.

The latter two items are traveling to Austin for the bigger Thanksgiving dinner. Chuck and I already ate some of the turkey this evening for dinner. The turkey and stuffing will be left for future leftovers (especially turkey sandwiches with stuffing and cranberry sauce) IF son BJ leaves us any!

27 year old BJ is bringing his girl friend to Corpus Christi on Thanksgiving Day, while only the dogs and cat will be at home.

While up in Austin, our youngest and oldest children will gather together with AA's family and Chuck and me to share the Thanksgiving meal. We'll also celebrate Avery's "real" second birthday, even though her party was this past weekend.

I know that daughter AA and her partner KA would like to celebrate Avery's birthday here, but they traveled from Seattle for Halloween. They'll be staying there, where they are enduring a flooded basement in their rented house, which hopefully has not damaged their furnace. 

And tonight we still have lots of dirty dishes, pots and pans, etc. in the kitchen waiting to be cleaned. I am fortunate that husband Chuck has always cleaned up after my cooking messes!

I am thankful for my family, wherever they may be.

Pre-Holiday Griping

While re-reading the FF "mulleygrubs" poem, I decided that I needed to learn more about its author, Ginger Andrews. She was born in 1956 in Oregon and works as a janitor and cleaning lady; she has also won many awards for her poetry. Her two books of poetry are out of print. A search of the internet leads one to sites featuring her poems, especially Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac. Here is another of her humorous poems about Thanksgiving. This one is about the approaching holiday season (like on MINDIGHT of Thanksgiving Day!):

“Pre-Holiday PMS,” by Ginger Andrews, from An Honest Answer (Story Line Press). 
 

I don't want to be thankful this year.
I don't want to eat turkey and I could care
if I never again tasted
your mother's cornbread stuffing.
I hate sweet potato pie. I hate mini marshmallows.

I hate doing dishes while you watch football.
I hate Christmas. I hate name-drawing.
I hate tree-trimming, gift-wrapping,
and Rudolph the zipper-necked red-nosed reindeer.
I just want to skip the whole merry mess—
unless, of course, you'd like to try
to change my mind. You could start
by telling me I'm pretty and leaving me
your charge cards
and all your cash.

Friday Five: Thanksgiving Soon!

An old-fashioned American Thanksgiving!

The Cure

Lying around all day
with some strange new deep blue
weekend funk, I'm not really asleep
when my sister calls
to say she's just hung up
from talking with Aunt Bertha
who is 89 and ill but managing
to take care of Uncle Frank
who is completely bed ridden.
Aunt Bert says
it's snowing there in Arkansas,
on Catfish Lane, and she hasn't been
able to walk out to their mailbox.
She's been suffering
from a bad case of the mulleygrubs.
The cure for the mulleygrubs,
she tells my sister,
is to get up and bake a cake.
If that doesn't do it, put on a red dress.

--Ginger Andrews (from Hurricane Sisters)

 
So this Friday before Thanksgiving, think about Aunt Bert and how she'll celebrate Thanksgiving! And how about YOU?

 
1. What is your cure for the "mulleygrubs"?

Well, eating chocolate always helps. Talking to one of my children or being with a friend. I am always helped by my two walking buddies--on Saturday mornings and on Sunday evenings.

2. Where will you be for Thanksgiving?

This year for Thanksgiving we will be in Austin, where we will also celebrate Avery's second birthday! Daughter MJ will be there from Salt Lake City, as will our in-laws who are Avery's other family.

 
3. What foods will be served? Which are traditional for your family?

 There will be a brined turkey, which is my daughter-in-law's specialty. I am bringing a pecan pie, cranberry sauce and candied sweet potatoes from Corpus Christi. There will be more yummy options.

 
4. How do you feel about Thanksgiving as a holiday?

It has always been a day of eating and football in my family, which is a lot of work. It won't be as much work for me this year and more fun seeing Avery and Margaret, so I am looking forward to it. Where's the feeling? Anticipation!

 
5. In this season of Thanksgiving, what are you grateful for?

I am grateful for my family and friends. After spending two days at the Lebh Shomea retreat center in Sarita, TX this week, I am appreciating the ways people have shown and nurtured me on this spiritual path, especially in silence.

BONUS: Describe Aunt Bert's Thanksgiving.

Lots of pies and rolls!

Black Friday

As Sherry wrote, I also did not participate in Black Friday shopping (unless you count going to our local supermarket HEB).

Usually our cat Gracie sleeps in the bathroom with the door closed, but someone let her out last night, so at 6 am this morning she was scratching repeatedly on the bedroom door. I briefly thought that I could go out shopping, but quickly went back to sleep.

I cooked a small (11 lb.) turkey today with stuffing, so we could have the fixings for turkey sandwiches. That's necessary with younger son BJ home and husband CB. Yesterday CB and I fixed the stuffing for the big brined turkey (which was delicous!) at AA and DC's house in Austin. Today I made half the amount for ours. As a novelty, I only cooked one bag of cranberries for our cranberry sauce--usually we have much, much more.

We had an enjoyable time at son DC and his wife AA's house in Austin. Here is a family picture taken in front of their house before the big meal:

BJ, Jan, CB, MJ, AA and DC

(Our daughters AE and KA stayed in Seattle, obviously.)

AA's brother took the family pictures, as we were trying to get one to send with our Christmas cards. Instead of this one, we chose one taken in the backyard.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Five: Thanksgiving Thoughts

The Cure

Lying around all day
with some strange new deep blue
weekend funk, I'm not really asleep
when my sister calls
to say she's just hung up
from talking with Aunt Bertha
who is 89 and ill but managing
to take care of Uncle Frank
who is completely bed ridden.
Aunt Bert says
it's snowing there in Arkansas,
on Catfish Lane, and she hasn't been
able to walk out to their mailbox.
She's been suffering
from a bad case of the mulleygrubs.
The cure for the mulleygrubs,
she tells my sister,
is to get up and bake a cake.
If that doesn't do it, put on a red dress.

--Ginger Andrews (from Hurricane Sisters)

So this Friday before Thanksgiving, think about Aunt Bert and how she'll celebrate Thanksgiving! And how about YOU?

1. What is your cure for the "mulleygrubs"?
Eat some chocolate. Think of the ABC's of gratitude. Sometimes visiting blogging friends helps!

2. Where will you be for Thanksgiving?
This will be our second Thanksgiving spent in Austin, which is a 4 1/2 hour drive north of Corpus Christi. Son DC and wife AA are again hosting us at their house. Her family will be there and ours will be there, except for daughters AE and KA who live in Seattle. And son BJ will also bring his Brittany spaniel Troy who is much too active for DC and AA's bulldog Sampson. (Pictures of pets here.)

3. What foods will be served? Which are traditional for your family?
Our family traditions mix with AA's family's. Turkey, of course; CB and I are making the stuffing on Thanksgiving morning. I don't think there will be sweet potatoes; instead mashed potatoes and gravy. DC insists upon a green jello salad, which surprises me, but is a tradition from my mother. I am also baking a pecan pie and am not sure that pumpkin will be served or not.

I always enjoy this traditional meal for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I'll be cooking it for Christmas. Then it's usually turkey, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, green jello, broccoli, and rolls. Lots of carbs!

4. How do you feel about Thanksgiving as a holiday?
For me, it is mostly an eating day--and a cooking day. When the kids were growing up, we would always go and see a movie while the turkey was cooking, but that stopped last year when I wasn't cooking the turkey. If we had lived closer to extended family members, it would have been more of a big family event, but we have always lived away. For the Aggies of the family (DC, AA, and BJ), there is the big football game between Texas A&M University versus the University of Texas.

5. In this season of Thanksgiving, what are you grateful for?
I am glad that most of my family will be with us for Thanksgiving. I am glad our family is healthy and stays connected.

BONUS: Describe Aunt Bert's Thanksgiving.
I hope the snow has stopped for Aunt Bertha and that her neighbors will bring over dinner for her and her bedridden husband. Aunt Bertha will wear her red dress again and offer them some cake and pecan pie (in Arkansas, of course!). Aunt Bert loves to bake.

Thanksgiving Pictures

This is husband CB driving us to Austin from Corpus Christi on Thanksgiving morning. It took about 4 1/2 hours to get there.

Thanksgiving Day at eldest son DC's home. Here are three of my four children, since AE is in WA State. They are third child BJ, eldest son DC, and youngest child MJ.

DC's dog Sampson came outside to see banished Troy (BJ's dog), who was not allowed in the house in Austin because he is too rambunctious.

DC and MJ looking at the view from Mt. Bonnell, which is over 700 feet above sea level--that's high in Texas! It is a natural limestone formation that stands 200 feet (!!) above the ground. The view is lovely and showed me some autumn colors that I don't see further south in Corpus Christi.

This is Troy, BJ's Brittany Spaniel. He has so much energy that he is rarely still, which must be why he is so skinny. This was taken today at our home in Corpus Christi.

Tomorrow, the first Sunday in Advent, BJ and Troy will drive back to Houston. MJ will go back to San Antonio with her boy friend CS, whom she will take to the San Antonio Airport so he can return to school at Stanford. MJ will go back to Trinity University for the next few weeks until her winter break.

Day after Thanksgiving 2008

This is from last year's Day After Thanksgiving. Same holds true, though I did not shop today. Instead, I drove from Austin to Corpus Christi. I had no desire to shop and still don't.

We had a nice time with lots of eating at my son and daughter-in-law's house in Austin. Getting reconnected with her parents is nice, especially since we will see them at a wedding next weekend in San Antonio.

I am still trying to give thanks. As I told someone in spiritual direction last week, it helps one's attitude to say "thank you" for every little thing: from taking a breath to being able to sit down, get up, and move my hand. I am trying to stay in a grateful frame of mind.

By the way, if you have never read Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer by David Steindl-Rast, gift yourself with this book. As the extended title suggests, it is "an approach to life in fullness." Maybe it is time for me to re-read this favorite book of mine.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the USA

I just baked a pecan pie to take to my son and daughter-in-law's for the dinner tomorrow in Austin. This afternoon I am going to fix our traditional stuffing and cook a small turkey just for our family. We like to have leftover sandwiches! Tomorrow morning we'll drive to Austin for the two-family Thanksgiving with AA's family and our family. I am still very impressed that AA is such a hostess after only two years of marriage!

And AA just called asking me if I was bringing "the" green jello salad? I had not planned on it, but she said DC called her from work and asked if we were having it. I never knew anyone was attached to that lime and fruit jello salad that appears every Thanksgiving and Christmas (because that's what my mother did!). Guess the jello salad is a "tradition" I had not realized.

Stuffing oneself and its consequences

I don't seem to have much to write about these days, so I'm giving you cartoons. My daughter-in-law AA asked for my stuffing recipe, which pleases me. But now I ponder the choice of stuffing myself during this thanksgiving week. . . .

A different Thanksgiving. . . .

This is dedicated to my vegetarian daughter AE:

Day after Thanksgiving?

Post Thanksgiving Day Friday Five

From Singing Owl at RevGalBlogPals:

Ah, the day after Thanksgiving--groan! Fortunately, I love Thanksgiving leftovers.

Thanksgiving is the American holiday when the greatest number of people travel somewhere else to celebrate. I am posting this from my son’s home in Minnesota where we are recovering from the food shopping and the preparations and the meal and the clean up. It is difficult to think of anything requiring much energy today, and I am enjoying my sweet baby granddaughter, so I will keep it simple. For those of you not in the USA, I apologize for the nationalistic tone of this Friday Five!

1. Did you go elsewhere for the day, or did you have visitors at your place instead? How was it?

We stayed at home. With four children, only one was here—18 year old MJ who is a senior in high school. Also invited was a friend of my husband’s, who works at Habitat for Humanity house building. K is a very friendly, large man who is transgender and came dressed as a woman, which is his practice when he is not working. K was talkative, and our quiet family needs someone like that, so the conversation was lively.

This small Thanksgiving meal also opened my heart to my parents’ tiny Thanksgiving celebrations over the years. Both my dad and I were only children, so there was never much family around. All the years (three decades) that CB and I did not come home for Thanksgiving, they were the two of them. I never thought before how lonely that might have been. (Texas and Washington State are too far apart for visits.) Still, I might be lonelier because I am accustomed to larger gatherings, having had four children.

2. Main course: If it was the turkey, the whole turkey, and nothing but the turkey, was it prepared in an unusual way? Or did you throw tradition to the winds and do something different?

We had turkey, the same way as always, with my mother’s stuffing. However, I cooked a 14 lb. turkey instead of a 22 lb. one. The bigger one will be for Christmas when almost all our kids will be with us.

3. Other than the meal, do you have any Thanksgiving customs that you observe every year?

Starting in 1985, when DC was 6, AE was 3, and BJ was a baby, I would take the kids to a movie while the turkey was cooking. This year, there was not an early enough movie, so after we ate (and when football started on tv), MJ and I went to see the movie “Enchanted.” It was cute and silly.

4. The day after Thanksgiving is considered a major Christmas shopping day by most US retailers. Do you go out bargain hunting and shop ‘till you drop, or do you stay indoors with the blinds closed? Or something in between?

It’s a slow day, where I may go to a few locally owned stores for their sales. I don’t like to fight the crowds!

5. Let the HOLIDAY SEASON commence! When will your Christmas decorations go up?

South Texans start decorating even before Thanksgiving, but after that holiday, they go full speed ahead. I always think it’s because it’s usually so warm and un-holiday-like here that people try to create the “Season” by decorating. CB and I still fall back into our original family customs which is to decorate around the middle of the month, though pressure from daughter MJ will probably get us going sooner than that. . . . AND I bought some poinsettias today!

Usually by the second weekend in December, we put up a tree. BUT that weekend we’ll be in San Antonio for soccer play-offs!