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Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving Blessings

Yesterday morning dawned foggy, drippy and cold. But still, it was beautiful. Or maybe because it was still, it was beautiful.
Inside, though, things weren't still at all. Pies were made, the turkey got roasted, and the hot water pipe broke.

Talk about excitement! I've never witnessed a broken hot water pipe before, but it's a steamy affair, I can tell you. We scrambled around trying to get the water off. The new valves on the new hot water heater didn't work--that would have been too easy, after all. So Larry shut off the main water valve, meaning we had no water in the house at all. That was okay, though--the cooking was almost done any way. He made a quick trip to Wal-Mart for glue and the turkey was just done when he got back. While I made gravy and got the table set, he fixed the break. We let the glue set while we ate, and we toasted Larry's successful repair.

I did not make mashed potatoes this year. Instead, I used Jessica's recipe for roasted vegetables. I tried it a few weeks ago and loved it; I thought it was a great change from the norm, and it lowered our carbs for the day too. I mixed cauliflower, turnips, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion, tossed the cut up veggies with rosemary oil, herbs and some seasoned salt, spread on a cookie sheet and roasted them in the oven. Delicious, especially with gravy.
 It was good to spend some quiet time with Tommy, too. He's in college so we don't see him as often as we like. (He's our bodybuilder son--but maybe you could already see that)

Me and my baby!

Today we finished dressing out the turkeys. We did 5 on Wednesday, and had 5 more to do. The turkeys did not do as well this year. We started with 20 but lost eight as chicks before realizing that hay was not a good choice for bedding. Two more died later on for reasons we have yet to learn. I think they must be like sheep. My son's friend used to have sheep and he said they often died of the mysterious disease called DSS. I think turkeys get DTS. There was no other explanation. Still 10 birds will keep us quite well for the coming year.

For the rest of this day: 
1. Start putting away my summer clothes. Late! But you know, it has been so warm I haven't felt any rush to get this chore done. Today it's been warm enough to have the door open. We may find snow coming on the heels of this warmth, but I like having roses peeking in my kitchen window on Thanksgiving.
2. Make some more rosemary oil for gifts. No shopping for me today; Black Friday has managed without me for years. This year all our gifts to family will be something we have made or grown. I've asked them to do the same. We have plenty of stuff, and so do they; we'll see how this goes. I worry a little about the grandkids who might be disappointed but as we continue to adjust to retirement income (or lack thereof!) there are some changes that just need to be made. And this is one I think will be a keeper. I just hope the grandkids understand and appreciate the reasons for the change.

If you shopped today, I hope you found bargains and had a great time. If you don't want to go out, check my eBay sales page. Maybe you'll see the perfect gift there :)

8 comments:

  1. We had a very foggy start to our morning today. I could hardly see the cars in front of me. Very pretty and sooo quiet that early in the morning.
    Those roasted veggies are so good and a great change from the same ol' mashed potato.
    I actually went out last night to some of the sales. It was my first trip in several years and probably my last. Why go out in the craziness especially when you can get the same deals while sitting in front of your computer.
    Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

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  2. I know what you mean, Jessica. I've never bothered with Black Friday sales. I prefer these days to shop online if possible. For the last 5 years I've given books to family--I know a lot about books :) and they are a gift that is always appreciated. And if they don't like it, they can pass it on to someone else. I found lots of great sales both in stores and online.

    Thank you for that recipe for roasted vegetables. It's a new favorite here.

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  3. I don't do Black Friday either. When I was in college I worked at a department store as a cashier and Black Friday was just a nightmare! I am also doing some home made gifts this year with my photography.

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  4. I never thought of that, Farmchick--what a great idea.

    I felt for the people working at Wal-Mart yesterday. I called to see if they were open and told the lady we appreciated them being there. Bless their hearts. I remember working holidays too, and it was no fun.

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  5. I did the Black Friday shopping, something I do every year with my little sister, it's a tradition for us, tho, this year we dragged an older sister with us. More people for more fun! We don't start early or go for the bargains, it's more to laugh at the people who are trying to get "the big deals". All in all, it was a fun day and I always thank the cashiers...I'm one of them!

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  6. That's the way to do it, Liz--Make it a fun outing with the sisters!

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  7. My daughter manages a retail store in Kansas City. She had to get up at 2:30 am Friday morning to open up and be ready for Black Friday. For all those managers and employees in the big retailers, I would like to see us go back to the days when the stores were closed on Sunday and employees had weekends off.

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  8. I agree, Nance. The world needs some slowdown time.

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