Thursday, November 26, 2020

THANKSGIVING CHECK IN

DEBORAH CROMBIE: This Thanksgiving is certainly not like any I've ever experienced. When I was growing up, my mother and grandmother hosted Thanksgiving dinner for all my mom's side of the family, and usually an aunt and uncle from my dad's family as well. (Don't you wonder how these traditions get started? Knowing my mom's bossiness, I suspect she just insisted and everyone else fell into line.) Eventually, my Finnish aunt (she married my mom's youngest brother) took over, and she still cooks Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family, although she's well into her eighties now.

But not this year. Rick and I will be on our own for the first Thanksgiving in our marriage. My daughter and her family have taken their camper to their deer lease--you can't get more socially isolated than that!

At first I thought I'd cook the whole shebang, just for the two us. Plenty of turkey leftovers! But there were no small turkeys, and our local La Madeleine (French bistro) was offering a whole traditional Thanksgiving dinner to heat at home. I caved and ordered it, and I have to say I'm pretty excited about not having to do anything but put things in the oven and serve plates. I did make my famous cranberry relish on Tuesday night,  dividing it in half so that the kids could take some in the camper.

So we'll have good food, and the gorgeous roses I picked up at Trader Joe's look very appropriately celebratory. I have the Thanksgiving card Wren drew for me--


And her pumpkins--

And I'm enjoying the fact that our garden still looks like this near the end of November--

And I'm looking forward to some fabulous French desserts this afternoon.

Check in, everyone, and tell us how you are, and how you're spending your day.

All of us here at Jungle Red wish you a happy and safe Thanksgiving, even if it will be different. We are grateful for many things, but high up on the list is the support and community we share with all of our wonderful readers every single day. We love you all!

PS: Be sure to come back tomorrow for suggestions for all that leftover turkey!



93 comments:

  1. Happy Thanksgiving . . . .

    Although this is not the first time I’ve cooked Thanksgiving dinner [I’ve been doing that since I was fourteen], it is the first time it will be just the two of us. We’ll have a reasonably traditional meal as, I suspect, will the girls and their families [I already got the frantic text asking how to make the cranberry relish] . . . .

    We’re definitely going to need the leftover turkey suggestions!

    Hope everyone has a wonderful day . . . .

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    1. That means it’s really Thanksgiving, right? When do you get frantic texts about recipes? I absolutely love that! xxxxx

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    2. Joan, I love that your girls rely on your cranberry relish knowledge! My daughter just asked me to make it, lol.

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  2. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

    I'll be here at home. The family that normally invites me will be letting me know when the food is ready in the afternoon and I'll go over to pick up a plate to bring home and eat my turkey dinner.

    Can't be there with them for obvious reasons but they wanted to make sure I got a meal still.

    I'm off all day so I'll be spending the day with a mix of activities. I've got a couple of music articles to work on, plus doing some more reading of the new Michael Connelly book. And Xfinity has free previews this week for a few of the premium channels so I'm watching a few things on TV that way.

    It's uneventful for me this year but that's good. I've been really productive with my review writing in lieu of all the other stuff I can't do.

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    1. Happy Thanksgiving, dear Jay! Let us know what you like on Netflix, too!

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    2. Happy Thanksgiving, Jay! I'm so glad your friends are doing take out for you! And do let us know if you watch anything good!

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    3. Let us know what you like... be sure to try The Queen's Gambit.

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    4. I don't have access to Netflix unless I'm at my friend Ann's place. Last thing I watched on Netflix was the first six episodes of the new season of Lucifer and the movie Enola Holmes. At some point I'd like to catch the last couple of episodes from the first part of Lucifer's season and also watch the movie The Old Guard starring Charlize Theron. It's based off a comic book series written by Greg Rucka that I've read. The movie got a lot of positive reviews when it first started streaming.

      I watched a movie through AcornTV called 'Fast Girls' which was about a group of British female track athletes. I'd been trying to find it since it was originally released. It was co-written by Noel Clarke, who played "Mickey" on the first couple of seasons of the Doctor Who revival. That was the reason I wanted to see it in the first place. It was decent enough, though pretty typical of any sports-themed movie.

      I tried watching the action movie The Rhythm Section but the opening few minutes are just so miserably depressing, I don't mind that I fell asleep without getting much further along.

      I also checked out the first episode of the second season of the AcornTV series Mystery Road. I liked the first season but this episode was just blah.

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  3. Frank will be smoking a chicken instead of a turkey. We’ll bake sweet potatoes to have with popcorn rice, broccoli, and cranberry orange relish. I’ve got some non-meat tamales for my vegetarian granddaughter. And she baked a pecan pie today with my sister’s pecans I shelled last week. It’s a different menu this year for just the four of us but it will do!

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    1. And happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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    2. Pat, that all sounds delish. I love smoked chicken. I wish my hubby was into grilling and smoking. I got an email from our favorite local Mexican restaurant saying that they will have tamales to pick up for the holiday season, so that's what I'm going to do for our Christmas Eve.

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    3. Tamales! Sadly there are none of note in New England, or if there are I haven't found them.

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  4. I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a Thanksgiving meal for just two, but it will just be my husband and me today. Debs, I did what you did this year, ordered our dinner from a local restaurant. You order the items separately, and I got turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and gray. I got enough to last at least two days, and the turkey a ham will last into the weekend for sandwiches. I will probably have to fix more mashed potatoes on Friday. I was going to fix scalloped oysters, too, but our oven is broken. The stovetop works, just not the oven. I even bought a pecan pie instead of making one. No homemade pumpkin pie this year either. Oh, and there will be the canned cranberry sauce/jelly. I live the Oceanspray canned. That’s not saying I don’t enjoy when someone brings a cranberry relish they’ve made. I’d love to see your recipe, Debs.

    Your granddaughter’s pumpkins and card are adorable. I’m glad you and your daughter’s family are playing it safe. Of course, I know how hard it is not to be with the granddaughters. I will be missing my Izzy’s joy she brings to every occasion.

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy your day!

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    1. Kathy, I could have sworn I had posted that recipe on the blog before, but I did a search yesterday and did not find it. I can add it to tomorrow's leftovers recipes!

      I think having a broken oven is a great excuse to pick up from a restaurant! I will have to heat our stuff, however. Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you get your over sorted soon!

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  5. Happy Thanksgiving Reds and readers! It sounds like many of you are adapting with smaller and safer meals together.

    We had a surge in new COVID-19 cases across the country after our Canadian Thanksgiving 6 weeks ago. Fortunately, Ottawa buckled down after that and new cases have continued to trend downward to levels back to what we had in early September. Sadly, this is not the case in the rest of Canada.

    Your restrictive efforts will be worth it!

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    1. If only we were that smart Grace! so glad your efforts are paying off

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    2. Yeah— people here are insisting on doing whatever they want to do. It is absolutely insane.

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    3. Thank you, Grace! I read yesterday in the Dallas paper that 60% of people in our area cancelled their Thanksgiving dinners, so fingers crossed our spike will not be too bad.

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    4. It is amazing how buckling down for a few weeks can make a difference. Ottawa had the highest COVID-19 rate in Ontario in mid-October but the rates dropped dramatically this past month and we are now in a less restrictive level (Orange instead of red). Toronto did the opposite and is now in lockdown (Red to gray level) until close to Christmas or beyond.

      The challenge will be to maintain this good behaviour as we move indoors for the long winter.

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  6. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Oddly, ours will be pretty much the same as usual, with my husband and I going to my daughter's house (we're pod mates) to have a meal with her and my grandson. The deal is that she cooks and we pay for the food. She makes a chorizo dressing and from-scratch green bean casserole (in a cast iron skillet) that are so delicious! We'll head over in the early afternoon, so the rest of the day will just be chilling and being thankful that we are together, safe and healthy.

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    1. Happy Thanksgiving, Kerry! So glad you are pod-mates with your daughter and grandson. I would LOVE to have that recipe for the green beans in the cast iron skillet!

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  7. Happy Thanksgiving to all! I made my pies yesterday (two pumpkin, one apple). As it's just Hugh and me, we got two turkey legs and thighs and will be roasting them this afternoon, to be eaten with baked stuffing, curried roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Two zoom calls with different groups of family will round out the day. Tomorrow we'll meet my son and his wife midway from where they live two hours west of here for a fresh air masked hike (it's raining today or we would have tried to eat outdoors together).

    Feeling blessed for food, electricity, internet, and all of you.

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    1. Happy Thanksgiving, Edith! We feel blessed to have you, too!

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  8. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Deb, frame the pumpkins, that picture is a keeper!

    We have been alone for many Thanksgiving, just the way it's worked out. Usually we just go out for dinner but this year, I couldn't even order in, so I cooked.

    Menu: sweet potato and apple soup, salad, challah, mashed potatos, stuffing, Cornish Game Hens in orange sauce and pumpkin pie.

    I couldn't go to the store to see what they have so I sent Irwin with lists and he did great. Since I am still hobbling around my kitchen, we'll make it as nice as we can.

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    1. It sounds good to me, Judy!

      By the way, I couldn't find you on Facebook. Will you find me? My last name is Maslowski

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    2. It all sounds delicious, Judy. I hope you get to put your foot up afterwards. I never realized how many foods have honey in them, although come to think of it, my cranberry relish does. Is a honey allergy a rare thing?

      Happy Thanksgiving to you and Irwin!

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    3. Yes, I saw you on Facebook commenting on one of the Red's posts and wondered. I'll friend you later today! Happy, happy T-Day!

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    4. Debs, yes, honey allergy very rare but honey in recipes is way up! Unfortunately, restaurants have been serving me things with honey even after the waitress and kitchen have been notified! Last month a very exclusive restaurant here accidentally put honey on my dessert, in spite of the cautions. I was really ill for several days.

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  9. Happy Thanksgiving, all! Love Wren's pumpkins--definitely a frame-it-up and keep it effort!

    Partially frozen turkey about to go in the oven, with a ham to follow mid-day. Mashed potatoes with gravy, broccoli with bacon, corn from my sister's garden, sausage-apple stuffing, and rolls from my brother-in-law will round out the meal. Already have collected some new recipes to use up the leftovers.

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    1. Flora, I loved Wren's made-from-scratch envelope with her writing and her crab on a ribbon!

      Your dinner sounds fabulous! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  10. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know this year is so hard, but you guys are the best! Debs, I'm drooling over your French dinner. I will be cooking a turkey that's way too big, making mashed potatoes and rutabagas (my family favorite), gravy, corn pudding, and a pecan galette. Our one guest is bringing stuffing and wine. We have two enormous family zoom sessions scheduled, and at the end of the day we'll watch more of THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT.

    I'm wondering whether the idea of ordering T-day dinner out will stick once we're through this crisis. It seems so appealing in some ways! Red readers, we are so very grateful for each of you!!!

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    1. I wish we could have ordered but "fear of honey" kept me in my own kitchen where I can substitute maple syrup in recipes calling for honey. We used to eat out on Thanksgiving without any issues. Now, when we do that, I'll have to be careful.

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    2. Over 20 years ago we were visiting Steve's sister in Mill Valley at Christmas. She was undergoing chemo at the time, and we all decided to make life as easy for her as possible, so she ordered a big turkey & fixings dinner from the Ritz. We picked it up, and just put parts in the oven and added beverages. It was a little uneven, since some things didn't travel as well as others, but no one had to knock themselves out and we could just focus on enjoying one another, and what was one of my sister-in-law's last Christmases.

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  11. We have a 14 pound turkey, and it's stuffed and ready to go in the oven. I made the Cranberry orage relish earlier this week, gets better with a few days age on it. Yesterday I made a dozen light rolls, a pumpkin pie, roasted a butternut squash, and prepped the turkey. Today all I have to do is put it in the oven, mash some potatoes and make the gravy. Everything else will go in the oven when the turkey comes out, to reheat. Except the cranberries of course.

    There are just the two of us. We will take a care package over to our neighbor who is alone. I'd love to have her come eat with us, but we are now in a microcluster, and we are following strict protocols, to keep us all safe and save the nurses and doctors grief.

    By the way, those rolls are killer. Julie and I share one yesterday, just our of the oven. O M G

    I hope your day is safe and happy, and that we can all be together with friends and family next year.

    PS My son and his family are all well, mild case, no apparent covid sequelae. Whew.

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    1. Oh thank goddess! I had planned to write a supportive heart felt email to you. It is still in my guilt box section of my mind. Thank you for this good news.

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    2. Coralee, that is hilarious! Love the guilt box!

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    3. That's great news, Ann! And give us the recipe for the rolls!

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  12. We had our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday! Today is relax and do whatever we want, and eat leftovers. It's just the two of us, so no pressure to do it "right" Anne Harris mysandycat@aol.com

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    1. I totally agree on the relax and no pressure, Anne! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  13. Icky rainy day in Cincinnati. I'll roast a turkey breast and share my side dishes and a pie with our next door neighbors. Yesterday the DC and Houston kid contingents made their sweet potato casseroles, with much long-distance discussion about oven temps, baking time, and canine participation. This is Louie the standard poodle puppy's first Thanksgiving, with his enthusiastic approval. He'll be in heaven for Christmas cookie baking. We're thankful for good health all around. We've got this.

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    1. So fun that Louie is helping with the Thanksgiving prep, lol. And the long distance cooking is almost as much fun as in person. Happy Thanksgiving, Margaret!

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  14. Happy Thanksgiving to you all my American friends !

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  15. Happy Thanksgiving to all! It may be different this year but we still have much to be thankful for.

    Debs, I'm curious about the deer lease- what is it? Here in upstate NY it is hunting season for deer and I know my granddaughter will be out there and come in when dinner is ready. Growing up our Thanksgiving dinners were always after dark because my father, then my brother, and then my son spent the day hunting.

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    1. Judy, my son-in-law hunts. His deer lease it about two and half hours southwest of us. It's pretty land and they've discovered it's a good place to take the camper for a couple of days. Very peaceful. Good timing on their part, too, as we have our first real cold front coming through on Sunday.

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  16. Happiest of Thanksgiving to Reds and Readers who celebrate.

    Despite it only being the two of us, we are having a full-on traditional Thanksgiving this year complete with chicken as we couldn't find any small turkeys this year. I've promised our three cats there will be something special in their dinner bowls.

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    1. Kait, the smallest turkeys they had at Trader Joe's this week were 20 pounds! The smaller ones when last week, apparently. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  17. My father and step-mother have ordered Thanksgiving dinner in for a couple years now. So worth it for them.

    Just a turkey breast for us this year, but plenty of sides and, of course, pie.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  18. Shalom Reds and readers. This indeed, will be a very strange Thanksgiving. The church that I attend in better times, was delivering meals to whomever asked. My roommate signed us up. We have a turkey in the refrigerator but I think we’ll wait until tomorrow to roast it. We have an apple pie by the grace of one of our many generous neighbors. I may run out to the Acme and score us some ice cream for to serve ourselves pie a la mode.

    I don’t have any clear recollections of the Thanksgivings of my childhood. That perhaps could have been because we were always visiting some relatives to eat dinner on a weekend or holiday. Upon getting sober in 1992, I have a much better recollection of Thanksgiving and the other eating holidays (Passover, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving and Christmas.) At that time, I moved to Bucks County and made new friends and was most often invited to one of their houses for those holiday meals. Four men and their families in particular, have been friends almost all of that time.

    One tradition has fallen into disuse over the years. I used to attend a men’s meeting on Wednesday nights. Average attendance was about 35 men. On the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, we would hold a Gratitude Meeting. We would squeeze 200-300 men in the church’s rec room and eat heartily and reacquaint ourselves with each other. (One funny story. One year, a Chinese lady from the church choir get together peeked into our room and saw all the food and just assumed that’s where her pot stickers were meant to be. It took her only ten minutes to realize her error but when she tried to reclaim her dish, she found that three quarters of the dainties had been scarfed up by the men with large appetites.) After the meal, starting at 9 pm, everyone would find a seat and quiet down and each man in turn would be called on to state what he was grateful in the year gone by. I stopped going to that meeting a while back. I had found another commitment calling to me on Wednesday evening. Over the years, a lot of men stayed sober on the coffee and donuts of that Wednesday night meeting.

    I read this blog every day. However, mostly I don’t get to it until late afternoon. I am always grateful to be able to read it and hope it will be hear for many years to come. Happy Thanksgiving.

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  19. Happy Thanksgiving to all the Jungle Red Writers Community! Here at Chez Norwood, we'll have leftover pot roast as the entree, but all my favorite sides to round out the rest of the meal. Not sure how my fridge is going to handle the leftovers, but I bet I'll make it work. I have a new book to read, and a lovely armchair. I'll check out the Macy's parade, and hope for the National Dog Show after. It's my favorite thing to watch with Zoe, who loves it. She follows the dogs closely, and sleeps through the commercials.

    I hope you all have equally enjoyable days!

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  20. Just the two of us here, I am actually delighted to say! We have turkey and stuffing and all the etcs—from a wonderful farm to table place. It’s our very first time ordering out—amazing. Big zoom this afternoon with family—and We’ll have a toast to perseverance and hope and safer times and next year together! Love you so much dear Reds and readers!

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  21. And we gave our next-door neighbors half of the apple pie – – there’s no use to have all that temptation in the house! And it’s pouring pouring pouring rain. Very strange day, but we will stay cozy. I mean – – traditional.

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    1. Hank, it sounds like a perfect Thanksgiving. And you are not having to cook it!!!!

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    2. Hank, I ordered an apple pie for myself. I picked it up yesterday and fully intend to give in to the temptation to savor every delicious morsel of it. Properly spaced out intervals of eating a slice though.

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  22. Happiest feast day be it no turkey day or bird focused to one and all. Yesterday I started posting a gratitude photo montage on my Facebook page. I don't Zoom a lot, perhaps this might serve as a connection, drop in if you wish.

    On Nome street we don't always celebrate the Holiday on it's assigned day. When there are major feast days we break it down to courses/ That is have the soup course one day, the sides another, the main and so on. That way we don't over eat and the feast is more like a Twelve Night celebration.
    Because turkey light and dark meat loves different cooking times, I usually cut up the bird. Did this yesterday, and took it a step further. I boned out the breast and made a galantine. The roll is filled with apple mushroom sausage stuffing and resting for its time in the oven. The other parts are waiting for either the soup pot or roasted on demand.

    Back to gratitude. Y'all are so important to my daily routine. With the Reds, I feel that I am heard, and supported both above and below the line. Thank you all for being part of my life. I fell loved.
    May y'all enjoy the peace and connections found in your life today.

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    1. Coralee, you've made me drool... Apple mushroom stuffing!!
      We are always so glad to have you here! You are certainly loved! Happy Thanksgiving!

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    2. I've been enjoying your pictures, Coralee. It's a great idea.

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  23. Happy Thanksgiving, Reds community! Thank you all for being here day after day. You have made 2020 so much more bearable!

    My husband, son and I are doing a full turkey, but I have whittled down the sides to stuffing, corn pudding, green bean casserole, salad and cranberry sauce. I plan to break the turkey meat down into the amounts I need for specific dishes and freeze those, marking what it is for, to make the following weeks easier.

    Those plans were already in place, and now it's a good thing as we are currently self-quarantining. I got a call Tuesday telling me that someone I had worked directly with the Wednesday before has tested positive for COVID. I am feeling cautiously optimistic, as A) We are already more than a week since the contact; B) I am still totally asymptomatic; and C) We were both masked and, as I recall, doing a good job of maintaining social distancing the whole time we were together.

    Happy Thanksgiving! Whatever your holiday looks like, enjoy!

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    1. Oh, Susan. Crossing fingers for you. Did you get tested? Please keep us posted on your situation. And enjoy your Thanksgiving!

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    2. I hope you stay well Susan
      Just an aside : I fully understand why you were so enthusiastic about When We Were Vikings,I just finished reading it and greatly loved it , thank you.

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    3. Oh Danielle, you made my day! So nice to hear that it affected you as it did me!

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  24. We had a small version of a Thanksgiving meal yesterday with two of our daughters. We had to drive to Michigan, only stopping once to gas up each direction, and we took a cooler of food and drinks, too. Once we got to my daughter's we all wore masks until we were seated (spaced out), then put them back on after we ate. We stayed less than two hours, and were back on the road. (Yes, it was a LONG day, made worse by a horrific accident that closed the highway for almost three hours.)

    My youngest daughter leaves for Kenya on Monday, and we were picking up her car, which she cannot take with her (it's lefthand drive, for one thing). Since her health is being closely monitored ahead of their trip, we have all been super careful so she can stay as healthy as possible.

    Steve smoked half of his wild turkey on Monday so we could take some with us yesterday; I'll roast the other half today. So, yes, bring on the turkey leftover recipes! Our neighbor gave us a coupon for a free pumpkin pie, so I had a slice for breakfast. And since it will just be the two of us I won't bother with stuffing or gravy or mashed potatoes this year. My kids all love stuffing, but I can happily pass it up, and so can Steve.

    I'm struggling with being thankful, though, because my mother is now in the hospital with Covid. She's on oxygen, through a cannula, and she's very weak, but still alert and talking most of the time, so we are holding our collective breath. My nurse daughter is in constant contact with Mother's nurses, which is a big source of comfort. Thank you all for your prayers.

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    1. Oh, Karen, sending prayers for your mom, and much love and support to you. xx

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    2. Karen, prayers for your mother and for you. It is so hard not to be able to be there with your mom, so thank God for your daughter the nurse--that is indeed a blessing for you.

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    3. Thank you, Debs. Trying to maintain sanitized distance, but still managing the necessary things we need to do, has really been a struggle. But not being able to have visitors is probably worse for my super social mother than actually being sick.

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    4. Karen, your mom is in my prayers.

      DebRo

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    5. Adding my prayers for your mother, Karen!

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    6. Thanks, Susan and DebRo!

      Update: they took my mom off the oxygen today!

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  25. Happy Thanksgiving.....

    How am I? I woke up earlyyyyyyy to get the newspaper because someone had been taking our newspaper twice this week and I wanted to make sure that we got the newspaper today. I am going to sleep in tomorrow. I cannot go back to sleep so I had coffee and breakfast. Reading Jungle Reds then maybe watch Macy's Thanksgiving Parade if it is on TV today?

    This year it will be a small Thanksgiving with fewer people and lots lots lots of leftovers. We will miss seeing our extended family for Thanksgiving. I remember a comment on Thanksgiving last year "This time next year we will either be celebrating or making plans to move abroad (referring to the presidential election)". We had NO idea that the pandemic was coming. Relieved that the good guys won the presidential election this time, though still a big concern about the pandemic.

    We are very grateful and thankful that our family is still in good health. Feeling sad about friends who either have Covid 19 themselves or they know someone who has it.

    Diana

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  26. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

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  27. Like so many of you, it'll be just me and my husband for dinner tonight... and he's the #1 person right now that I'm grateful to have around. Our daughters were here for a few days after quarantining and we had an early turkey dinner. A 19 pound turkey was all I could get and I have leftovers leftovers leftovers. And I broke it down and made a turkey soup. What I don't have is extra stuffing. Turkey needs stuffing.

    HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone! A terrible year has the one benefit of making me appreciate so much of what would normally fly under the radar. Good neighbors (we have them in spades). A solid house (had it painted this summer). Going now to write a check to our local food bank.

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  28. My plans kept getting revised right up until yesterday afternoon. I had been invited to join my sister’s family, which usually includes her widowed best friend, at my nephew’s house, on the porch. He lives across the street from his parents. We were going to visit outside until the food was ready, and then the friend and I would be given boxed dinners to take home and eat. Back in March my nephew was quite sick with Covid and continued having breathing problems for about three months. His wife and my sister began having second thoughts about “outsiders” being there, even though we have been staying isolated. I was concerned myself about that. So I’m home by myself today, but tomorrow my sister’s friend and I will visit my sister and brother-in-law on their deck, wrapped up in coats and blankets! (My sister has an autoimmune disease, so she, too, needs to be careful about outside contact.) Yesterday I called my favorite local restaurant and ordered a turkey dinner and I plan to eat it today. As much as I miss everyone, I’m more concerned that everyone should stay healthy, and I WILL get to see some people tomorrow. Also, it feels great not to be driving on a holiday!

    Happy Thanksgiving to all!

    DebRo

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    1. It's never the same as being with people but it is best to be apart. Find a great comforting book, put some great music on and curl up in a toasty blanket, Deb. I'm thinking of breaking on my grandma's china just for me. Make it extra special, Deb.

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    2. Deana, I plan to do exactly that!

      Have a wonderful day!

      DebRo

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    3. Breaking OUT my grandma's china.... one can proof and proof and I still miss a word.... geez...

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  29. Morning everyone. (It's morning in sunny California) I had most of today planned out but being my mother's daughter, I was okay if I had to be flexible, had long as I have oyster dressing! Since I can make that, almost with my eyes closed, it's an easy to have make the center of my meal. (One eye needs to be open when chopping onion and celery.) I did find turkey parts as my local Whole Foods on Tuesday so a thigh and wing are in the fridge. Cut up bread has been sitting in the oven, drying out overnight and I made my cranberry orange relish on Monday. I took most of it to the office yesterday to share. As I told everyone, my mom was one of seven and there are times I forget to "cooK" for one and a single bag of cranberries, one orange and suger makes a lot of relish. There are Brussel sprouts waiting to be roasted, I'll dribble some balsamic fig vinager on the them just at the end of cooking. I'm using the oven for the first time today. My niece used the it a couple of weeks ago and she said it was great. Cross your fingers. I'll end with what I sent to therapy team at work yesterday:

    "Over the river and... nope, can't do that,
    "We gather together to... nope, can't do that,
    "Now thank we all.... Yup, we CAN do that!

    Enjoy the day everyone. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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    1. Happy Thanksgiving, Deana! Wish I could taste your oyster dressing!

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  30. I made turkey thighs with veggies and mushrooms in the crockpot. I have plenty of leftovers with some turkey set aside for sandwiches. I watched some of the parade while putting up my Christmas tree but am taking advantage of the Xfinity preview to watch No Offense on Acorn TV. Stay safe and well.

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  31. This is our first holiday since we lost both my parents recently, so I was told not to do anything and we're keeping it low-key. Ordered a fully cooked country ham, so we had ham biscuits for brunch while I watched the National Dog Show. I'd made potato salad, so we could have that with more ham for dinner, but a sweet neighbor just gave us some cooked turkey, gravy, cornbread dressing, fresh green beans and 2 homemade pies: pumpkin and chocolate! I'm grateful for such kindness. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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  32. Happy Thanksgiving!!! Sorry to chime in so late. Very quiet with just the four of us here but Hub deep fried the turkey which opens up the double ovens for me! Yay! I hope everyone had an excellent day!

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  33. Happy Thanksgiving!
    It was just my husband and me, although we did "take out" from my 93 year old mother-in-law. She said a turkey was too big for her to handle, so she made us each one of her famous Cornish hens!

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