A Fishy Thanksgiving

 

This Thanksgiving my family went turkeyless (or should I say "cold turkey?").  Nobody really likes turkey; yet we've always felt compelled to uphold the Thanksgiving tradition.  This year my daughter asked, "Why?" and on the spot, we decided to have a non-traditional holiday.  We decided to go to Central Market and buy whatever.  We chose salmon, almond-crusted tilapia and some kind of chicken breast my daughter liked.  For sides we bought a cranberry and kale salad, a fruit salad and green beans with  carrots and chestnuts.  And my son contributed a pecan pie.  And know what?  The meal was delicious and we were just as thankful as ever.  I imagine we'll continue our new tradition in years to come.

Anyone have a quirky Thanksgiving food you'd like to share?  Feel free to comment.

Quotes for the Week: About Thanksgiving

  As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy


 Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day. ~Robert Caspar Lintner


  Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck


  Ah! on Thanksgiving day....
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.
What moistens the lips and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie?
~John Greenleaf Whittier


Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings. ~J. Robert Moskin


On Thanksgiving Day all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment--halftime.  Author Unknown

 

Forever on Thanksgiving Day the heart will find the pathway home. Wilbur D. Nesbit

For what I give, not what I take,
For battle, not for victory,
My prayer of thanks I make.
~Odell Shepard


  Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Author Unknown

  God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Waething


  Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~W.T. Purkiser

Giving Thanks

As the holiday approaches, I am pausing to give thanks for the past year.  It's been a time of ups and downs, but I think I've survived the downs and cherished the ups. 

I reached a milestone birthday on May 23, and my birthday weekend was one of the best I've ever had, with family and friends and lots of cake.

Monday after my birthday was Memorial Day.  I went to bed while outside thunder rolled. Then early in the morning my doorbell rang and I stepped into water.  My house was flooded and I was in shock.  But I was lucky.  I didn't lose anything valuable or treasured and friends called to offer support, and the neighbors banded together as we all assessed our damages and commiserated with one another. 

I'm thankful I was able to sell my house "as is" without much trouble and to move to a comfy apartment only a few blocks away. (The one drawback is that my cat has to pay pet rent, and he just lies around and expects me to support him with food and money.)  I'm looking forward to moving to Brazos Tower at the end of December--well, not to the actual moving part but to my new, permanent home.  The cat, of course, is coming, too, and since he's not a dog, he is not required to have an interview to be okayed to move in.

I'm thankful for old friends who reappeared in my life and for new friends, especially my widows' group, which has bonded and supported one another.

I'm thankful my kids and I are healthy, that I still enjoy my professional life as a speech pathologist.  And thank goodness I had a great adjuster after the flood and have finally gotten my insurance check...and, with the move to Brazos Tower, I will never have to buy flood insurance again

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone.

Quotes for the Week

Since I've just come back from a sisters' cruise, I thought this week I'd post quotes about sisters:

 

And, of course this one:

 

 



The Biggest Ship in the World

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas is one of the two biggest ships in the world.  Yes, big enough to hold 5,000 passengers, big enough for 16 decks, over a dozen restaurants, a theater that shows a complete Broadway musical, and certainly big enough to get lost on.

My sister and I did a cruise to the western Caribbean for our yearly vacation.  We visited Nassau (way too hot), St. Thomas and St. Martin where we took a tour around both the Dutch and French sides of the island. 

We lost at Bingo, went to Comedy Live, saw a diving show, a show with singers dancing and acrobats called Blue Planet (amazing staging) bypassed the casino and the art auction, and saw Mama Mia.  Of course we continued our ongoing Scrabble tournament (She is now one game ahead.), giggled like the kids we once were and had two fabulous meals at specialty restaurants 150 Central Park and Giovanni's Table.

Home again with nice memories and probably five extra pounds.

Books of October

I loved Moyes's book Me Before You in which our heroine falls in love with a quadriplegic she is hired to care for.  This is the sequel that follows her through the twists and turns of her life afterward.  Not as compelling as the first book but still a pretty good read.  A-

 The story of Estebanico, a young Moor who sells himself into slavery to help his desperate family.  The story follows him and his master through the exploration of Florida and beyond.  B+

A young children's librarian and her journey with a young boy who is stifled by his rigid, domineering mother.  B+

Geraldine Brooks, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for "March," focuses on the life of King David as seen by his prophet Natan.  As always, her style is lovely but I had two complaints:  1)  Why on earth didn't she use the English names of the characters.  It would have been so much easier to read "Saul" and "Samuel" instead of "Shaul" and "Shlomo."  2.  We only see David from the outside, never from his point of view.  Perhaps Brooks felt it would be presumptuous to give voice to the thoughts and emotions of such an iconic character, but as a reader, I would have appreciated them.  I'd love to hear other readers' opinions on this.  A-

Happy reading!

Quote for the Week

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.  The man who never reads lives only one.

And, I ask, what about adding woman?  person?  Or do only men read?  Whoever wrote this was so 18th? 12th? century.

"The Other Place"

If you have a chance to see this play, please do.  Beautifully acted, emotional and funny at times, it's one you shouldn't miss.  Juliana, the main character is a smart, assertive, successful researcher who has made a medical breakthrough.  We meet her as she's addressing a conference with news of her significant research when she suddenly suffers an "episode."  Gradually we learn what this episode is and how her life is unraveling.  We aren't sure what's real and what's not until the end, but along the way we become suspicious. 

I saw this play at Houston's recently remodeled Alley Theater.  If you live somewhere else, hopefully you'll get a chance to see it, too.  And if you live in Houston, buy your tickets.  You won't be disappointed.