Brother-in-law and nephew arrived yesterday, elder to help with the farm during their father’s recovery from recent back surgery. There’s all kinds of drama on the farm, with cows and calves and buzzards and going to the sale barn to replace the baby calf that was stillborn yesterday so mama cow can get back in the swim of things. From what I understand buzzards are protected even when attacking livestock?
It’s back to the hospital tomorrow to remove surgical hardware. Tomorrow our dog goes away for the rest of the week to the loving care of a local family, especially their girl, age eight. Zoe needs a bath early morning and I’ll pack her stuff and deliver her sometime in the afternoon, depending upon the weather. Blizzards are in the forecast.
Husband’s mom wants to make a special Italian fruitcake I told her about that I made years ago with chocolate and hazelnuts, called panforte, later in the week (after Turkey Day) so we sent off a nearly 7# package with spiced nuts for Thanksgiving dinner at Nanny’s, lots of dried fruits and nuts and chocolate and a bunch of really nice socks for Jim’s brother. They’re new, just shrunk a bit in the wash.
With our nephew, other family members are already beginning to congregate and all the cousins seem to get along well. It’ll help that Uncle Jimmy is coming with a couple hundred balloons. So far in practice he’s made a bumblebee, pirate sword, princess sceptre and a tree frog hat with a five foot tongue. Let’s hope TSA allows his busker bag on the plane. Today they nearly strip-searched a four year-old boy here, frightened him and the passenger in the security line who videotaped their groping of this young child.
As for the grassroots efforts to have an “opt out” day at airports nationwide on Wednesday, why not have video or stills from passengers awaiting naked scanning or groping and put them all on the news. “Happy Thanksgiving! This is what happened to your grandchild yesterday at the airport.” Next thing you know we won’t be allowed to take cell phones on planes even on “airplane mode.” Or cameras. Or anything TSA finds offensive, not that it in any way enhances our safety.
Let’s have senators and members of congress stand in these lines and go through this humiliation and see if things don’t change for the better for the innocent Americans they are making into criminals every day. If that doesn’t do it, give them a regular pension and make them have the same health insurance they’re forcing us to get. The “haves” won’t leave office because they already are set financially. The have-nots may have a chance at election because they’re not there to be above their constituents but actually represent us.
Now you have to keep this all on the QT. I gave my father-in-law a CNN baseball cap and instead of saying “thank you” he said he wished it said “Fox.” Mind you, I’m not watching that network but am getting more conservative in my old age. Shhhh. Family gatherings are all about him needling me about my liberalism, and even though he’s been through a lot lately, I don’t want to deprive him of his fun. Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving! Dee
Cooking with Dee 