Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

Yes, I stayed a Girl Scout at age eight just because I thought that selling those cookies would be glamorous.  It wasn’t and neither was my leader, who laughed at everything I did to gain a badge.

But I didn’t go into non-profits and food for nothing, not to mention government.  As a fellow consultant once said, “God is in the details.”  And while I’m great at the big picture, I’m nearly as good at the details (OK I had to buy sugar and bread crumbs and Kosher salt this morning…).

So I will have a list for the car, the cooler (including lunch and beverages), family, gifts, cooking class, our luggage and the dog.  This ties into the Girl Scout motto of being prepared.  And I just finished wrapping all the gifts and have mac and cheese with great cheddar in the oven.  Forgot the extra milk but made do.  And tomorrow I have to clean the car, pick up the doggie prison mesh to keep her in back, go to lunch with my friend Trish after finding her spare pair of glasses at a neighbor’s, finalize those lists and make sure husband Jim picks up dry ice on the way home from work.  And laundry, laundry, laundry.

Phew!  I’ll be glad to get on the road.  I usually drive the first two hours through traffic.  Jim takes over for the long boring highway part.  Then I take us through Dallas and country highways to turkey-land.

How is your planning going?  If you were a girl scout, were you prepared?  Let me know.  I’ll check in tomorrow before Jim packs up three laptops and three cell phones and I pack up the car, dog, and us.

It’s a complicated world we live in, but when you’re in the middle of no-where and need wireless, having the right cell phone will get that laptop online.  At least then we can find out what movies are playing in town!  Dee

We believe in sharing meals, knowledge and books.  Friends brought back two cookbooks after ordering one, Deborah Madison’s The Savory Way (see cookbooks on my site).

They’re trying to cook healthier, which is a good thing as they just adopted a newborn two weeks ago.  He is tiny and loud and precious above all.  And they make a happy family, about to move into their new house.

Unfortunately, we only get our baby fix through friends and family and are looking forward to meeting the three new ones this year at Thanksgiving.  At least one more is on the way.

If the men spend their day watching football and playing Risk; the ladies prep, cook, serve and clean all day long.  They should be allowed to hold a baby or push a swing for a few minutes between chores.  Or neuter a stray cat.  Yeah, only one lady is allowed to do that and it’s our dog’s hip surgeon, Val the Vet.

Otherwise it’s general mayhem and Stevie, love that he is, always has a project.  I’m looking forward to it.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Dee

We missed Nanny’s birthday this weekend but are very much looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner at her home in NE Texas. There are new babies this year, and even more forthcoming. There are usually about fifty people celebrating the day anchored by Nanny and four of her five children.

Four sons, daughter Leila died a few years ago. Turkeys and ham and side dishes plus a dazzling array of Southern desserts. Last year we decided to take photos of the ladies who make it all happen. Jim’s mother Margie made chef’s hats and I brought along all the stuff I had at home.

The guys all wondered what was going on. Perhaps we intruded on their naps or football or Risk game. But that was my point (troublemaker that I am). As a girlfriend you’re an oddity that needs to be checked out. As a new wife you ask what to bring. You suss out the situation and decide, as I did, that munchies for after dinner are the thing you can sidle in on and not intrude on mains or desserts.

Then you give one signature dish to a newer wife to make her own and expand your repertoire. But by then you’re just another wife, only there to prep, cook and do mountains of dishes. Therefore the photo to remind everyone of who does the work.

Don’t get me wrong. We do enjoy getting together with a large group of family every year and I’m even getting used to fifty people at a time! Unfortunately we usually bring the dog with us so she has to be watched every minute. We kept her at the vet’s last year and will never do that again.

I have to make boursin (cream cheese spread), spicy almonds and cashews, and perhaps another dish to share this year. The one I gave away was spinach balls, a classic in our family that Brenda makes now that she’s married to the clan, too. Maybe smoked salmon mousse on pumpernickel toasts….

Hope you’re planning an eventful Thanksgiving, too. Dee