Thanksgiving Tangents

Today I read most of my son's book about sailing on the Mayflower - fascinating! Did you know a baby was born on the Mayflower during its voyage to the New World? He was named Oceanus. Gotta love those parents - first for their fortitude - sailing off for a new life across an ocean while mega-pregnant! Second for choosing that name to commemorate their expedition and the timing of the birth.

Let me be the first to wish you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! You might not be reading this early on the holiday, but I am writing it early on the holiday.

I like going to Mass on Thanksgiving. It's not a holy day, but it sure seems like a great day to be in Church worshiping God and giving Him thanks.

Here's hoping I get to see a little bit of the Macy's Parade! SOME people think parades are dumb, but I love a lot of pomp and circumstance (and large inflatable characters) in celebration of anything!

Our menu: Turkey, Stuffing, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Salad, Oatmeal Muffins, Dry corn, Cranberry Chutney, Pumpkin Pie and Angel Food Cake.

History behind our menu: We assume the pilgrims and Indians ate turkey. My mom makes homemade stuffing (both "inside" and "outside" the turkey) to die for - if you like stuffing, which I don't. I hate it. I won't have even one bite. Blech. Gravy comes along with the turkey. Mashed potatoes - my contribution. Mashed potatoes were one of the first "from scratch" things I didn't screw up early in my marriage. Salad - in our family growing up, it always had miniature shrimp in it which I would sneak out of the salad before dinner. Now it's just plain green salad, but I can almost taste those yummy little shrimp. My mom has always made these oatmeal muffins, and we eat them hot out of the oven. They bake while the turkey is being carved. Dry corn is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition and my dad is bringing it. The recipe for Cranberry chutney is compliments of my sister-in-law. It's delicious. This will be the second year in a row having the chutney instead of sauce or jelly. Pumpkin pie is my brother's favorite. He always has it for his birthday, too - earlier in the month. I'll make real whipped cream to top it with, but my dad is bringing it store-bought. And since some of us aren't huge pie fans, Rachel and I decided to choose a more unique dessert for this year. Angel food it is. It is a favorite of Kevin, and we'll "frost" it with strawberries and whipped cream.

In the morning, Kevin and I will run together for the first time. Actually, we ran maybe once together in college but it was me trying to keep up and impress him. Tomorrow will likely be very similar.

To close, I'm thankful for little Mayflower-born Oceanus. The word "chutney" which is extremely satisfying. DEAD scorpions (number seven found in our house tonight). Finally figuring out something on my camera besides the automatic setting. Rain, which we had lots of today. Parade floats. New pajamas for John. Butter toffee coated peanuts. And sleep.