Hodgepodge- THANKS

Linking up with Joyce for the Hodgepodge

1. Talking turkey... are you cooking the turkey this year?

Nope, not cooking turkey and not eating turkey :). Two of the three kids requested non- traditional Thanksgiving fare so that is what we are having. Lasagna, chicken Alfredo, bread sticks, Caesar salad and will satiate sweet cravings with an ersatz Reese Cup type bar. 

Does ham belong on a Thanksgiving menu? Goodness, yes, if that sounds good to the person hosting, purchasing and preparing the meal.

When it comes time to gravy do you pour it over your whole plate, skip it altogether or land somewhere in between? I am fairly neutral towards consuming gravy (I don't like making it!) but usually skip it during a feast so as to save room in the gullet and calories for items that sound better...

Cranberries- homemade or jelled right out of the can? Homemade are really good- I don't care for cranberries in a can.

Do you look forward to the main course, the savory sides or the desserts? Side and desserts :).

2. Holiday movies... tell us your favorite and what it is about the film that makes you love it. Is it the film itself or a memory it stirs? 

I am not a big holiday movie watcher insofar as there is no one movie that I want to watch every year or every other year. In general, I don't rewatch movies. Whether due to nature or nurture, the kids are the same way. Last year on Thanksgiving evening when we all seemed tempted to veer to our individual handheld screens (our phones!), I suggested we watch a screen corporeally in the form of a movie. The first two Christmas movie that I suggested, the kids regaled me with, "We watched that last year... or the year before." I told them that many families have movies that they watch each year together as a tradition. They were like, ok, good for them but that is not us!!

If I had to pick one, I would say Christmas Vacation. I have seen it more than once and it cracks me up every time that I watch it. 

I would rewatch The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Donnie and I saw it recently in the theater but the kids did not see it. I would like them to. Not sure anyone wants to go to the theater and I'm not sure it's streaming but at some point, I want my kids to see it (and I would not mind rewatching it despite not being much of a movie rewatcher!).

3. A favorite way to give back and help others?

Not in the spirit of tooting my own horn but in the spirit of answering this question, a favorite way to give back and help other is to donate money generously. Growing up without much, my family was the recipient of many people's generosity (especially when my dad was sick and later died) and that left a big impression on me. I vowed that if I would ever be so fortunate to be in a position to help those in need, I would. 

4. Name a place or setting you encountered this month that made you feel grateful 

I was super grateful to go to Oxford, OH (the town where Abby's college) to go to church with her. Abby has been going to this church since she first started college back in 2021. Abby had told us how much she enjoyed her pastor's preaching and suggested that we go to Oxford at some point to hear a message in person. So I did that a couple of Sundays ago.

After attending her church, I can see why she attends there and I am grateful for the church that opens its doors (and hearts) to so many college students. It must be a little odd, for the regular church members (those adults/ families that live in Oxford) to see the same group of college students (most) week after week and to know that one year of the cohort will be graduating and moving on, then a new group of students will start attending when the school year starts, a new group will leave when they graduate, etc. as opposed to most churches that do not include a large group of transitional (if you will) residers of a place. Speaking of students, it was heartening to see so many students in attendance! Abby's college is a state school- attending church is (obviously!) not mandatory. The students who attend regularly do so out of a desire to grow spiritually in a general environment that does not hold much, if any, importance to that value. 

5. Knowing what you know today, if you could redo yesterday what would you do differently?

I would have called my brother back like I said I was going to! I call my brother who lives alone every day. Or try to. Some days it doesn’t work out, but most days it does and so I talk to him every day. I called him yesterday while he was driving. He doesn’t like to talk on the phone and drive (even with speaker phone) so I told him that I would call him back. I forgot to and I feel badly about that. I apologized when I talked to him today and he assured me that it was no big deal that I didn’t call him back. Still, I felt bad that I forgot to call him back. 

6. Spill your own random thought here. 

Isn’t this picture kind of creepy? I took it while I was waiting at a stop light near the house yesterday. Not sure what the birds are?  Vultures? My day was kind of for the birds. I mean, it ended up ok and by the end of it, I had a new iPhone which was good and for which I’m grateful. But, man, the process to get the phone was long and very drawn out. I will spare all of the nitty gritty details because they are boring but it took hours to get everything done (old phone’s screen fixed (that I didn’t know was cracked- I thought it was the protector :()), waiting at the store for help and then waiting while everything was transferred to the old phone to the new. Like I said, all good, and thankfully there was nothing else that I had to do. 

Also, I love Aldi- its prices, its policies to keep prices lower and its products- a trifecta of practically perfect features of the store. I was reminded of my Aldi love earlier during my “for the birds” day. This was before the birds so to speak (ok, no more talk of birds, I promise).

Since we won’t be eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal on Thursday, I thought this potato chip flavor was too perfect to pass up on! Into my cart (for a reasonable price!) these chips went. Once home, I tried them. I thought they were very tasty...

Happy Thanksgiving and happy mashed potato eating- whether your spud inspired side is crispy, crunchy, soft, room temperature, warm, from a bag, from a box, full of butter, devoid of almost all nutritional value or chock full healthy ingredients, eaten on Thanksgiving or any day near it it as part of a Thanksgiving feast, may it bring you as much comfort as it does calories!