Thanksgiving

It has been brought to my attention that I have not posted recently. I apologize.

News updates: I got hired today! I have orientation starting Dec. 4th. I'll be working at Archivers, which is a scrapbooking store. It's a part time job, and lousy pay, but a great working environment - clean, safe, friendly, bright, etc. I'm very excited for it. I will also be trained as an instructor for scrapbooking classes, because they asked me to during the interview. Hadn't planned on it, but they said I had the right personality and temperment to teach, and they thought I would be an excellent instructor.

I have one rat named Teagan, who is absolutely adorable. She's a dumbo rat, meaning her ears are on the side of her head, and she's a very funny color - neither grey nor brown, but a combination depending on the light. With the way it shifts, if you pet her, it looks like you're petting aluminum or something. Some sort of metal.

I have two other ratties... that I'm currently trying to decide what to do with. I don't want to return them, becasue they'll be feeders, but Teagan hates their guts. And I don't have the room or the patience to have two rat tanks. So we shall see what I decide to do.

I've been doing a lot of freelance stuff - web design, content writing, marketing writing, writing of any and all sorts, photography. Ain't paying the bills.

I will have a substitute teaching license in a month or so, sooo by January I should also be subbing at local schools.

I am currently writing apps up again for graduate school, we'll see if this year is more successful into getting into schools... that ALSO pay me to go. I did get into two last year. But by time they offered me stuff, it wasn't economical.

So, for the rest of the blog (unless I change my mind by then) will be about Thanksgiving. Which is tomorrow... or today... or yesterday... by time you read it. Everything I'm using is from an email I got from Natorp's weekly newsletter, "In the Garden". Therefore, I did not write any of this, and the quips and blurbs came from the email written by Ron Wilson. So enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~

'Twas the Night of Thanksgiving

-'Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't sleep. I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep. The leftovers beckoned, the dark meat and white, but I fought the temptation with all of my might.

-Tossing and turning with anticipation, the thought of a snack became infatuation. So I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door, and gazed at the fridge full of goodies galore.

-I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes, pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes. I felt myself swelling so plump and so round, till all of a sudden I rose off the ground!

-I crashed thru the ceiling, floating into the sky, with a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie. But I managed to yell as I soared past the trees, "Happy eating to all, pass the cranberries please!"

*****

Thanksgiving Forecast - Turkeys will thaw in the morning, then warm in the oven to an afternoon high near 190 degrees. The kitchen will turn hot and humid, and if you bother the cook, be ready for a severe squall or cold shoulder. During the late afternoon and evening, the cold front of a knife will slice thru the turkey, causing an accumulation of one to two inches on the plate. Mashed potatoes will drift across one side while cranberry sauce creates slippery spots on the other. Please pass the gravy. A weight watch and indigestion warning will have been issued for the entire area, with increased stuffiness around the beltway. During the evening, the turkey will diminish and taper off to leftovers, dropping to a low of 39 degrees in the refrigerator. Looking ahead to Friday and Saturday, high pressure to eat sandwiches will be established. Flurries of leftovers can be expected both days with a 50% chance of scattered soup late in the day. We expect a warming trend where soup develops. By early next week, eating pressure will be low as the only wish left will be the bone.

*****

~ Pardon me! Each year, the National Turkey Foundation presents the President of the United States with a live turkey and two dressed turkeys. This has become a traditional holiday ritual, signaling the unofficial beginning of the holiday season, and a chance for the President to reflect on the meaning of Thanksgiving. By the way, the President pardons the live turkey and allows the bird to retire on a historical farm to live out the rest of its years

~ Groovy - the stuff hippies put on their mashed potatoes.

~ Turkeys have a persecution complex. You would too if you were cut to pieces, have the stuffing knocked out of you, and get picked on for days after Thanksgiving.

~ Don't take a turkey to church. They use such fowl language!

~ If government officials talk turkey, can we say they speak "gobbledygook"?

~ You know you went nuts at Thanksgiving if the paramedics have to bring in the Jaws of Life to pry you out of the Lazy Boy recliner. Or, if representatives from the Butterball Hall of Fame called you twice.

~ Did you know this about turkeys:
..... that their heads change colors when they become excited?
..... that the heaviest turkey on record weighed 86 pounds?
..... that June is National Turkey Lover's month?
..... that Big Bird's costume is made from turkey feathers?
..... that turkeys have great hearing but no external ears? They see in color, have excellent vision (270 degree field of vision), have a poor sense of smell but an excellent sense of taste!
..... that it takes about 80 pounds of feed to raise one 30 pound turkey?

~ Historically in England, swans, peacocks and cranes were roasted for special occasions. Charles Dickens changed all that thanks to "The Christmas Story" (serving turkey for Christmas dinner.)

~ The top 5 most popular ways to serve leftover Thanskgiving turkey: sandwiches, soup or stew, casserole, stri-fry, and salad.

~ Turkey is the most often prepared sandwich year-round.

~ The tradition of the Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving (1621) is full of myth and legend. As best our records can tell us, the original Thanksgiving menu included venison, fowl (probably not turkey), fish and seafood, grains (cornmeal / fried bread, etc), fruits (which included boiled pumpkins), vegetables, nuts and herbs and seasonings. A bit different from today's menu, don't you think?

*****

And to end it all, a quip also from the newsletter I got - but a good blessing nonetheless!

May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump, may your potatoes and gravy have never a lump. May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize, and may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!