We drove through the night Tuesday to arrive Wednesday morning... napped a few hours... then put on our aprons to kick *ss in the kitchen, preparing carmelized Carnival squash, creamed onions, Stuffin' Muffins (mini-ones this year, which will be a new tradition), Thai chili sauce/pistachio Brussels sprouts, etc. etc. etc.
Bedtime, then up again for Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, at which point Colin came downstairs, threw his arms in the air, and exclaimed: "Today's the Day!", which became our holiday weekend mantra... 🎉
A multi-generational revolving door of Venn-diagrammed families (24 total!) enjoyed appetizers and beverages until our 3 p.m. dinnertime, followed by massive amounts of dessert, and they all drifted out again. We belatedly remembered to re-enact a MossFam tradition... 😛
A multi-generational revolving door of Venn-diagrammed families (24 total!) enjoyed appetizers and beverages until our 3 p.m. dinnertime, followed by massive amounts of dessert, and they all drifted out again. We belatedly remembered to re-enact a MossFam tradition... 😛
Friday brings leftovers for breakfast, CodeNames, a park/playground visit, and home movies (which are laughter- as well as tear-inducing). A leisurely departure Saturday morning, back in Pembroke Pines by midnight-ish.
And some of us tested positive for COVID. Ugh.
And some of us tested positive for COVID. Ugh.
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My belated e-mail this morning:
Gratitude Abounds! (Re: Thanksgiving EXTRAVANGA - Over the River and Through the Woods to the Carroll House!
Gratitude Abounds! (Re: Thanksgiving EXTRAVANGA - Over the River and Through the Woods to the Carroll House!
Dear All:
My short-and-sweet blessing/toast: "Thank you for this food, and this day, thank you for friends who are family, and family who are friends, and the love we share."
Well, if that doesn't just sum it up perfectly in twenty-five-words-or-less, not my modus operandi at all (ha!).
First of all, boundless thanks to Mari and John for agreeing to *host* the Thanksgiving Extravaganza for multiple branches of the Driskell/Carroll/Hilton/Moss/Vo Families. The house was beautiful and organized and welcoming... 💗
We are grateful to everyone for coming and contributing and conversing and convivializing (I thought I made up that word, but it actually exists!
Thursday was lovely on so many levels... from MVP Rob (and his Kinky Boots apron) for gently but firmly assigning kitchen duties... to Julia's mimosa stations... to Duyen joining us again... to Lee-Lee's dinner rolls (which didn't get burned!)... to Dot!... to the marriage of napkin rings... to darling Stella... to Joy's Piecaken... to Chico's turkey carving... to inspiring and thoughtful conversations... to Brad's orchids... to Debbie's chocoholic eclair dessert... to Colin's blessing (and I know I've left out many other delights, so please feel free to add them... 🤗
Each deliciosity, joke, endearment was greater than the one previous... and, although my cheekbones (and sciatic nerves - it's a long drive!) still ache, my heart is full. We made it through the first First (to Eric!). Thanks and love to all, always... 💖
Sue
Happy post-Thanksgiving, sweet peas. DEAR SUGAR, The Rumpus Advice Column #90: Ninety-Four Ways of Saying Thank You, November 24, 2011
SONG: You Can't Rush Your Healing by Trevor Hall (thanks to Sarah for sharing this song with me a few months ago... 💖) / Akaal by Ajeet Kaur (featuring Trevor Hall)
POEM: Forgotten Gravy by Donna Ashworth
I love imperfect, mismatched rooms, homemade decorations,
and trinkets,
that tell stories of the past.
I treasure impromptu gatherings with food rustled up from nowhere – it’s always just enough.
I see the beauty in gifts handed over
with words of oh it’s nothing;
for that simply means the giver
cannot begin to convey
how they really feel about you.
I value both the quiet moments when the lights twinkle privately, and the raucous occasions when laughter fills the room.
And I can’t get enough of burnt carrots,
forgotten gravy,
and failed attempts at dessert.
Because that’s where the love lives
— in the imperfect,
in the messy,
in the real.
Love lives in the forgotten gravy. Look for it.
Fifteen Bean Soup by Barbara Crooker
QUOTE: "It was November - the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines. Anne roamed through the pineland alleys in the park and let that great sweeping wind blow the fogs out of her soul.” ~ L. M. Montgomery
I want to thank this pot for its art
of containment, the stove for its gentle
heat. Thank you to the beans, all fifteen
of you, for your transformation from stony
pebbles into nuggets of deliciousness, regaining
your original forms: large & small limas, lentils,
navy beans, pintos, yellow-eyed beans, red & white
kidneys, black beans, garbanzos, cranberry beans,
small white & pink beans, green & yellow split peas.
And thank you to the onions, for your bite and snap;
tomatoes, chili powder, garlic, lemon juice—what
you add is undetectable, but if you’re omitted,
all is lost. A word of applause, gnarly ham hocks,
for coming apart in the bubble and boil,
for lending your parts for the good of the whole.
And thank you, thank you, stoneware bowls—
without your help, this dinner wouldn’t be possible.
Have I forgotten anyone? The farmer who sowed
the crops, the rancher who raised the pigs, the grocery
store that carried their wares. Finally—and yes, I hear
the orchestra music, know my time is coming to a close—
let me thank the housewife, lost in history, who figured
out this recipe, the proportions, who added in the harmony,
the way the notes combined, the blend, the music, the mastery.
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