Where Everybody Knows You're Numb

Psych Lit · Guru

RE: Gimme Eat!

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

...its been a long time since if considered a ho hos run to 7-11.

Oh, my!
That's where they hang out in Phoenix, too, btw.

LOL! what? the circle k threw em out?

BoxDog · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

oh yeah???? watch this! lol

now watch, it wont work. hee

WHEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, a happy ending to the colon discussion!

(advanced colon action)

indeed! there are some really weird ones on there. when do you suppose we might use this one?

LOL! Well? I....
I dunno. LOL. I'm sure, though, that it's used by some, somewhere. :)
(I love the expression on the amber (brown?) character's face. LOL!)

I think having a picture of a sheep for "sheepish" is ... dumb. I've wanted a "sheepish" emoticon before, but I refuse to use that. Ditto, "blush"

EMOTICONS WE'D LIKE TO SEE:

Eyeroll

These would be more useful, or appropriate in another place and time, but all the same....if emoticons were left to me the variety would be vast and far reaching!

:airb*tchslap:, :rufrommars:, :dontueverhavetousetherestroom:, :urhouseisonfirerun:, :ikeyedurcarwhileuwerebashingmeonline:, :houstonwehaveaproblem:.....there's more, I'm just having the first Dunkin D. and 2 coconut donuts.

In consideration of the first family, will we be changing the handshake to a :fistbump:?

Hey, they started it, not me...

BoxDog · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

...its been a long time since if considered a ho hos run to 7-11.

Oh, my!
That's where they hang out in Phoenix, too, btw.

Oh my, here it's where 4th meets 9th. On the north end of 4-9 there's a Starbucks, the south side of the same cross streets, fried chicken and colt 45 by 8am. 7-11 does, in a pinch, have a pretty good coffeebar setup and no need for the ho-ho, they have Dunkin displays. dunkin d just sounds more refined than ho-ho. But hey, I'll never get on the middle of an all-out ho-ho craving and pms. I'm no masochist. ;)

:hookers: and

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

...its been a long time since if considered a ho hos run to 7-11.

Oh, my!
That's where they hang out in Phoenix, too, btw.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

oh yeah???? watch this! lol

now watch, it wont work. hee

WHEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, a happy ending to the colon discussion!

(advanced colon action)

indeed! there are some really weird ones on there. when do you suppose we might use this one?

LOL! Well? I....
I dunno. LOL. I'm sure, though, that it's used by some, somewhere. :)
(I love the expression on the amber (brown?) character's face. LOL!)

I think having a picture of a sheep for "sheepish" is ... dumb. I've wanted a "sheepish" emoticon before, but I refuse to use that. Ditto, "blush"

EMOTICONS WE'D LIKE TO SEE:

Eyeroll

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

btw i asked the crowd the which food ,if missing, would make the day unsatisfactory. it was nearly unanimous. the green bean dish. lol

i, on the other hand, was thinking about cole slaw all day. and pistachio cake.

LOL! A woman after my own heart!
Yanno, one of the things, which occured to me as I was making the Motel 6 salad was that it would make the subsequent sammers all that much easier to prepare, given that it was basically cole slaw, with cranberry sauce, and even some walnuts. What else does one need for a post-Thanksgiving turkey sammer other than turkey and bread?

i am so wanting one of these "sammers" tonight. i did have the second thanksgiving feast early dinner today but i behaved myself and stuck to the turkey and veggies now i am regretting it. after later shopping and hitting the movies i came home starved around 11pm and resolved not to dip into the dessert stuff. so it was egg white omlette and yet somehow that did not do the trick. i am wanting one of those big sammers followed by some apple pie and ice cream. sigh. i wonder how many hours id be on the stairmaster monday to make up for the pie? AND mother nature is er...visiting me... for the first time in a long time and i am also craving chocolate and salt and its been a long time since if considered a ho hos run to 7-11.

Psych Lit · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

oh yeah???? watch this! lol

now watch, it wont work. hee

WHEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, a happy ending to the colon discussion!

(advanced colon action)

indeed!

there are some really weird ones on there. when do you suppose we might use this one?

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Just wanted to report back ... that pistachio "salad" thing turned out delicious. But not as a salad or side dish, even -- it's incredibly rich, and I would recommend it as a condiment (although not with Rice ... that would be just way too republican...)

Get it? Get it?

LOL.

But omg, it's fab. the mini marshmallows just dissolve when they hit the tongue, after they've been in there with the pudding stuff for a bit. I followed the recipe exactly, and it was truly scrumptious, but WAY too rich to be eaten by the spoonful.

BoxDog · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

oh yeah???? watch this! lol

now watch, it wont work. hee

WHEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, a happy ending to the colon discussion!

(advanced colon action)

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

btw i asked the crowd the which food ,if missing, would make the day unsatisfactory. it was nearly unanimous. the green bean dish. lol

i, on the other hand, was thinking about cole slaw all day. and pistachio cake.

LOL! A woman after my own heart! biggrin

Yanno, one of the things, which occured to me as I was making the Motel 6 salad wink

was that it would make the subsequent sammers all that much easier to prepare, given that it was basically cole slaw, with cranberry sauce, and even some walnuts. What else does one need for a post-Thanksgiving turkey sammer other than turkey and bread?

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

:LOML:,,:lottery:,:hrcforpresident:,:economicrecovery:, cureforcancer:

Sadly, not everything we want shows up between the colons. <BD

----------
Ah, but isn't it nice that "peace" does!

So I just made this thing I'm gonna call ... ummm ...

Nightowl's Motel 6 salad.

LOL. Most unhealthy dish on the planet, probably.

actually it sounds pretty good. well cept for the salt part. sort of a combination of ambrosia and waldorf salad.
i dont know about anyone else but ive eaten enough for three weeks. im so gonna hate paying for this in the gym tomorrow if not sooner with all night heartburn. hope everyone had a great day and that the bigs feasts went well.
happily i have very few leftovers. only turkey and cranberry sauce and squash none of which are diet killers.

You know? I have, above my stove, a little cylindrical carboard container of sea salt which I've probably had four years. I don't salt things when I'm cooking, generally, but I sometimes use Crazy salt on 'maters, but that's another story. I didn't put much in ... less than a "pinch" really, but it needed that pinch to bring the flavors to the surface.

I ended up not fixing half the menu I'd planned. :) I'm temporarily using a cane, and putting all my standing weight on one leg, the kitchen is in a state of chaos, with almost no food prep room, and that pretty much covered, since the plumber having knocked out the wall which separates my cupboards from the bathroom, and I (while the work is being done) only have HOT water in my kitchen faucet.

We decided that we'd make the other dishes another day, and have TWO Thanksgiving feasts this year.

So? We ended up having whole wheat rolls, and all the "bad" stuff. LOL. Turkey, (the trinity cooked under it) stuffing, sweet potato pie, the Motel 6 salad, a TASTE of the pistachio stuff, which was INCREDIBLY rich, and the green bean casserole.

I followed the directions for the green bean casserole to the T. I don't usually do that. It ended up being ... eh? My least favorite dish, and Mom's too, probably. Way too soupy for my taste. Really could have done without it. I fault the using of canned, rather than fresh greenbeans, but still.

I don't think the thermostat on my oven is working properly. I'm tellin' ya ... I WILL oneday have a gas stove top with an electric oven. I WILL.

The rain abated, and the sun came out ... the turkey took about two hours longer than I'd figured to roast (again, I fault the oven) and so what was going to be "Sunday Supper" (aka fancy lunch) around the noon hour turned out to be dinner, on the back porch, in the booth, which afforded us daylight-to-sunset dining, topped off with casual evening pushing food around on the plate with forks and sipping the non-alcoholic sparkling cider I DID find, in mellow overhead hanging lamp lighting. Never took the pumpkin pie out of the freezer to defrost. Didn't do the brussel sprouts, or the tomato casserole (which, Mom told me, I was the only one who'd ever liked it, anyway, harumph! It was HER recipe!)

Most of my kitchen stuff (holiday and otherwise) is stewn hither and yon at this point, but I did manage to find some nice fancy heavy black goblets from which to drink our sparkling cider, which added an otherwise missing decorative flair to our table. Rather than carting all the food out to the porch room, we set up a buffet on top of the stove, and dished up our plates there (and remember -- Mom's using a walker, and I'm using a cane right now, so it was really pretty funny, just getting to the table! LOL) We did manage to have some pleasant conversation at the table, though, for which I'm thankful, and Mom even commented on how good some things tasted, which was an unexpected perk. We talked about being thankful for those who had gone before us, who had paved the way for our holiday, and reminisced about holidays spent with my great grandma, and the fun and funny things that happened on Thanksgivings past. All in all, I'd say it was a successful meal. I was full before I'd finished my first plate, so uniquely didn't even have seconds. "saited." Today, I'm frankly just pitching a lot of stuff. I'll probably shave the turkey off the carcass, and set it aside, freezing some, but the Motel six salad leftovers (and there was a BUNCH of that) won't be around long, or, I suspect, the green bean casserole. Maybe I'll drain it, or make a soup out of it, or something. Yeah. Soup. THAT'S the ticket!

I wonder if your taste buds change as you age. Somehow, nothing tasted the way I remembered it always tasting last night. I was even non-plussed about my stuffing. Ah well. It STILL (IMO) beat, we both agreed, going out to eat, which was, I think, what Mom originally wanted to do.

Today, the sun is shining, drying out the rain-stained concrete walls and puddle dappled walkways outside, and the air is brisk and clean feeling. There's a great thing about the combination of rain AND a holiday in a metropolitan area like this, surrounded by mountains, which hold the pollution in. Looking out my open window here, with a cool breeze caressing my face, the world looks almost sparkley. Ah... the color of the daylight has begun its annual transformation from "summer glare" to "beauty." It's all good.

Now, if only I had that dishwasher sitting on the back porch installed, I'd be set. LOL. Well, and if I had a healthy set of legs to locomote me to the dumpter in the alley with the trash bags ... smile

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

oh yeah???? watch this! lol

now watch, it wont work. hee

WHEE!!!!!!!!!!!

BoxDog · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

yay!

:bravo:

BoxDog · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

btw i asked the crowd the which food ,if missing, would make the day unsatisfactory. it was nearly unanimous. the green bean dish. lol

i, on the other hand, was thinking about cole slaw all day. and pistachio cake.

Something like that, if I were to ask my crowd which tooth, if missing, would make the day unsatisfactory it would have been a resounding "the front ones". Long story, for a short Turkey Day. God I crave steamed wontons and pistachio cake now. :) Sounds like you had a great time. I'm very glad to her it. My season, however, started with an unexpected bang!

Psych Lit · Guru

btw i asked the crowd the which food ,if missing, would make the day unsatisfactory. it was nearly unanimous. the green bean dish. lol

i, on the other hand, was thinking about cole slaw all day. and pistachio cake.

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

:LOML:,,:lottery:,:hrcforpresident:,:economicrecovery:, cureforcancer:

Sadly, not everything we want shows up between the colons. <BD

----------
Ah, but isn't it nice that "peace" does!

So I just made this thing I'm gonna call ... ummm ...

Nightowl's Motel 6 salad.

LOL. Most unhealthy dish on the planet, probably.

actually it sounds pretty good. well cept for the salt part. sort of a combination of ambrosia and waldorf salad.
i dont know about anyone else but ive eaten enough for three weeks. im so gonna hate paying for this in the gym tomorrow if not sooner with all night heartburn. hope everyone had a great day and that the bigs feasts went well.
happily i have very few leftovers. only turkey and cranberry sauce and squash none of which are diet killers.

Psych Lit · Guru

yay!

Psych Lit · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

er...nothing happened? all i see is the word between colons but no emoticon?

OMG.

:LOML:,,:lottery:,:hrcforpresident:,:economicrecovery:, cureforcancer:

Sadly, not everything we want shows up between the colons.

darn..lol....welllll ya left out the most important part. i tend to follow directions very literally!

p.s. I would venture a guess that you prefer essay exams, or orals (sic) to multiple choice. "cuz this little emoto-thing is really not working out for you

Happy Thanksgiving!

oh yeah???? watch this! lol

now watch, it wont work. hee

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

And for dessert...

(from a blog somewhere ... "PopEater":

---------------------------------------

Pass the Gravy and the Drama: It's the Dysfunctional H'wood Family Thanksgiving

(Nov. 19) The holidays are all about family, turkey and football. And if your family situation is a bit tense, as several across the entertainment spectrum are, it might also include custody battles, unwanted guests, awkward silences and lots of wine.

Oprah's magazine 'O' suggests the following game plan for surviving a dysfunctional family gathering:

1) Give Up Hope: Don't think you can change your family to be the way you hope they would be.

2) Set Up Boundaries: Decide how much intimacy you want.

3) Lose Control: If soul-searching has shown you that your family's opinions are wrong for you, hold that truth in your heart, whether or not your family members validate it.

4) Become a Participant Observer: Try to view the dysfunction from the outside looking in, then share the details with someone on your wavelength later on.

5) Debrief: Talk to a relative that you love after the gathering. If there is no such relative, seek out a friend (or a therapist).

------------------------------------
That, and either Tums or bourbon. Probably not both.
Happy post Thanksgiving!

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

:LOML:,,:lottery:,:hrcforpresident:,:economicrecovery:, cureforcancer:

Sadly, not everything we want shows up between the colons. <BD

----------
Ah, but isn't it nice that "peace" does!

So I just made this thing I'm gonna call ... ummm ...

Nightowl's Motel 6 salad.

LOL. Most unhealthy dish on the planet, probably.

I threw some drained crushed pineapple in a bowl, then some sugar, then cool whip, then sour cream, then mayo (LOL! I TOLD you!) and a little salt, and then a can of whole cranberry sauce, and then some chopped walnuts, then some mini marshmallows, then some cut up maraschino cherries, and then a little tiny bit of the juice for more color, and then a couple of diced apples, and then a whole head of shredded cabbage. I don't know if I'm done yet, or not, but it's deeeeeeeeeeelish dish right now! Waddaya think? Sliced grapes?

Oops... forgot to mention the sliced celery I threw in there for more crunch. OH! And cottage cheese.
LOWFAT cottage cheese.

ROFL.

What the heck ... get all the "white food" in one dish, comsumed, and out of the house, I'm thinkin' ;)

BoxDog · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

er...nothing happened? all i see is the word between colons but no emoticon?

OMG.

:LOML:,,:lottery:,:hrcforpresident:,:economicrecovery:, cureforcancer:

Sadly, not everything we want shows up between the colons.

p.s. I would venture a guess that you prefer essay exams, or orals (sic) to multiple choice. "cuz this little emoto-thing is really not working out for you

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

er...nothing happened? all i see is the word between colons but no emoticon?

Well, you have to use words that they assign to the emoticon.
I don't see an "ice cream" on the list.
Or perhaps you were just trying to conjure that up in your 3D world?

Really, Psych ... trust me on this. On the bottom of the reply page, on the right hand side, there are two rows of eight faces, and underneath the second row of those emoticons, it'll say: "more emoticons>>>>" Click that. You won't lose your page, but another will pop up on top of it, which has all the faces, and the corresponding words beside them. Then, all you have to do is type that word enclosed in colons, with no spaces, and you'll be cookin' with gas.

And if you're not sure, after you've done it, you can always click "show preview" and if you've succeeded, it'll show up in the copy of your original just below it.

Psych Lit · Guru

er...nothing happened? all i see is the word between colons but no emoticon?

Psych Lit · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

Hiya! Okay PITB are back. Only if you use Oscar Meyer Turkey dogs. I like to tuck other little things in them too like a spoonful of low fat shreddd cheddar or some sauteed peppers and onions. Have some fun. I make them every so often for lunches or snacks. They freeze well too.

im liking the stuff them with veggies idea. turkey hot dogs? not. gotta have the real deal or nothin! problem is these are like lays potato chips betcha cant eat only one and in my case i cant, its more like a dozen of those lil things. sigh.

The other thing, and I'm almost afraid I'll be unleashing a emoti-monster now, but here.....

: cowboy : =

so i use colons and put a word in between? really? is that all? ok ill try it.

:icecream: im gonna hit send and see what i get!

Psych Lit · Guru

My Turn wrote:

...so...that is part of my pity party...i am hoping that it will only take the two years it took before to heal the ole ticker and have it be fully functioning again....one downside for me is the break up diet sucks a$$...some might think this a good thing, but when one only weighs 102lbs to begin with going down to the current 93 is not such a good thing.....so no, the food of thanksgiving for me, is not too appealing...in my mind it is...but i know i couldn't eat very much anyway so why bother....

youve had a lot of loss and a lot of trauma and that cant help but color the world right now. the domestic abuse (im assuming, correct me if i am wrong) in particular can leave many scars and if not uprooted and dug out can cause all sort of problems, health and otherwise, for you. i hope that youve had the opportunity to deprogram from that very long and horrid experience? When i was in my 20s i had a similar experience in terms of levels of violence tho not for anywhere near the length of time that youve endured. for those who survive these things numb becomes the new norm.

Broken hearts hurt but there is good news in that pain. the good news is that your heart is working again and that you can feel. the one who needs your love most now tho is you. take care of you. nourish your body, take time to rest and spend lots of time with people who love you. process, process, process, its the lesbian way:)! I firmly believe that there is someone or many someones out there who will love us and be the "right" person for us. We have to be in a place of readiness to receive that tho and that often requires that we take the time to do the healing. dont rush it yourself and dont let anyone else rush you. love comes when we are ready to accept it and, dang it, not a moment before.

just like tommie lee jones' response in men in black to will smith when he uttered that phrase....and jones' reply was: "try it sometime"....i too feel that way at times...if i had never had my love, i would never had known what i was missing.....

i dunno, im thinking if that body shot up in da left corner is any indication you be a hot chick and you appear to be intelligent and sensitive so i dont think youll be waiting any longer than that minute that your interior decides that you are ready. in the meantime send yourself flowers, treat yourself to something special, take some of that effort that you give to your kids and their friends and give some of it to you, journal, spend time with friends and use this time as a gift. we really dont have many of these kinds of spaces in life. make the most of it.

i know i "should" do as you suggested and try to make some traditions for the holidays...i just dont have it in me....at least not this year.....

im with owl on the fake it till ya make it here:)

i hope they make sure this lady pays for the gas and all...man, that is so wrong to just pack up a cat and take it.....ugh! its not even a new cat...he is like 5-7 years old and has always lived there.....

holy moley. why did she steal the cat?

but...there is always a but...lol.. the bad part is that come tomorrow it will only be me and the younger guys..

the good news is that you have fewer potatoes to peel. hey, now theres an item that would make a snazzy invention. an automatic potato peeler. whos mechanical around here? *and* you have a smaller turkey to buy! and fewer dishes to wash and *bonus* you get to scarf a good portion of the pie for yourself. if the older young ones are going elsewhere let them eat cake!

.the guys said they would think about it..lol...i thnk they wanna see how cold it is gonna be...lol.....in the past i have usually just gone by myself...hey! maybe that could be a "tradition" we could start....????

yanno thats really not a bad one and it could be loads of fun. i mean you live in florida camping, even in parking lots, can be lots of fun and its blissfully warm to do so!

-- Edited by My Turn at 12:59, 2008-11-26

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

This is, I think, the season for embracing the "awe" of all which we do have ... this sunset out my window, I'm watching right now... My Mom dozing in the other room ... a big ole turkey waiting in the fridge ... good friends, who have enriched my life so, merely out of the goodness of their hearts ... my god, when I think of all I have, my jaw literally drops. And I think it's important for that to happen once in a while... to just sit back and say "Wow. My cup runneth over."
I was having similar thoughts this evening while watching the news from around the world. we are indeed fortunate. we are not in mumbai or somalia or any of the other 2 dozen places where life is literally uncertain for many people tonight.

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

My Turn wrote:

No, you're not being selfish, hey "hurt" is hurt. I understand that. I guess what I'm trying to do is ... help you avoid setting yourself up for a sad or bad day tomorrow, and it feels as if you're headed in that direction. Again: it's a choice. It really is. I just hope you "chose" to take it in a different direction ... for you. Maybe only for tomorrow. What's tomorrow? A day on the calendar. The sun doesn't "know" it's Thanksgiving, nor do the birds. The sun here made a brief appearance today, and the bird went freakin' nuts. I though someone had hauled an aviary into my back yard, the chirping was so many-voiced and loud. It's just a day, you know? A day with which hopefully, we will both be gifted. Every single day we wake up, we can make a choice about the kind of day we're going to have. May not always turn out according to plan, but we can make tha plan, and a lot of times, it does happen just that way. It's just a matter of ... stepping over that threshold, sometimes. Just making the choice to take that step into a different room. I'm a big fan of "fake it 'til ya make it" too, 'cause I know that if you really concentrate on "faking" happiness in the really rough times, the really rough times really can be altered however slightly in postive ways. Again: "choice."

amenin ya here. these are very wise words.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

My Turn wrote:

you know, night owl....your words are so kind and wonderful....and i dont deserve them...i am being totally selfish in my self pity.... <MT

No, you're not being selfish, hey "hurt" is hurt. I understand that. I guess what I'm trying to do is ... help you avoid setting yourself up for a sad or bad day tomorrow, and it feels as if you're headed in that direction. Again: it's a choice. It really is. I just hope you "chose" to take it in a different direction ... for you. Maybe only for tomorrow. What's tomorrow? A day on the calendar. The sun doesn't "know" it's Thanksgiving, nor do the birds. The sun here made a brief appearance today, and the bird went freakin' nuts. I though someone had hauled an aviary into my back yard, the chirping was so many-voiced and loud. It's just a day, you know? A day with which hopefully, we will both be gifted. Every single day we wake up, we can make a choice about the kind of day we're going to have. May not always turn out according to plan, but we can make tha plan, and a lot of times, it does happen just that way. It's just a matter of ... stepping over that threshold, sometimes. Just making the choice to take that step into a different room. I'm a big fan of "fake it 'til ya make it" too, 'cause I know that if you really concentrate on "faking" happiness in the really rough times, the really rough times really can be altered however slightly in postive ways. Again: "choice."

Thanks for the kind words, and wishes -- I wish for you a terrific day tomorrow. Oh, and trust me ... you don't want to be more like me. Just be more like you, the "you" you chose to be, and that will be more than a job well done.

My Turn · Senior Member

you know, night owl....your words are so kind and wonderful....and i dont deserve them...i am being totally selfish in my self pity....you have been thru so much this year...and yet you still soldier on, head held high....i admire you...your courage, your strength, your kindness....i wish i could be more like you....

many, many warm wishes for a blessed and beautiful thanksgiving to both you and your mom....

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

My Turn wrote:

...the rest of his family all live in pennsylvania and except for one sister in law, i have no desire to have a relationship with them, altho i would with his parents, for the boys if they had the desire, which they dont. my aunt, uncle and 3 cousins, along with my 90 y/o grandma all live in maryland and i have not seen them in years...altho i would love to, but it has been since 1996 since i have been up there. my sister is too much like my mother and neither my kids nor i enjoy her and her family as her house is filled with lots of screaming, yelling, arguing...ick...just cant and dont want to deal with that and neither do the kids. my parents are 110 miles from me and i can only handle them in small increments....so no, just the boys and me for the holidays....and i am thankful i have them...yet, i am also feeling a bit selfish in wanting someone for me....children just cant replace (and shouldn't) having a gf/partner by your side to share and laugh and disagree and build a life together.....maybe one day it will happen and maybe it wont...either way i know i will be ok...i did it solo for so long...i do know how....its just that once you've had a taste of "what could be" it makes it harder to not have it.....that saying about it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved causes me conflicted feelings....just like tommie lee jones' response in men in black to will smith when he uttered that phrase....and jones' reply was: "try it sometime"....i too feel that way at times...if i had never had my love, i would never had known what i was missing.....

i know i "should" do as you suggested and try to make some traditions for the holidays...i just dont have it in me....at least not this year.....
-- Edited by My Turn at 12:59, 2008-11-26

Ya know? I understand that. I also understand that "this year" is all we're sure of having. Right now. That's what we've got, and that's really what the holiday is about, isn't it? Taking stock of not what we've lost, or wish we had, but the abundance of what we already possess -- to take a moment to realize how rich we are, in our friendships, our families, and even aquaintances. For us, too, it's a moment I think, to reflect upon what I still think a great gift of fate to have been born into this country. For all that needs fixin', and I'm not minimizing that, there's still a lot that "ain't broke," and that I'm able to claim it of mine is, I realize, little more than a fluke of birth, and I'm thankful for that fluke. Yeah, I would like Santa to bring me a loaded lap top for Christmas. I can "wish" that, because I don't have to wish for clean drinking water. I mean, yeah, OK, I had to go up to the store and buy water today, because the plumber has left us sort of well ... "high and dry" for the next day or so, but geezopetes ... I can hop into my vehicle and drive up to a store, and hand them money, and they'll give me clean water to drink, and neither of us even have to observe that exchange, because we both we both live in a nation where that's not an extraordinary thing for most people.

One thing I'd like to return to my life (speaking of traditions) as soon as I get my life a little better under control, and am able to stand on both legs (literally) is the Thanksgiving morning tradition I grew up with before we sat down to that sumptious feast. Every year my Dad, my brother and I would go down to the soup kitchen and serve Thanksgiving dinner there, first, before returning home to Mom in our warm and comfortable home. I think it put things in perspective a bit for us. Did we have a "perfect" family? Hardly. But who did? Who does?

"... to every thing there is a season..."

This is, I think, the season for embracing the "awe" of all which we do have ... this sunset out my window, I'm watching right now... My Mom dozing in the other room ... a big ole turkey waiting in the fridge ... good friends, who have enriched my life so, merely out of the goodness of their hearts ... my god, when I think of all I have, my jaw literally drops. And I think it's important for that to happen once in a while... to just sit back and say "Wow. My cup runneth over."

It's about perspective. We can either see all that we're missing, or all that we have. We can see the empty chairs at the table tomorrow, of the filled ones. It's a choice. What I am going to try to choose for myself tomorrow is to remember the good times past, to make schemes for good times future, and to not be so busy doing that I forget to observe the good time present. I know/have known "crummy" Thanksgivings. Looking at the bigger picture, and taking into account those "not so great" Thanksgivings, unless I go in there tomorrw and find my Mom dead, this one has to be better than those "not so great ones" in the past, and presuming that won't happen... I'm going to have a great day tomorrow. I hope you do too ... all of you, actually.

My Turn · Senior Member

Psych Lit wrote:

are you italian? my first lover was italian and her grandmother used to do this too. and she made the best bean and escarole soup. i swear we lived on it for my whole first year of college.

nope..not italian...my great grandparents came here from poland and my grandma was the 3rd (i think) of their children to be born here..my fathers side was here a wee bit longer, but both sides 100% polish....up thru me...my kids are first generation mutts...50% polish, 25% danish and 25% italian.....

man, my grandmother is one h*ll of a cook....yummmmmm, red beet soup, stuffed cabbage, stuffed peppers, homemade noodles, kielbasa, pierogies (sp??)...i learned from her how to do the red beet soup, stuffed cabbage and stuffed peppers but the other stuff is too involved for me....the noodles were always rolled out with a rolling pin and cut with a knife....good memories... smile

-- Edited by My Turn at 13:06, 2008-11-26

My Turn · Senior Member

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:
do your kids go to other relatives for the holidays?

im making myself ill with this pity party. lol. enough!

i started that paragraph to say that i do think that rituals and setting aside liminal space for special days is an important thing for kids of all ages. even getting a small bird and having each kid think up a favorite recipe that can become "theirs" can be grounding for them and theyll never forget it. even if your kids have to be elsewhere on the main holidays, setting aside a special day for yourselves to share those kinds of memories can be worthwhile.

well i guess for me, my pity party is that for years nothing really mattered...i was living a miserable life with a man i detested and thought i had no way out.....i had my gf's that he never knew about...well he knew about them but didn't "know" about them...and it was ok...it was, what it was, cause it couldn't be more...those were the rules and i never let it go past the boundaries established....then 7 years ago, i got part of my freedom back and 4 years ago, i was finally, completely, totally free...he died. i could finally date for real and for the first time found love....and it was wonderful till she went back to her ex....it sucked big time and took about 1 1/2-2 years to finally be willing to love again....it was a little easier cause we still remained friends (after about 3 months breathing space) and would do dinner at least once a month.....till her ex, now live in, couldn't deal with it and she had to stop getting together with me......it was also easier cause she was so torn and conflicted between the two of us...her relationship with me and her history with the other....that while she felt she needed to take the path with her ex, she still valued and cared very much for me....i loved her and i also knew there were barriers..i knew i would never marry her, for one, the feelings of wanting that were not there and another being that she was at a significantly higher socio-economic level than me...however, she did help me to develop a better fashion style even on my budget as she liked to have a well dressed pretty girl on her arm at her social events...she was also older than me and made me feel taken care of..so probably some of that mothering love that i missed out on as a kid.... i starting dating again and it was cool...when i met the new girl, it was nice, she was cute and i enjoyed talking to her and thought it would just be a nice person to date and that was all....till wham! i got hit in the gut with love again....and sh*t, for me at least, it was way more incredible than J....this girl knocked my socks off....in every single way....the good, the bad, the ugly, i didn't care..she wasn't perfect, but she was perfect for me....and as time went on i came to see her as not just cute, but THE most beautiful woman on the face of the planet..(kinda funny cause one time someone i knew saw me with her and was describing her to a friend to find out who she was....she gave her basic physical description and ended with not really all that attractive.....i was speechless, i said, she really said that? omg, she is the most beautiful woman i have ever seen...! what the h*ll is she talking about???!) the first and only woman that i ever entertained thoughts about living with and in my deepest most secret dreams...had thought that one day 4,5,7 years down the road i would ask to marry me if she would have me...and i really thought in my heart that she felt the same...i guess, just an example of the heart believing the disbelief.......probably the hardest thing i have had to "hear" was that she wishes she had never met me....omg...that just about blew the last remaining pieces of my heart to bits....so...that is part of my pity party...i am hoping that it will only take the two years it took before to heal the ole ticker and have it be fully functioning again....one downside for me is the break up diet sucks a$$...some might think this a good thing, but when one only weighs 102lbs to begin with going down to the current 93 is not such a good thing.....so no, the food of thanksgiving for me, is not too appealing...in my mind it is...but i know i couldn't eat very much anyway so why bother....

as far as the kids, no, they do not go to relatives on holidays...as i said their dad is dead and as cruel as it may sound, it really is for the best. i have only told some people some of the things he did and how he was but no one can really understand the depths of his cruelty and mental illness....i had a friend over the other day and she was lamenting her "crazy" ex husband....while i sympathized...i also told her she really didn't have it so bad. she was a bit dubious, so i dragged out my bag of letters from my kids dad...yes, a whole bag full of them from 2002-2004....she began reading and was totally and completely blown away by what she read (well, i also showed her the pics of my face from the time he was arrested in 2001, which began my journey to freedom...something i have not shared with anyone...but then again, no one has ever really been interested).....she was blown away and she didn't even read all of them....there is just not really enough time...it would take hours....all she kept saying was "18 years..??? 18??? you lived this for 18 years????"

the rest of his family all live in pennsylvania and except for one sister in law, i have no desire to have a relationship with them, altho i would with his parents, for the boys if they had the desire, which they dont. my aunt, uncle and 3 cousins, along with my 90 y/o grandma all live in maryland and i have not seen them in years...altho i would love to, but it has been since 1996 since i have been up there. my sister is too much like my mother and neither my kids nor i enjoy her and her family as her house is filled with lots of screaming, yelling, arguing...ick...just cant and dont want to deal with that and neither do the kids. my parents are 110 miles from me and i can only handle them in small increments....so no, just the boys and me for the holidays....and i am thankful i have them...yet, i am also feeling a bit selfish in wanting someone for me....children just cant replace (and shouldn't) having a gf/partner by your side to share and laugh and disagree and build a life together.....maybe one day it will happen and maybe it wont...either way i know i will be ok...i did it solo for so long...i do know how....its just that once you've had a taste of "what could be" it makes it harder to not have it.....that saying about it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved causes me conflicted feelings....just like tommie lee jones' response in men in black to will smith when he uttered that phrase....and jones' reply was: "try it sometime"....i too feel that way at times...if i had never had my love, i would never had known what i was missing.....

i know i "should" do as you suggested and try to make some traditions for the holidays...i just dont have it in me....at least not this year.....

the good part of this holiday week is that the kids have been off all week, so i get to sleep in...and surprisingly i have...( i am usually a very early bird even when i dont have to get up)....the younger ones' friends have been over everyday so far..so its nice having people around during the day, keep me and my thoughts busy.....they all ebb and flow between houses, but mostly are here...yesterday, they were talking and didn t know i was within hearing range and one of the boys said he wishes his mom was like me...awwww! then he was saying that he never gets to see his mom cause so works so much....and then the sweetest..."dude, you are soooooooo lucky...i wish i had your mom..." is that not sweet??....sigh....plus all these boys call me "mom" too....hi mom...mom, can i get a soda... mom, can we go in the pool? ....they are so sweet!

thank god a bit of estrogen is around too...my son's gf is around a lot and i really like her...she essentially lives here and she is wonderful. she has been upset that her cat has been missing since sat/sun...we went to the shelters Monday and walked her neighborhood....then with talking, she had a feeling that maybe her neighbor who likes the cat and feeds it sometimes took the cat. problem is that this neighbor left to go to new jersey sat/sun same day as the day the cat went missing....my son, the 'puter guru, did a search and found a woman with the same name in a location in new jersey, obtained the phone number, called and its the lady's voice on the machine...so they leave a message. the lady calls back and talks to jaime's mom...and yup, she has the cat! wtf?!?! jamie is so upset...anyway, this lady says she "thought" it was a stray or community cat...as if!...i mean this cat might wonder 2 blocks or so, but jaime can go out and call him and he comes running...anyway, they found the cat. now the problem is this lady is not coming back till january...so there has been discussions as too how to get the cat back..so those plans are still in the works, but what i have heard so far is that since jamie doesn't want the cat shipped in the cargo of the plane, either she and her sister or she and.my son plan to drive up to pick up the cat.....i hope they make sure this lady pays for the gas and all...man, that is so wrong to just pack up a cat and take it.....ugh! its not even a new cat...he is like 5-7 years old and has always lived there.....

but...there is always a but...lol.. the bad part is that come tomorrow it will only be me and the younger guys...vic is going to jaimies aunt's house for the day with their family.....altho i did ask the other guys if they wanted to camp out with me for black friday....vic and jaimie are going to one store and i am going to another one....the guys said they would think about it..lol...i thnk they wanna see how cold it is gonna be...lol.....in the past i have usually just gone by myself...hey! maybe that could be a "tradition" we could start....????

-- Edited by My Turn at 12:59, 2008-11-26

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

(I'm really getting way too much into this "cooking" thing...) Whee! LOL.

Or is it the "Southern Comfort" ;)

Nope.
Not yet ... wink

BoxDog · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

(I'm really getting way too much into this "cooking" thing...) Whee! LOL.

Or is it the "Southern Comfort" ;)

BoxDog · Guru

I LOVE instant pistachio pudding!

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

So since I already had the food processor out (and have washed it now four times in the last 12 hours) and since it's a cold, rainy day here (Yup -- go figure, although "cold" at this point just means in the 60's, but still, we in the Southwest are the only part of the country having "bad" weather right now, and while it will continue to drizzle all day, tomorrow will be the heavy rains, they're telling us) and since Mom has a sinus headache, and since I did already have that pistachio soup which is really pulverized celery and onion, and a head of cauliflower threatening to rot in the fridge, I'm making creamy "Surprise! It's cauliflower!" soup today. That'll be good for what ail's ya, I'm thinkin'.

(I'm really getting way too much into this "cooking" thing...) Whee! LOL.

My Turn · Senior Member

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

What a glaring example of patriarchy -- "The women" stay up all night opening the oven door every hour or so, and squeezing butter over the top of that once cold and slippery ton of nothingness, which they've so carefully stuck their hands up with offerings of salt and warm crumbly bread-mixture, and sewn together, and then, when it's all done, the MALE stands before it as the great bequeather, and while all the seated onlookers ooooh and ahhhhhh, he executes his art, as if the whole dang thing was his project. In my house growing up, this male ritual was huge. Dad had a special carving knife and fork which was in some sort of heavy reddish-brown wood holder with lots of brass on the outside, and brass legs. Then there was the "training the son" element. Machismo galore. And Mom and I would politely sit there, dishing out the obligatory praise. I mean ... my Dad just this cooked bird two minutes before, and Mom and I had stayed up all night, taking it's temperature, and fretting over it, but nooooooooooo it was all about the guys now. I always wanted to get my hands on that "special" knife and fork set and start slashing away. I wonder how many women get themselves electric knives when they first leave the home of origin? Yup, Mom got to wheel that sucker in, but it was like Balthazar delivering myrrh. Makes me wonder about familial ritual. I was sort of writing tongue in cheek above -- I mean, I completely bought the whole Ceremony of the Turkey thing when I was a kid -- as a participant and an observer. I liked the time in the kitchen with just Mom. She told me yesterday she has a picture of me somewhere when I was three standing on a stool, helping dress the turkey with her. Not an entirely bad thing, I'm thinkin'. Are all "gender roles" necessarily "evil?" I'm not so sure.

ha! at least yours was peaceful and ceremonial....my childhood home, whether my mother (rarely) made the turkey or my grandmother (more likely), it was my father who was assigned the duty of carving...annnnd the whole time, my mother telling my father how he was doing it wrong and look at the mess you are making and you should start cutting here, keep the white and dark meat separate, slice it thicker/thinner....and my father yelling back at her that she could do it herself if she wanted to....and on and on and on.....blah! cry

I do know that I'd always rather mow the yard than vacuum the living room, though. Even when it's 118 degrees outside. <--no

ahhhh, a woman of like minds...i LOVE doing the outside chores far better than the inside ones....mowing, weed wacking, cleaning the pool, pruning, weeding...any chore outside will score higher on my "to-do" list than an inside one..... smile

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Cat, did you grow up with any brothers? I'll bet your Dad was always the one who carved the Turkey, right? Geezopetes, the testosterone flows like the mighty Mississip when it comes to turkey carving time. What a glaring example of patriarchy -- "The women" stay up all night opening the oven door every hour or so, and squeezing butter over the top of that once cold and slippery ton of nothingness, which they've so carefully stuck their hands up with offerings of salt and warm crumbly bread-mixture, and sewn together, and then, when it's all done, the MALE stands before it as the great bequeather, and while all the seated onlookers ooooh and ahhhhhh, he executes his art, as if the whole dang thing was his project. In my house growing up, this male ritual was huge. Dad had a special carving knife and fork which was in some sort of heavy reddish-brown wood holder with lots of brass on the outside, and brass legs. Then there was the "training the son" element. Machismo galore. And Mom and I would politely sit there, dishing out the obligatory praise. I mean ... my Dad just this cooked bird two minutes before, and Mom and I had stayed up all night, taking it's temperature, and fretting over it, but nooooooooooo it was all about the guys now. I always wanted to get my hands on that "special" knife and fork set and start slashing away. I wonder how many women get themselves electric knives when they first leave the home of origin? Yup, Mom got to wheel that sucker in, but it was like Balthazar delivering myrrh. Makes me wonder about familial ritual. I was sort of writing tongue in cheek above -- I mean, I completely bought the whole Ceremony of the Turkey thing when I was a kid -- as a participant and an observer. I liked the time in the kitchen with just Mom. She told me yesterday she has a picture of me somewhere when I was three standing on a stool, helping dress the turkey with her. Not an entirely bad thing, I'm thinkin'. Are all "gender roles" necessarily "evil?" I'm not so sure. I do know that I'd always rather mow the yard than vacuum the living room, though. Even when it's 118 degrees outside.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

I would bet good money this wasn't on Dads approved list. ;) Try it with cream cheese. The cans gotten smaller over the years, but the flavor is the same. And it ties in with that campfire tale of Owlies. Growing up I remember making it in coffee cans while girl scout camping. Publix carries it over by the Baked Beans. <BD

NUMMERS! I remember that stuff! Haven't had it in probably <mumble> decades, but I do remember it, and yeah, with cream cheese is an absolute must.

Dang. I might just have to go get a can of that now.

blankstare

The day before Thanksgiving, and I'm gonna have to go to the store for one stinkin' can of bread. You now officially "owe me" BD. Well, actually, truth be told, I was sorta thinkin' I'd have to make another run anyway. I was so jazzed about cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and getting everything ready, I decided to do some advance prep work. Cutting up the celery and onions for the stuffing seemed a logical step (and then, shredding the cabbage, which probably should have come first, and I wouldn't have had to have washed the processor inbetween steps, but oh well.) I would use my food processor that I bought at the TG&Y Family Home Center in Flagstaff in 1978 with my employee discount that had been sitting untouched in the cupboard for at least eight years, if not more. I washed the processor, and then set to work.

It had been so long since I'd used that funky machine, I forgot that to just chop the celery and onions, you have to take OUT the blade at the bottom. It came out looking like pistachio soup. hmm

So? While I have enough onions, I only bought THREE bunches of celery (at like a buck each for six puny little stalks) so.... and too, I made the mistake of googling some recipes yesterday. biggrin

DANG! I'm rethinking my traditional sweet potato casserole, and if pecan's aren't higher than a cat's back at the store, I may go with this caloric delicacy which will rot teeth at fifty paces:

Ruth's Chris Special Sweet Potato Casserole
Recipe By :Ruth's Chris
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
CRUST
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans preferred)
1/3 stick butter -- melted

SWEET POTATO MIXTURE
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs -- well beaten
1 stick butter -- ( 1/2 cup) melted

Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a mixing bowl in the order listed. Mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.

Two things to consider:

1. It's possible the butter amounts for the crust and the pie are reversed (the chef on the how-to-video used one stick for the crust, and 1/3 for the potato mixture.)

2. You may add a little lemon juice and zest to the potato mixture to give it a little extra "tang."

How could this not be paradise on a plate?

Oh, and then I was perusing Waldorf salad recipes, and came across something which acutally does require pistachio instant pudding, although I'll probably not try to substitue the onion/celery stuff.

Yeah, more celery... some just to munch on. Did you know that the leaves that they cut off celery in most stores are the most nutritional part of celery, and that they're good for diabetics? Avoid the pruned and purtied ones every chance you get, I'm tellin' ya.

I think the one dish for me that is a Thanksgiving "I'd most like to have this food present" is the stuffing. I just love that stuffing. I've gotta confess -- when I'm at someone else's home at Thanksgiving, and see an empty box of "Stove Top Stuffing" in the trash, and suspect that's how they've actually made it, my heart sinks a little. Oh, go ahead -- call me a stuffing snob, I don't care. Thanksgiving stuffing, real stuffing, isn't just poured out of a box onto a stove top and warmed up. It's made with someone else in the room, and giggling, and no "amounts" to the recipe, other than what the eye and hands tell you is "right" and a very very tiny amount of experimentation. This year, I think my experimention will be to add the pistachio-looking stuff to the mix, perhaps in lieu of the water around the corn, or some of the chicken stock. We'll see... But yeah, for me, it's the stuffing ... and the cranberry sauce.

Dang. My mouth is watering again.
Just thinking about a leftover turkey sammer with cranberry sauce ... omg.

STOP THE MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

best food that it wouldnt be tday without? well really that green bean casserole or the smashed taters...it just wouldnt be the same without them. i used to make pigs in a blanket when the young ones were small. they still want them tho i havent made them in years, not healthy so i skip em.yanno those ****tail weiners wrapped in triangulated crescent rolls served with spicy mustard? i hate to admit that i gobbled them up too but really, these go right up there with wonder bread and mayo.

You just reminded me how, Christmas morning, my Mom would always make those sausage things that are the size of and look like hot dogs with depigmentation problems. You know what I'm talking about, right? "Smoky links?" Is that what they're called? Ah, how I loved the smell of the kitchen Christmas morning with those things cooking away... I've never been a huge sausage fan -- sometimes in soups, and on those incredibly rare times I make for company my "southern comfort" breakfast, well, you must have sausage in the gravy for the bisquits, but beyond that, I never bought the stuff, even before I knew how bad it was for me; if I was on the run, and needed a quick bite before a gig, and got a sausage McMuffin at a Mickey D's drive through, I toss the sausage and just eat the egg and muffin. But those smoky links ... that's a whole different story.

I imagine they'd probably go pretty well with Portugese water rolls, too. wink

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

But that is very clever and inventive of you to so utilize that blue emoticon in a cowpoke hat!

wah...I still cant figger out how to use any emoticons. when i click on em nothing happens!
this is an all purpose post. sparklit is constipated tonight and im getting frustrated waitin on da page.
wonder bread? ewww lol.
best food that it wouldnt be tday without? well really that green bean casserole or the smashed taters...it just wouldnt be the same without them. i used to make pigs in a blanket when the young ones were small. they still want them tho i havent made them in years, not healthy so i skip em.yanno those ****tail weiners wrapped in triangulated crescent rolls served with spicy mustard? i hate to admit that i gobbled them up too but really, these go right up there with wonder bread and mayo.

Hiya! Okay PITB are back. Only if you use Oscar Meyer Turkey dogs. I like to tuck other little things in them too like a spoonful of low fat shreddd cheddar or some sauteed peppers and onions. Have some fun. I make them every so often for lunches or snacks. They freeze well too. The other thing, and I'm almost afraid I'll be unleashing a emoti-monster now, but here.....

: cowboy : =

In order to show the instruction without posting a cow-person is that the colons and the spelled out word between them need remain a run-on, uninterrupted. Go for it!

If you get this gimme a , sorry, double emoticon! !

Yup, and if you click the "more emoticons" link, it will take you to a page where they tell you what the words are for each specific emoticon.

I'm still waiting on the "eyeroll" evileye

Sometimes, if I'm not sure I've done it right, or remembered the right word for the right emoticon, I'll click the "show preview" link to make sure it's shown up before posting.

BoxDog · Guru

MyCat8it wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

best food that it wouldnt be tday without? well really that green bean casserole or the smashed taters...it just wouldnt be the same without them. i used to make pigs in a blanket when the young ones were small. they still want them tho i havent made them in years, not healthy so i skip em.yanno those ****tail weiners wrapped in triangulated crescent rolls served with spicy mustard? i hate to admit that i gobbled them up too but really, these go right up there with wonder bread and mayo.

This year, my family is splitting in 2. My sister in Pasco county (Sister 1) will have a dinner with her part of the family, which actually makes up a solid 1/2 of the whole family. They're very prolific up there. The other 3 (Sisters 2,3,4) of us will have dinner down here. My parents live about 10 minutes from my sister in Pasco, and it takes about an hour for them to drive down here. So, naturally, when my mother emailed to say they were coming to our dinner, I was surprised.

Sister 2 and I (I'm Sister 4, btw) have speculated why that might be. Sister 2 thinks its because Sister 1 has so many kids, and the kids have kids, that it's too noisy and it's not relaxing where he can just sit and watch the game. I think it's because Sister 1 may not have turkey. She's not a fan of turkey, and usually serves a ham, pork or lamb on T-day.

The reason I think this is because my mother actually telephoned me to make sure that I am making a turkey and mashed potatoes. My father doesn't care about anything else as long as he has those two staples on Thanksgiving Day. My mother NEVER calls. She'll email if she has something to ask or say, but not call.

I have picked up a new tradition this year, and I doubt I'll have another Thanksgiving without it. I had dinner at a friends house a while back and they served a complete turkey dinner. There was one dish that looked like mashed potatoes in texture, but was an orange color. Not knowing what it was, I scooped some up and placed it on my plate. It was fantastic. Naturally, I had to ask what it was. To my surprise, it was butternut squash. I've heard of squash, but couldn't tell you what it looked like, or even how to make it. So, I inquired. I bought two this week at the store, and made a trial run to see if I could duplicate the fabulous flavor. It was a successful experiment, so I plan to make it tomorrow.

You're probably asking yourself how it's possible that I went my entire life without having eaten squash, right? Well, my father determined the menu of food in the house growing up. We only ate things that he approved. The rest simply didn't exist. I never questioned it, or even missed it, until now. I wonder what else is out there in the world that I haven't experienced!

I would bet good money this wasn't on Dads approved list. ;) Try it with cream cheese. The cans gotten smaller over the years, but the flavor is the same. And it ties in with that campfire tale of Owlies. Growing up I remember making it in coffee cans while girl scout camping. Publix carries it over by the Baked Beans.

MyCat8it · Senior Member

Psych Lit wrote:

best food that it wouldnt be tday without? well really that green bean casserole or the smashed taters...it just wouldnt be the same without them. i used to make pigs in a blanket when the young ones were small. they still want them tho i havent made them in years, not healthy so i skip em.yanno those ****tail weiners wrapped in triangulated crescent rolls served with spicy mustard? i hate to admit that i gobbled them up too but really, these go right up there with wonder bread and mayo.

This year, my family is splitting in 2. My sister in Pasco county (Sister 1) will have a dinner with her part of the family, which actually makes up a solid 1/2 of the whole family. They're very prolific up there. The other 3 (Sisters 2,3,4) of us will have dinner down here. My parents live about 10 minutes from my sister in Pasco, and it takes about an hour for them to drive down here. So, naturally, when my mother emailed to say they were coming to our dinner, I was surprised.

Sister 2 and I (I'm Sister 4, btw) have speculated why that might be. Sister 2 thinks its because Sister 1 has so many kids, and the kids have kids, that it's too noisy and it's not relaxing where he can just sit and watch the game. I think it's because Sister 1 may not have turkey. She's not a fan of turkey, and usually serves a ham, pork or lamb on T-day.

The reason I think this is because my mother actually telephoned me to make sure that I am making a turkey and mashed potatoes. My father doesn't care about anything else as long as he has those two staples on Thanksgiving Day. My mother NEVER calls. She'll email if she has something to ask or say, but not call.

I have picked up a new tradition this year, and I doubt I'll have another Thanksgiving without it. I had dinner at a friends house a while back and they served a complete turkey dinner. There was one dish that looked like mashed potatoes in texture, but was an orange color. Not knowing what it was, I scooped some up and placed it on my plate. It was fantastic. Naturally, I had to ask what it was. To my surprise, it was butternut squash. I've heard of squash, but couldn't tell you what it looked like, or even how to make it. So, I inquired. I bought two this week at the store, and made a trial run to see if I could duplicate the fabulous flavor. It was a successful experiment, so I plan to make it tomorrow.

You're probably asking yourself how it's possible that I went my entire life without having eaten squash, right? Well, my father determined the menu of food in the house growing up. We only ate things that he approved. The rest simply didn't exist. I never questioned it, or even missed it, until now. I wonder what else is out there in the world that I haven't experienced!

BoxDog · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

But that is very clever and inventive of you to so utilize that blue emoticon in a cowpoke hat!

wah...I still cant figger out how to use any emoticons. when i click on em nothing happens!
this is an all purpose post. sparklit is constipated tonight and im getting frustrated waitin on da page.
wonder bread? ewww lol.
best food that it wouldnt be tday without? well really that green bean casserole or the smashed taters...it just wouldnt be the same without them. i used to make pigs in a blanket when the young ones were small. they still want them tho i havent made them in years, not healthy so i skip em.yanno those ****tail weiners wrapped in triangulated crescent rolls served with spicy mustard? i hate to admit that i gobbled them up too but really, these go right up there with wonder bread and mayo.

Hiya! Okay PITB are back. Only if you use Oscar Meyer Turkey dogs. I like to tuck other little things in them too like a spoonful of low fat shreddd cheddar or some sauteed peppers and onions. Have some fun. I make them every so often for lunches or snacks. They freeze well too. The other thing, and I'm almost afraid I'll be unleashing a emoti-monster now, but here.....

: cowboy : =

In order to show the instruction without posting a cow-person is that the colons and the spelled out word between them need remain a run-on, uninterrupted. Go for it!

If you get this gimme a , sorry, double emoticon! !

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

But that is very clever and inventive of you to so utilize that blue emoticon in a cowpoke hat!

wah...I still cant figger out how to use any emoticons. when i click on em nothing happens!

this is an all purpose post. sparklit is constipated tonight and im getting frustrated waitin on da page.

wonder bread? ewww lol.

best food that it wouldnt be tday without? well really that green bean casserole or the smashed taters...it just wouldnt be the same without them. i used to make pigs in a blanket when the young ones were small. they still want them tho i havent made them in years, not healthy so i skip em.yanno those ****tail weiners wrapped in triangulated crescent rolls served with spicy mustard? i hate to admit that i gobbled them up too but really, these go right up there with wonder bread and mayo.

BoxDog · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

I still haven't read where anyone's named their favorite "must have, or it's not Thanksgiving dish." Ahem!

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 07:28, 2008-11-25
I am a sandwich freak. It doesn't matter what the holiday or where we gather, with the exception of a restaurant, there will be a sandwich made from the stuff on my plate. Might be turkey on a water roll, prime rib on french bread or ham and dijon on rye. Every holiday comes with some type of meat, and bread. That's a sandwich begging to be assembled. I can't wait to take a scoop of stuffing, a spoonful of cranberry and a chunk of turkey and make a sandwich out of it. Three rules of my sandwiches, hold the mayo, domestic over jarlsberg any day and white bread is . Other than that? anything goes.
Heh. See? For me? Thanksgiving is the one time I really need to have white bread. Well, not bread, but the soft dinner rolls.

OK ... I've been pulling out my dusty casserole dishes, and cob-webbed food processor ... the bird is thawing in cool water in the roasting pan ... I've stacked the cans of stuff on the cleared off counter according to recipe (still working on that, but at least they're "grouped" and ... I'm getting EXCITED! Who knew? This is already fun! LOL.

<happy>

No, no, no. White bread does NOT include those soft little dinner rolls, Portuguese water rolls or a few others that escape me right now. White bread is "banned" specifically refers to Wonder Bread and the Dixie Darling variety. Part of my sandwich and white bread rules. That's what I "bring to the table", rules, and sandwiches. ;)

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

That was a good day, until they started playing poker. I gave up poker in Campfire Girl camp. Long story, and I ended up almost getting kicked out of Teepee Town.
It was strip poker.

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues?

Look. I was a little girl. I was "allowed" (because I was such a GOOD little girl) to hang out with the older girls in Teepee Town. We slept in real Teepees. It was very cool. I didn't know how to play poker at all, but THE BIG GIRLS wanted to, so I went along with it. Obviously, being a novice, I didn't fare too well. When the teepee "door" swang open, I quickly pulled my sleeping bag over me, and tried to paste an innocent look on my face. Miss Gus glared down at me, and I weakly offered: "I'm cold."

"I can see why," she barked, "my office in half an hour."

To be honest, my memory of that ends with me standing outside the building which housed her office, looking gloomily up at the window I knew to be hers. I don't even remember if I was demoted back to the cabins or not, or if I was told to be a whistle blower.

It is a dark blot on my "permanent record" about which I still grieve.

(Ah, if it had only been "Miss Julie" instead!)

<-- normal sized

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 10:56, 2008-11-25

You fixin to change the Board name to Where Everyone Knows Your Thumb?

LOL. It could happen... but it'd probably be censored.
Naw, I'm more of a "hands off" kinda (using the word loosely) "board administrator" If it ain't broke ...

I figure if we drift from one conversation to another in a thread (noticing this is the food thread, and here we are talking about strip poker and lesbian novels) that's the way the board wants to evolve, and I think it's pretty groovy. Remember the old days on that other board when THE OVERSEERS could pull a post for being "off topic?"

buh bye.

My favorite was when the "host" (and there's a word with connotations in and of its self -- and you know who you are, if you're lurking here) pulled one of my posts and then, when I bellowed about it, lamely rattled off something about my breaking the "must be at least two lines" rule. From that point on, I posted one liners ... twice.

Whew. How freeing it is to be out from under the thumb of controlling yo-yos like that. It's so ... so ... "right wing" really, that sense of knowing what's "right" and how it must be for everyone. Oh, sure, I have my things I'm rigid as hell about, but they're not piddley little things like the punctuation of posts left on a message board, yanno? I think "thead drift" is actually a plus. smile Shows a flow of conversation. We're all adults, after all. If this board fails because we're "off topic," then ... it's an even more sad world than I'd ever realized. So? One name change is enough, I'm thinkin'.

"Look Ma! No controlling hands!"

But that is very clever and inventive of you to so utilize that blue emoticon in a cowpoke hat!
biggrin

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

I still haven't read where anyone's named their favorite "must have, or it's not Thanksgiving dish." Ahem!

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 07:28, 2008-11-25
I am a sandwich freak. It doesn't matter what the holiday or where we gather, with the exception of a restaurant, there will be a sandwich made from the stuff on my plate. Might be turkey on a water roll, prime rib on french bread or ham and dijon on rye. Every holiday comes with some type of meat, and bread. That's a sandwich begging to be assembled. I can't wait to take a scoop of stuffing, a spoonful of cranberry and a chunk of turkey and make a sandwich out of it. Three rules of my sandwiches, hold the mayo, domestic over jarlsberg any day and white bread is . Other than that? anything goes.

Heh. See? For me? Thanksgiving is the one time I really need to have white bread. Well, not bread, but the soft dinner rolls.

OK ... I've been pulling out my dusty casserole dishes, and cob-webbed food processor ... the bird is thawing in cool water in the roasting pan ... I've stacked the cans of stuff on the cleared off counter according to recipe (still working on that, but at least they're "grouped" and ... I'm getting EXCITED! biggrin

Who knew? This is already fun! LOL.

<happy>

BoxDog · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

I still haven't read where anyone's named their favorite "must have, or it's not Thanksgiving dish." Ahem!

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 07:28, 2008-11-25

I am a sandwich freak. It doesn't matter what the holiday or where we gather, with the exception of a restaurant, there will be a sandwich made from the stuff on my plate. Might be turkey on a water roll, prime rib on french bread or ham and dijon on rye. Every holiday comes with some type of meat, and bread. That's a sandwich begging to be assembled. I can't wait to take a scoop of stuffing, a spoonful of cranberry and a chunk of turkey and make a sandwich out of it. Three rules of my sandwiches, hold the mayo, domestic over jarlsberg any day and white bread is

. Other than that? anything goes.