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Post by sarahlee on Nov 14, 2006 12:58:28 GMT -5
Tell us your plans for Thanksgiving! Don't forget to include your traditions, and of course all the weird and wacky family stories...
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Post by Cassie on Nov 14, 2006 19:24:58 GMT -5
My sister was born on Thanksgiving, So we will celebrate it on Sunday, her birthday. I haven't decided yet, what kind of stuffing to make, oyster, pineapple, or mine.
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Post by sarahlee on Nov 14, 2006 23:18:20 GMT -5
uhm...pineapple stuffing
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Post by Patcat on Nov 16, 2006 10:43:45 GMT -5
I have to vent here: I don't like Thanksgiving. The only thing I remotely like about it is that you can see bits of Broadway shows during the Macy's parade. I suspect I'd feel differently about it if I were closer to my family, but I've always felt forced to like them. And so many of my cousins feel the need to use the dinner for their planned shopping assaults the next day. I find that the day is becoming less a celebration of thanks and more of a demonstration of greed.
Heavens, I'm a small, nasty, angry human being sometimes.
Patcat
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Post by SarahIvy on Nov 16, 2006 13:25:34 GMT -5
Heavens, I'm a small, nasty, angry human being sometimes. My goodness, no you're not! You sound perfectly reasonable to me. I think there is SO MUCH pressure on the holidays, and let's face it, a huge number of people dread and do not enjoy this season. It is not the cavalcade of joy that everyone tries to make it out to be for many, many people. As if you need social pressure to be "Merry" on top of dealing with a potentially crappy family! I say that as someone who absolutely loves both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but that is because I grew up in a very small family and somehow my parents instilled a very charming non-commercial sense of the season in me. In fact, they spoiled me and did not emotionally prepare me for the real world in that sense. It was only when I got together with the mister that I realized how hard this time of year is for a lot of people. He HATED Thanksgiving and Christmas and I could not for the life of me understand why....until I had to start attending family functions with him, and found myself so stressed and upset by it that I would start weeping in advance! I made it one of my goals to make the holidays something he could look forward to and enjoy like I always had with my family. We cut back on the family obligations, we cut back on the shopping, and on the thoughtless gift giving. It has made a world of difference and now he doesn't face this time of year with a deep seated sense of dread, but instead actually finds himself happy. I am someone who does not waste time on those I do not like...and that includes family. Now who's small and nasty? But I consider the holidays to be the time for those who enjoy and love one another to have special time together. Hmm, this Thanksgiving we're going to my folk's house. There will be turkey and all the trimmings (and my sweet mother always me a small casserole of vegetarian stuffing so I can enjoy everything but the bird). I am in charge of pies (there will be traditional pumpkin and maybe apple cranberry) and bringing some homemade booze. In a change from the usual tiny affair, we've invited my great aunt (who is hilarious and sassy and loves to gamble), one of her daughters, equally hilarious and a cop, and her granddaughter who has had a rough childhood because I'd like to integrate her into our traditions a bit more and hopefully add some joy and good family memories to her life.
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Post by janetcatbird on Nov 16, 2006 16:06:38 GMT -5
I'm heading home to my parents, and then we're going to Grandma (Dad's family) and my cousins. I'm with SarahIvy, I was raised by loving parents and holidays are special for us...and then you get older. So many kids here in school can't stand to go home, hate being with family, and it breaks my heart.
But then, I'm putting a gloss on stuff. "Family" for me is very much my Dad's side. I really forget--probably deliberately--that I even have relatives on the other side. Mama's people have had a world of trouble, and I get furious at them for hurting her. As far as I'm concerned, they may be related to my mother, but that's an accident of birth--they're not family. We try not to make a big deal about this with Mama, but she knows, and she's regretful that things didn't turn out better. (Christmas last year was hell because of trouble with that, but things will be better this year. I hope.)
Lord we're depressing. But at least there should be some good stuff. Patcat, like you I refuse to get involved in the Black Friday shopping madness--I take the chance to curl up with a book and leftovers. Yay hot turkey sandwiches!
Good stories--umm, no specific incidents, but generally we have a fun time with the extended family. Grandma cooks up a storm (the rest of us help out). My aunt in Plattsburgh is hit and miss for Thanksgiving but always gets down for Christmas, so we make sure to call her. My cousins and I watch the Parade--more background noise now, but I keep an eye out for favorites. And as we get older the girls help out more in the kitchen. The boys go outside and/or plop in front of the TV for football. And all sorts of great aunts/uncled, neighbors and friends, etc. drop in and out.
There was one year when we went over to my cousins' for Thanksgiving--my Dad's sister married into the Italian family. So in addition to the turkey and stuffing and all that, we had hommemade lasagna, rice balls,and Italian food. I don't think we moved for the next twelve hours.
Favortie Foods, everybody? My absolute must-have is Mama's cranberry salad, which was a recipe from her grandmother. She still has the piece of legal pad paper that Mamaw, my grandmother, wrote the recipe on to send to her after she and Dad got married. My brother, a fifteen-year old boy, insists that he gets to make the pumpkin pies every year and does a pretty good job.
--Catbird
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mimi
Detective
Posts: 231
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Post by mimi on Nov 16, 2006 17:04:23 GMT -5
Cranberry salad...yummie!
Cranberries are my all time favorite fruits. I know it's off topic but Catbird do you think you can share the recipe with me?
I would be eternally grateful!
Yet, if the recipe is a secret I would totally understand that it shall remain that way!
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Post by janetcatbird on Nov 16, 2006 21:06:18 GMT -5
I don't know the exact proportions, but I do know it involves cranberries (duh), some sugar so it's not so tart and bitter, walnuts, bits of orange peel and orange juice, and a mess of other stuff--maybe pineapple juice?--sorry I'm not much help here. Chop 'em all up however big or fine you want it, and put it in a tub of cranberry jello (still the hot liquid form). Stick in fridge and let it set up until you're ready to serve it. It's basically a jello salad but you fill it up real full with the food bits so there's no empty jello space, it's a packed dish. (The recipe is so old that they used to use raspberry jello, but since Jello started making cranberry flavor we switched to that.)
I can eat my weight in the stuff, so Mama makes sure to have it both Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Of course, we have lots of other recipes at Christmas too, but those can wait til December!) I'm just excited at the thought of leftovers to bring back during the last few days of school. Mmmm, stuffing! Well, technically it's dressing but that's another make a P-I-G hog out of myself. Which reminds me of one of the West Wing episodes set at Thanksgiving.
PRESIDENT BARTLETT (on the phone with the Butterball helpline): "Is it true that if I cook the stuffing inside the turkey that I can kill my guests? Mind you, that's not a deal-breaker."
--Catbird
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eames47
Silver Shield Investigator
"What are they saying now???"
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Post by eames47 on Nov 19, 2006 9:13:36 GMT -5
Well this has probably absolutely nothing to do with family, but it is a tradition with me. I absolutely, without fail, every year, HAVE to watch the Thanksgiving episode of Cheers where Norm cooks his turkey, Birdzilla, and the whole gang gather around Carla's table, with Diane in a ridiculous pilgrim get up, and they all start throwing food at each other. It isn't Thanksgiving without watching that. LOL.
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peachybc
Silver Shield Investigator
Posts: 109
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Post by peachybc on Nov 19, 2006 11:17:41 GMT -5
Heavens, I'm a small, nasty, angry human being sometimes. Patcat Oh my gosh, Patcat! That remark just made me laugh out loud!
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Post by janetcatbird on Nov 20, 2006 22:31:32 GMT -5
Well this has probably absolutely nothing to do with family, but it is a tradition with me. I absolutely, without fail, every year, HAVE to watch the Thanksgiving episode of Cheers where Norm cooks his turkey, Birdzilla, and the whole gang gather around Carla's table, with Diane in a ridiculous pilgrim get up, and they all start throwing food at each other. It isn't Thanksgiving without watching that. LOL. I haven't actually seen it, but my parents laugh hysterically at the episode of WKRP in Cincinatti when they do the Thanksgiving promo. "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!" I've heard so much about it, I really need to try and find it. --Catbird
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Post by Sirenna on Nov 21, 2006 8:31:36 GMT -5
It's worth the effort, Janetcatbird. It's a very funny episode!
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Post by sarahlee on Nov 21, 2006 12:27:23 GMT -5
Oh, and "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"...my daughter and I watched it last night via phone; we giggle in all the same places! (And nibble toast and popcorn... )
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Post by Techguy on Nov 21, 2006 15:01:42 GMT -5
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Post by madger on Nov 22, 2006 9:41:51 GMT -5
I would like to wish all of us who are celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow a very happy and hopeful day. My honey likes to watch all three original King Kong movies on Thanksgiving (they used to show them back in the day). I don't have any particular Thanksgiving tradition, just that I start getting the Winter Blues this time of year, no family close by but Christmas is the worst, I would like to crawl into bed until March or April. But I do like the food!
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