Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

 T Day we soon be upon us. T Day is Thanksgiving Day, of course. But, in most of the households, with which I am acquainted, it could also be designated Turkey Day. Oven roasted turkey will be the main course, on our table that day, along with dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce. I think I'll add cheesy corn, this year, and there will be a couple of dishes supplied by the guests. Dessert will be a couple of pies and maybe a cake, too. We'll have a regular feast.

 A feast, it will be. Not up to Martha Stewart's (she's having 13 side dishes), but a feast it will be! She might be deep frying her bird, or perhaps just turning it on a Barbeque Spit. But, I betcha, Martha's serving turkey!

In spite of what we like to imagine, none of our current "traditional" dishes were served at those first Thanksgiving meals. Certainly not turkey or cornbread dressing, etc. Maybe a partridge or hawk, but not a pampered and plump Butterball. And, historically speaking the new immigrants did not serve pumpkin anything. Squash of some kind, probably, but not pumpkin.

So all this bird talk, got me wondering. What is a bunch of turkeys called? Most times of the year, we have several of the odd looking birds wandering around our back yard. They are pretty much everywhere, here in the Kansas City area. So I asked Alexa, what a group of them were called? She told me that wild turkeys were called a flock, but the Butterball kind (domesticated) are designated a rafter.

Continuing, because I have a bit of OCD, a bunch of Flamingos, is called a Flamboyant. That's interesting, and oddly appropriate, considering their color and they way they strut around. 

Crows....a murder. Ravens....an unkindness. Very strange indeed............. 

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We give thanks for all that God has given us. We are blessed. 

 

Ditto

 Amongst the untruths, misspeaking and old news floating out there in Internet World, there are still absolute truths and learning/teaching moments. Yesterday, I happened upon a figure of speech, that was heretofore unknown to me. I've written, this concept, many times, and I use it in speech, often. However, I was unaware that it had a name. Pronounced "di-ak-o-pee", it's repetition, used to instruct, emphasize and for remembering.  And, at my age, I can use a whole bunch of that remembery-type help!!

"To be, or not to be" is an example of "diacope".  Another is, "Bond. James Bond". Or, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." All memorable quotes, due to diacope.

Diacope is the songwriters go-to. Think about the words to the Beatles' lyric "Help". Or how about "Kansas City. Kansas City, here I come."?

Prior to learning about diacope, I was worried about repeating myself. It's a concern for all of us aging folks, I suppose. Now, I find there is a word for this phenomena and it's okay, okay?

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 Thank you Lord for the gift of longevity. We are Your servants and our lives allow us to follow Your example, living and caring for others. We remember Your sacrifice and honor Your holy Name.

 

 

"Haul out the Holly"

I've become aware, recently, that the celebration of ADVENT has changed, drastically?  According to the dictionary the word advent, is defined as "the coming of" or "the arrival of". Think of "the advent of Spring". For Christians, the season of Advent begins four Sundays, before the 25th of December, and ends on Christmas Day. Advent Calendars, in some homes (particularly those with small children) mark the passing of the 25 or so days before the coming of the Christ Child. I used to buy one for my kids and each day was a tiny, calendar sized picture of something particular to the Holiday about to be celebrated. The kids would open one little door each day and see or read something having to do with Christmas.

Do you know what types of Advent Calendars are being offered to folks today???? Here are a few: The Whiskey Advent Calendar, The Gem Stone  Advent Calendar, the Magic Tricks Calendar and the Fishing Lures Calendar. There are Advent Calendars that depict popular movies, like "Frozen", "Harry Potter" and  "Wicked". The National Parks Advent Calendar even offers a 2 for 1, where you get a puzzle and a calendar, combined. There is even a Murder Mystery Advent Calendar.

I don't normally care about what kind of calendar folks display. (Well, now that I think about it, I once quit a job because my boss kept asking me in to his office.... that prominently displayed several calendars of naked women.) But, my over active mind keeps thinking about what would be behind the doors of the Murder Mystery Calendar, and how does that depict the Advent of anything? Okay....maybe there are 25 clues or individual murders and then a gigantic mass murder, on the 25th? Gruesome.

What's going on here? Or how about the WWII Aircraft Calendar? Do the planes depict a Baby Jesus in the cockpit, on the 25th? Bombs away, Jesus. And, does the "Star Wars" Advent Calendar, have the Millennium Falcon arriving at the stable on Christmas Morning? 

 

I think I should possibly just "Let It Go", and celebrate Advent, in my traditional way.

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 We will celebrate Advent, Lord. You are our Strength and Refuge.

 

"Over There, Over There....."

It's autumn in the Midwest. We've had our first frost, of the season, and the first snowfall is expected this weekend. Believe me, I'm ready for it. Plans have been made for Thanksgiving and the date is set for our December Holiday Party. 

When cooler temps occur, I can finally "turn on the kitchen oven and bake again". Let's face it, electricity isn't cheap. Well maybe it is, compared to the price of beef, but the utility bills, on the home front, amount to a big chunk of cash. Right? So, it just isn't prudent to fire up the oven, in July and August, when we're spending a ton of money to keep the house cool. Autumn........ The return of Baking Season.

In the Fall, one wants to keep the house toasty and a dish of warm apple cobbler, yummy chocolate cake or brownies not only warms the soul, it helps heat the house! Great reasoning, right?  

So today, I baked one of my favorite recipes. It's a classic and even older than my Bess Truman's Ozark Pudding concoction. Wacky Cake has been a staple, in my family, since WWI. Rationing of food stuffs occurred in both World Wars, so it's always been a "go to" dessert, even when the cupboard was bare. It's a great Chocolate cake and it's mixed and baked in one pan. No big mess to clean up. No milk, cream, eggs or butter is needed. Icing is optional. Usually, I just dust with a bit of powdered sugar.

Looking to warm your tummy and other parts? Try it you'll like it. 

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                                                                    Wacky Cake (circa 1917)

Measure and dump in a non-greased 8x8 pan:

1 & 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 3 Tablespoons Cocoa, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. baking soda.

Mix well.

Add: 1 Tablespoon Vinegar, 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 cup cold water. Mix well.

Bake 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. 

Cool a bit and serve.

HEAVENLY 

 

 

Technicolor Dreamcoat

I just don't know what came over me, when I decided to crochet a Hexagon Cardigan. As a inveterate fiber artist, I endlessly peruse crochet patterns, on the Internet, and almost immediately come to the conclusion that they are too complicated, too busy or in the matter of most "granny square patterns", just too stupid looking, to waste my time replicating.

But this time, it was like I became possessed by the Crochet Devil. I had to make this strange-looking sweater. They were everywhere on my Crochet Sites! Actors, Jack Black and Jason Momoa, were wearing them. So, I did. Well, I told myself, I had recently purchased these two skeins of vibrant jewel-toned, multicolored yarn and I just had to make something.  Why not a Hexagon Cardigan?

I'll tell you why not. First of all, I had to purchase 2 more skeins of a solid color, to tone down ALL of the COLOR from the original skeins. Stupidly, I then chose the scourge color, of all yarn artists......Black. Black and most other dark colors are terribly difficult to work with. But, by the time I made that choice, I had invested countless hours and quite a bit of money in my quest. Black goes with anything, I reasoned. Black would tie all of those rainbow colors together.

 (In case you might be wondering,......make two hexagons, fold them to make each to make a sleeve and half of a body of a sweater. Imagine two, upside down L shapes, with the center of each hexagon, being the armpit. Then you sew the back seams together to create a cardigan.)

Well, the damn thing is finished. It fits me. The 2 sleeves are the approximately the same length, PTL and the colors on both sides match. Neither of those accomplishments was an easy fete. Now, I'm wondering will I ever wear it? Probably once, maybe. But, I may have a hard time finding the appropriate occasion.

Wait a minute. If my church ever has a "Coat of Many Colors" celebration, I have the perfect costume.

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 O Lord. Save us from our foolishness. Great is Thy Faithfulness.