TURKEY DAY

When I was a lad in North Dakota, Thanksgiving was a true feast day.

A huge turkey was acquired from a farmer, killed and plucked and I remember Dad singeing it with a rolled up burning newspaper to get rid of pin feathers, then putting it in a big roasting pan and tossing it in the oven for what seemed like days.

The house would fill with the aroma of turkey and all the sides that Mom would create.

When it was time to eat we all gathered around the table and Dad would carve the bird right in front of us, filling each of a stack of plates and passing them around the table so we could "load up" on the mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes or yams, dressing (or in those days "stuffing), green bean casserole, cranberries, rolls and butter, and whatever other wonders had appeared from the kitchen.

Later there was pumpkin pie and whipped cream (not the stuff from a can).

I couldn't find it but somewhere I have a photo of one of those memorable occasions.

It was a great day.

But I was just thinking how much simpler it would have been if I had grown up in Hawaii instead of North Dakota.

Aloha!

and Happy Thanksgiving!

ZIP - BAKE - REMINDER

 The subject line on this post may be a bit confusing but it will be clear eventually.

I took Judy to her appointment at the orthopaedic office yesterday for her zipper removal.

But first, I was wondering why there's an a in that word above: orthopaedic.

I mean it's pronounced "or-tho-pee-dic".

No "a" sound there.

So, as any modern day inquisitor does, I consulted the All-Knowing Google.

And I learned that the word was coined by a French physician in the 17th century and that it comes from the Greek language.

Nowadays, it is the accepted spelling by the British and by academics but we good old Americans sometimes drop the "a".

Well, regardless, getting back to that zipper.

It's a fairly new device that closes a wound without stitches or staples.

It looks kind of like this:

 

It supposedly results in less pain and less scarring.

Anyway one of the medical staff just peeled it off and Judy said it went easy and without pain.

Just to clarify, that's not Judy's leg.

Knowing her modesty I did not even suggest photographing hers.

But progress is being made - her surgery to replace her knee joint was only just over two weeks ago.

She said she still has pain, mainly when the torturers running her physical therapy give her tricks to do, but she's given into the maxim: pain is part of the healing process.

So, I've been doing much more kitchen duty than in days gone by and yesterday was a milestone for me.

I made an Italian-ish ground beef pasta bake without using a recipe!

Leftovers!

Penne pasta, ground beef, a jar of marinara sauce, onions, peppers,  garlic, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, Italian spice blend, salt and pepper.

Judy fixed a simple salad and prepared some garlic bread.

Add a glass of red wine and we ate like royalty.

And right now Judy is making her famous beef stew to go in the slow cooker and a pumpkin pie for our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow.

So that's about all I've got for today.

Our high temperature for the big day tomorrow is forecast to not reach 60 degrees.

Nice crisp autumn weather.

I hope you all (who celebrate it) have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, look who's here, kitty-kitty with a parting bit of advice.

REMEMBER THIS?

 

FOOD WEEK

 Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the week all eaters welcome every year.

Yes, it's the beginning of the dining season with a holiday that turkeys dread coming up in just a few days.

Actually I suppose one could say the season begins with all that leftover Halloween candy but I like to believe that Thanksgiving (in the U.S.A.) is the big day.

Here at the Taylor manse, turkey is not on the menu as the resident head chef doesn't care for it.

And there's a reason she's known as SWMBO, or She Who Must Be Obeyed.

But food there will be for the classic day as she has an autumnal beef stew planned.

Being done in a slow cooker, the air will be filled with wonderful aromas for hours to whet the appetite.

I hadn't thought of it 'til just now but I kicked off the week by making our favorite waffles and warming some ham for our breakfast yesterday.

Then I launched into making an Apple Crumble, which turned out pretty darned good, if I must say so myself.

(To be honest, Judy peeled and sliced the apples for me.)

But I can say, with a little whipped topping, it's just as good for breakfast as it was yesterday afternoon.

For those of you who might think that's "gilding the lily", you could substitute some yogurt for that creamy concoction and thereby claim it to be healthy.

But for some of us, there can be no such thing as "too much".

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Gentle Readers, Friends, Enemies, Frenemies, Lurkers and Poor Souls Just Thirsting for Humor . . . GREETINGS!

Once again we have gained a foothold on the weekend and reached the near end of another week.

I hope your week has been a good one.

Mine has been . . . . . meh.

But that's better than bad though not as good as sensational.

So let me try to turn things up and see if we can all reach nirvana together, okay?

Fasten your seat belts!

Technically, those are the jokes, folks.

Or would that be "trek-nically"?

Well I'm not going to dwell on that.

I'm just going to ask you all to soar into a stratospherically fantastic weekend.

And, please, always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . oh, I know that stunt . . )

THROWBACK THURSDAY

 This was a homemade birthday card given to me by my friends Tommy Terrific of the Light Breezes blog, and his artistic wife Lana back in 1987.

 

While we were about to move to Mexico for four and a half years, you can see my friends share my sense of humor.

And no, I wasn't wanted by the FBI.  😄

SKYVIEW

 

And a less-cropped version.

I remember a while back a neighbor of ours standing at the edge of his roof with a long pole and some kind of chopper device at the end of it, lopping branches off that "tree" in the lower left of the above photo.

I remember thinking, "that crazy fool is going to fall off that roof!"

But he didn't, just leaving the scars of his work on that growth.

Speaking of which, you might be pleased to hear that Judy is progressing fairly well, though she may not think so.

But she said yesterday she was able to put some weight on the leg in which she had a knee replacement surgery one week before.

And do it without pain!

Then she went for her first PT session, had a rough night last night and is taking it much easier today.

But she's moving better and, take it from me, progress is definitely being made.

As a reward, I'm baking a loaf of her favorite whole wheat bread with dried cranberry pieces embedded in it.

Well actually the bread machine is doing most of the work.

But I got it started!

HONOR THE VETS

 

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Wow!

I don't know how it's been in your world but this has been a week to behold.

Not to live through again, just to look at it and ask ourselves "How did we (she) ever get through that?"

I won't bore you with details except to say that SWMBO went yesterday (Thursday) to her first Physical Therapy appointment since her surgery (Monday).

Seems to me that's faster than moms get back into the swing of things after having a baby.

With less pain.

Okay, okay, don't jump on me, I may be wrong about that.

But after all that, you'd think no-one around these here parts would have a sense of humor, or humour.

Well . . . you'd be wrong!

Oh, I love those guys.

Really, I do.

Well that's about it for my sense of humor for the week.

I hope you had fun and that you'll have a fun-derful weekend full of joy and cornfields and trying to find the very best turkey.

This turkey has some advice for you: always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . uh, no, kitty, not there, please . . )

SHE'S HOME! (Updated)

The Mistress of the House, She Who Must Be Obeyed, my Beloved Spouse, aka Judy, has returned.

With one arm bandaged where they yanked the i.v. tube out, with a walker close at hand and with her loving companion, Sweetie Pie, come to sniff those awful hospital smells.

I saw her, SP, go into Judy's room several times this afternoon and look around, seemingly confused by the absence of her friend.

And once Judy got into her chair she came up to the arm to joyously greet her and celebrate her return.

Judy had a total knee transplant Monday afternoon and spent about 48 hours in the good care of the hospital staff.

OOPS: As commenter Barbara Anne pointed out below, Judy had a total knee REPLACEMENT, not a transplant. Please excuse this error by a tired but happy Catalyst.

But she was getting stir crazy today and anxious to come home.

Tomorrow she goes to her first Physical Therapy session.

But tonight she is back home and because of the drugs she is taking for pain she can't even have a cocktail.

Never mind.

I'll make up for her.

PROGRESS REPORT

Judy had her knee transplant surgery yesterday.

Her doctor said everything went fine.

She spent the night in the hospital and says this morning that she's had quite a bit of pain.

But she is moving about, with the aid of a walker.

Her first PT guy suggested she could stay in the hospital for another day if she wanted.

She asked him if he thought it would be a good idea.

He said he thought it would.

So she'll most likely be there for another day.

She's obeying her caretakers and following all the rules.

Grinning and bearing it.

She is aware of all of your good wishes and appreciates them.

Somewhere down the line I'll encourage her to write a post to tell you all what this has been like for her.

In the meantime, we both thank you.

THE FUTURE?

 SWMBO, aka Judy, my spouse, goes to a hospital in a couple of hours to have a knee transplant.

She's been dealing with pain and struggling with a rollator (that's a 4-wheeled-walker) for months now.

She is definitely ready and hoping to be able to walk without that machine in the future.

I have a vision of how she'll be once the knee is replaced and the surgery healed and the post-surgery physical therapy is in her rear view mirror.

Well, okay, that may be a bit much to expect.

But, wish her luck!

On a slightly calmer front, I was down to the duck pond (Urban Lakes) a few days ago and found that the ducks had NOT abandoned us.

They may have been hiding in plain sight when I was there before, clustering in the shade by the shoreline.

Ducks or not, the lakes are a peaceful place to go to escape the trauma in our world.

Stay safe and stay sane, my friends.

ISN'T THIS EARLY NOVEMBER?

 It's not just the retailers.

The other day (reminder: this is November 5th) I was out by the Civic Center and what did I see?

Yup.

A work crew had put up a gazillion-foot tall Christmas tree on the grounds.

Once again, a reminder: this is November 5th!

Isn't this rushing things?

Oh well I guess the citizens are ready for the Christmas holidays to begin.

A little later I was driving around a neighborhood fairly close to mine and what did I see?

Yup.

To this homeowner, Santa Claus is already set to soar.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Never mind Thanksgiving is still weeks away and many homeowners haven't taken their Halloween decorations down yet.

Pretty soon it will be just one big year-long holiday season.

Or is it already?

( . . grump, grump . . )

I'M NOT DOING IT!!!

 

Yes, for you unenlightened people, it's time tonight to change your clocks.

Daylight Savings Time comes to an end once more.

And once again the debate roars through the populace.

Some people don't ever want to see it again.

Some people think it should be year around.

'Course then it wouldn't need to be called Daylight Savings Time, would it.

We could just go back to the days before 1918, when it was created.

Then it would just be "time".

Or maybe back to 1,500 BC (or BCE) when sundials used by Egyptians and Babylonians separated each day into parts.

Before then "time" was a concept that hadn't been invented.

Here where I live and in most of Arizona Daylight Savings Time is not used.

We're on the same time all year round.

So with the exception of screwing around with our schedules of television programs we don't have to worry about it.

But for the rest of you, here's a quick guide to your travails.

And don't forget to begin fattening that turkey!

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 It seems like Friday was just here, doesn't it?

That's what happens when they put Halloween on a Tuesday.

But now that that's out of the way, we can get back to normality.

Right?

Oh no, just when you thought it was safe to come back out in public, more holidays are slamming into you.

I was listening to NPR in the car the other day and it was reported that some people begin their Christmas shopping BEFORE November.

And even more unbelievable some people are ALREADY DONE!

As for me, all I can do is begin thinking about Thanksgiving.

And yes, I know, you folks up in Canada have already had yours.

But down here in the Estados Unidos . . .

Wow! A double whammy from the Treksters!

Well, that's it again for another week.

Now get busy on your Christmas shopping, you procrastinators, and finish those Holiday cards.

And have a festive weekend.

(Oh, stop gnashing your teeth.)

But above all, always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . ah, suspicions confirmed . . )