Thanksgiving prep and thanks

First prep was to text several friends to tell them I'm thankful to have them in my life.

That done, since for once Handsome Son is not working Thanksgiving Day, nor Friday, we're celebrating Thursday, the "right" day.

Here's the pretty simple food, my part of it -- he brings a lot of other food -- in the fridge, prepped to roast Wednesday evening, and on the counter to heat Thursday. Using canned veg is a recent thing to save my energy.

Done ahead, warm through Thursday, smelling very good 

 

And the table is set up 

Tea lights found in the freezer and set up on the hearth.

Meanwhile Wednesday was about tofu katsu, which was browner and crisper than it looks here

and reading 

a great social history of domestic service and how Virginia Woolf conducted herself with the women who served her and provided her with the care and space which enabled her to write. I expect they'd have liked a room of their own, too.  

Light portrays, in a well researched and compassionate look, all the lives affected by domestic service in the England of the nineteenth into twentieth century. This has been described as a history of women, either working in service or hiring into service.

Before I leave, just a word of thankfulness for you, blogistas. I publish daily, at midnight my time, so that I'll have something to get up for next morning -- your comments. And you lift me up and educate and entertain me each day, thank you.

And let's remember the people who really put the food on our American tables

Where'd it go? Knitting Group, Textiles and Tea

 I looked out this morning and there was the car, gone. The car fairies must have been out early. It was there last night.

I was doing more visible mending Monday, and found I'm darning darns at this point 

These socks are warm house socks,  definitely worth mending till the original sock vanishes into the darns.

I have looked everywhere, everywhere, for the peanut butter bar recipe and it has vanished. So I'll reconstruct it, per request.

18 minutes or till edges are brown, in 350°f oven.

Heat over moderate flame,  stirring, quarter cup honey, quarter cup molasses (or maple syrup for a lighter taste) half cup smooth peanut butter, till all blended, add one tsp vanilla, half tsp salt, tsp pumpkin spice, stir, then two cups rolled oats, stir off heat till all blended. I also added in ground flaxseed. You could fling in other seeds and nuts.

Then parchment paper in pan, I used a glass pan, just guessed the medium size would work, spread the mixture, pressing down. 

Bake as above, cool 10 minutes in the pan, on wire rack, then use the parchment paper to lift out the mix, to cut into bars.  I used a pizza wheel to cut. Store in airtight container. If there's anything left to store. 

I expect the recipe will now reappear. I'm pretty sure I didn't skip any steps. 

The recipe reappeared, doh. The source Forks over Knives.com, a plant based website. I'm glad I can credit it now.

I liked this recipe because it's unfussy.  So now you have two options, the real one and my version.

The needle arts group had two new members, mom and little girl, who both plunged in and learned to knit in no time. I didn't get the child's picture, security purposes. And other great works are underway. 

Chat ranged over resistance, whistles against ICE,  one member took a yellow whistle for her neighbors, learning to knit, dpns, the upcoming library needle arts display, cats, car sales, children's names, spool knitting, Friends of Pine Ridge, westernized Chinese names, and more.

Then home, courtesy of driving friend, cold rainy afternoon, to Textiles and Tea with nuno silk felter, Patti Barker

She creates wearable art and one of a kind wearable art coats, on themes of women's lives, struggles and needs -- see the coat of many pockets! 

She addresses climate issues and nature in her costumes. There's a lot of meaning behind her work. 

Ocean Crone 

Stained glass effect 

Me Too, features missing to show what was stolen 

Earthquake, wildfire and tsunami 

Moth and another winged insect 

Dragon skin 

pockets on top of pockets! She's working on a hundred-pocket coat

here's a felted silk lattice scarf like the one she's wearing

A few of her artworks behind her in the studio

Go to her website for more. 

Happy day everyone, mine was full of incidents. I hope yours was. Good incidents, that is.

 

Monday, Monday, Misfits and bananaz

Early morning walk on Monday, windy, and the narrow way I walk between houses and trees was a wind tunnel that morning. Fine on the way out, being blown gently along,  then not so much coming home and battling against it.

The light was sharp and bright for pictures, and I just took several random shots because all the views were lovely.

Home to send text greetings to wish friends a happy Thanksgiving and to say I'm thankful to have them in my life. I like to tell people how I value them, because I don't think most people get much of it.

Then Misfits arrived in the afternoon, the smallest box evah, and yes, look -- Bananaz!

Bananas for bread, sandwiches, smoothies, shipped a bit green so they'll be ready in a couple of days. 

Some conjoined mushrooms in this batch. 

Mushrooms ready to be sliced and frozen in meal size containers. Two boxes make six containers of slices.  I have various plans. Maybe some at Thanksgiving, some in omelettes, some with tofu and rice. 

Blueberries for desserts, yogurt likewise except a dab in soup and maybe pastry or crackers,  it's a good leaven. Aluminum foil is recycled. 

Did I mention that Misfits supports food banks all over the place, and my membership, which I took out as an alternative to shipping, goes toward feeding people? 

This week I needed few items, well stocked already. Every now and then I have a small order. 

In the US we have Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday and I have my annual reminder that people are not always unhappy to be alone on the holidays. Some people treasure that quiet time. 

So before inviting solo folk over do try to find out if they'll enjoy time spent in your family's company.

I had a couple of miserable Thanksgivings in the homes of friends whose family all talked to each other and, after greeting me, ignored me for the rest of the time. 

Don't assume your grown family will be hospitable to your friend. They may resent an outsider and make it plain. After a couple of those experiences, I would politely thank and decline invitations.  I liked my solo day.

Once I had the pet care service there was no need to explain -- from mid November to New Year was peak booking season. My mid December birthday had to wait till January!

Likewise don't assume your solo friends want you to drop in on them at Christmas because well, it's Christmas! My solo sister some years ago, when she lived in the city, had planned a lovely day with a good book, nice fire, cat and dog, glass of wine, to recover from a high stress job.

Instead she was bombarded with people "just stopping by for a minute on the way to xxx". She said she spent the day pretty much giving out her Christmas treats, and washing glasses while her friends polished off her Christmas wine! No wonder she retired to a small town that wasn't on the way to anywhere.   

And, if you wonder why she let them in, the harsh truth is that single older women can't afford to stiff-arm people, when it's clear they're home in a tiny house, window next to the sidewalk. A lot of people are  transactional, and supports are tenuous.

Anyway just a couple of pre-holiday suggestions. 

I did make those peanut butter granola bars, and they're very good. Handy for a snack or breakfast.

I substituted honey and molasses for the syrups in the recipe, added in ground flaxseed, good opportunity, used the pumpkin spice you saw me make, instead of cinnamon alone.

The bars are crisp and chewy, really good. This is great for breakfast. 

I was called on recently by a former student to advise a relative about natural dyeing. After a career in various helping professions, she's training to be a death doula. 

She wants to learn natural dyeing for -- shrouds. That's certainly unusual. I emailed her with a few beginning suggestions, and she plans to keep me updated on how it goes. Never a dull moment!

Speaking of which, the chickens were out, yay, they're still here, out at dusk so the picture isn't very good, but they have grown dramatically. Still peaceful, pecking and cheeping.

At this point, happy day, feel free to count your chickens!