Shopping Cart Gran Prix

...with little brother in the cart.  Mom was trying to get some shopping done and must have said, 'go entertain your brother...' He seemed to be OK with being pushed up and down the aisles at breakneck speed. A still photo doesn't quite capture the scene but the blurry bits hint at it.....

We have a family tradition at Thanksgiving which we call the 'silly gift exchange', so John and I were off in search of silly gifts this morning. Matt and family are in New York, and we will miss having them here but life (and traditions) change when college on the opposite coast is involved. Another change will be the fact that we will be convening at Dana and Jim's this year. 

And speaking of tradition, I had announced that if Thanksgiving was at our house, I wasn't going to cook a turkey. Dana and I don't like it that well and we had had enough turkey disasters (chalk it up to our temperamental oven) that I just didn't want to do it. We had talked about other possibilities for Thanksgiving...enchiladas, paella, but tradition dies hard and after a year off when nobody had a traditional Thanksgiving we have reverted to Turkey and all the trimmings. I'm sure Jim will have better luck with the turkey than I have had lately, and I will enjoy eating it much more!  

I  made pumpkin pies today,  and I will make my traditional broccoli salad with roasted peppers, capers and olives tomorrow. Not to mention cranberry sauce. Matt always insisted on the canned version that comes to the table precariously perched on a slippery plate with the marks of the can still on it. Since he won't be here, we'll probably dispense with that as well as the mashed potatoes whose preparation inevitably screwed up the garbage disposal causing the sink to back up.... 

I wish all the Americans who will be celebrating Thanksgiving  a safe and sane gathering or, should you be keeping it safe and simple, a peaceful day. And may we all take some time to think not only about what we are thankful for, but about those who are less fortunate .