Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Thanksgiving 1974

It was Thanksgiving 1974.  We had been living in our home for two years.  My mother-in-law was coming in from Chicago to spend the holiday with us.  She would arrive on Wednesday and leave on Saturday.

The weather forecast was for cold and flurries over her stay.  I am sure that our Thursday dinner was turkey that I cooked for my parents and my sister's family.

Friday morning we woke up to something a little more than flurries. There was light snow that began at 5:00 AM.  And then continued.  By the time the sun (and ourselves) came up, there was three inches of snow on the ground.  And it only got worse.

When all was said and done, 19.3" (19.2" of it falling in 24 hours) was recorded in the  Detroit area.  The storm was dubbed a 'Super Snowstorm'.  The weather services said their technology back then made it difficult to predict the effects of the storm.  Right.  I am not sure much has changed in getting predictions right.

Obviously, my mother-in-law did not go home on Saturday.  She was here until Monday.  I used to have a picture of myself standing in the driveway in front of our garage.  The snow was up to my shoulders.  It was a nightmare to dig out.

I remembered this storm yesterday because my phone alerted me in the morning to the possibility of snow, clouds, and temps in the 30s.  It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and temps in the 40s.  

I am not sure how they got it so wrong.  Then again, I woke up on Monday, turned on my computer, and saw a notice that the time had been reset to Pacific Standard time due to my location change.  What?  Craziness again?

I thought about that Thanksgiving because we are having our dinner on Friday and they are predicting snow showers.  Maybe I need to go find our old sleeping bags in case I end up with a house full of visitors.  I only have one guest room, lol.

Anyway, here is my menu and I hope each of you have a pleasant Thanksgiving and have lots to be thankful for.  Last year my granddaughter was thankful for unicorns and the speech by her older brother about them not being real was precious.  She gave him the evil eye.

Assorted cheeses, fruit and crackers......

Roast turkey with sausage, chestnut and fennel dressing

Sweet potato casserole

Corn casserole

Spinach gratin

Cranberry chutney

Rolls and apple butter

Pumpkin pie, apple pie and sweet potato pie


In my neighborhood.  They live west of me in an open field.



Monday, November 11, 2024

Remember

 By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium