Thankful

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have much to be thankful for, this and every year: faith, family, friends, food, fitness, freedom, fortune. I want for nothing: I don't have to worry about where I will sleep tonight, from where my next meal will come, whether I can afford to go to the doctor, whether my life is in jeopardy. My life is rich with blessings, both named and unnamed. I am very grateful.

My day dawned in the kitchen as it does each and every year. I made an egg bake (vegetarian for Eric ... used lowfat cheese and it didn't melt very well)

and surprised Eric with his favorite morning sweet: raspberry muffins.

Then it was time to start preparing the "roast beast" and all the associated trimmings. It is a non-stressful meal for me. I've done it so many times already. My brother and his family joined us. It's fun to have my niece Kaleigh and nephew Andrew here. So much energy. :-) And so cute!

Even the big boys started digging in the tub of Legos.

The meal: this day is not about me and my favorites, likes and dislikes. It's about everyone else's favorites, so that's what was on the menu.

Lefse

Cranberries

Brown 'n Serve rolls

Turkey

Mashed potatoes

Stuffing (I added some fried onions to the top, like they did at Trader Joe's)

Strawberry "fluff" for the kid in all of us

Guess I didn't get pics of the pumpkin pie, green bean casserole or gravy, neither of which I eat. Just never have been a fan of either. I like butter on my spuds and my turkey and stuffing dry. I do love pumpkin pie. It's probably my favorite pie.
 
So ... when I was mashing the potatoes, it made me think about the list of ideosyncrasies about myself I've been gathering. I guess I have enough now to post. Here goes ...

• I like potato chips that get folded in the frying process, especially if they get folded into 1/4s
• I like my mashed potatoes lumpy
• When I use my pepper grinder, I always grind in multiples of 4 grinds (I know ... I'm really weird)
• When writing, I like there to be at least 2 sheets of paper under the pen
• I prefer blue ink to black (hmmm ... I wonder if that has anything to do with working in a law office ... we use blue ink on original documents so we can tell originals from photocopies)
• I can't STAND bugs flying in my face (or mouth!)
• I like a clean car ... I never have trash on the floor, seats, trunk, etc.
• I like rugs and chair legs to line up with any lines on the floor (edges of tiles, wood planks, etc.) or walls
• I prefer to eat cinnamon rolls by the "unroll" method
• I love to cross things off my Things To Do list ... in fact, I've been known to add something to the list and immediately cross it off if it got done and wasn't on my list :-)
• I rarely buy ice cream, but if I do, I like the square cartons and my absolute favorite part is the corner in a brand new carton, slightly soft
• When I scratch my forehead or temples, it makes me sneeze (just ask my hairdresser!)

So there you go. I'm a few degrees off true, I know. But I am what I am ...

195 hits on my little blog yesterday. Wow! That's a lot for the day before a holiday. Maybe it's cuz a link to my blog landed on the Living History Farms site. I wonder if someone Googled "Living History Farms" and landed on it?? ... All I know is that I had nothing to do with it, but I am flattered.

I guess it's time to pull out the winter driving and running skills once again. I ran an errand this morning and drove down Fox Valley Drive. Sheer ice. Running options this weekend: Booker Mini Foundation 5K at noon on Friday, Off-Season Striders at Brothers 7:30 Saturday morning, Larry and Colleen Pederson Benefit Run at 9 Saturday morning at Afton State Park. (Larry is the In Yan Teopa and Superior Trail race director and they suffered a lot of damage in the September floods in Zumbro Falls.)

Time to finish reading the 4 pound, 1 1/4" Post-Bulletin and all 39 ads inside. I don't do the Black Friday thing any more and haven't since the kids were little. None of us needs any more STUFF. Eric might venture out for a new laptop in the predawn hours, however.

Thankful ...

Ramblin' Renee