I have a dear friend whose husband is dealing with a serious, life-shortening illness. She’s been away from her home for over a month now while he’s been at Mayo and they are looking down the barrel of a long series of treatments. I visited her on Sunday and she told me that she had woken up the day before with a better attitude. Apparently another friend of hers had just been to a funeral for an infant who had died of SIDs. The realization that there were other tragic things going and if others are getting through their horrible stuff, she could too. It’s not an easy thing to do – try to find some balance in the face of trauma and grief. And the last two years have certainly given us plenty of that. a
It seems pathetic to suggest that pandemic has brought us anything good, but as I was thinking about all this, I placed an order at Target for pick-up. You select your items on the app, pay for it online, tell the app when you’re leaving for Target and when you get there. Then you sit in your car and they bring it out to you. Easy peasy. You can wear your sweatpants, you can have spilled your lunch on your shirt, you don’t have to comb your hair and better yet, you don’t have to search for a parking spot and you don’t have to go in the store! There is yet one more advantage – no impulse shopping; if all you need is grenadine and diet pop, that’s all you get. No cookies or chips off an endcap!
While I cannot wait for us to be able to say we’re looking at pandemic in the rear-view mirror, I am hoping that the drive-up option remains. I am so addicted already.
Any other silver linings you can think of these days?
Trail Baboon 
The suspension of student loan payments made it possible for our son and dil to save enough for a down payment to buy their house. Their mortgage payment is less than what their rent was on their condo.
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MST3K Turkey Day marathon is on now.
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That’s nice
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The pandemic encouraged many more people to get outdoors and explore all aspects of nature. On balance, a positive. However, more crowding usually diminishes the natural experience. Anything that gets kids off their phones and video games and outside is a big plus.
Happy Thanksgiving to all TBers.
Chris in Owatonna
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The silver lining of not having family visit today is that I didn’t have to wear myself out cooking. On Sunday I made the meat portion of a beef and stout pie, and froze it. Today it thaws, gets put in a 5 qt Dutch oven, and is cooked with a pie crust that has Danish blue cheese in it. The crust goes right over the top of the Dutch oven. I plan to start some Christmas cookies, and I am also making a caramel pecan cheesecake. I may be cooking all day, but I am not wearing myself out.
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We’re hosting family today, as we always do, but it’s much abbreviated family courtesy of the pandemic. We’ve been doing Thanksgiving for the whole extended family for over 50 years. It was fine when it was Robin and her parents and my parents and our siblings. But it had gotten to be not only siblings but siblings and spouses and kids and kids’ kids. We were accommodating upwards of 30 people in our little house. There wasn’t room at the table for everyone. We don’t even own 30 chairs.
Covid has let us gracefully cut back to our immediate family—8 people. Everyone can sit together at the table. I’m still making a big turkey, because leftovers, but the whole event seems more manageable.
At the risk of sounding curmudgeonly, I hope it stays this way.
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I did sugar cookies in leaf shapes and airbrushed with fall colors for dessert. And then I’m making my regular vegetarian sage sourdough stuffing. YA has decided that there’s not enough carbs at the traditional Thanksgiving dinner so she is making baked macaroni. We’re spending it with close friends but a much smaller group than usual because two of the daughters are at their in-laws.
I start holiday cookies tomorrow.
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I mixed up the dough for Serina Kakor and Russian Teacakes, and I will bake them tomorrow.
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Sherrilee, I don’t get how the fasces in the header photo corresponds to today’s topic. Enlighten me…
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Pick-up sticks
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That’s what I thought.
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BiR and WordPress are not getting along today. She can like but not comment so she asked me to say Happy Thanksgiving to all on the trail.
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Hey kids!
We are enjoying a quiet day at home… I’ve got a ham cooking on the grill, mashed potatoes were done yesterday so just have to be reheated. And Oreo Cookie salad is chilling.
The pace of life with Covid has certainly changed; and for us, a lot of it has been for the better. I haven’t taken much advantage of store pick up. The few times I tried it, it didn’t work too well and I got tired of waiting in the car and ended up going in anyway. But that wasn’t Target.
It’s allowed me more time at home in the spring to get crops planted due to the lack of shows and no in person graduation taking a week out of my schedule. (Just had a planning meeting for Commencement 2022 and they’re planning face to face with the proper precautions. Shoot, there goes that week again).
And Kelly is enjoying working from home and daughter is living the dream not having to go to work or deal with others. (That’s both a pro and a con).
Lot’s to be Thankful for!
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Another silver lining is that since mom is not there to make pies or bread, son made two pie crusts from scratch, actually blind baked one, and made praline pumpkin pie and pear cranberry pie. He is also making French bread. Daughter made butternut squash casserole and cranberry salsa to take to her gathering.
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Daughter also made homemade greenbean casserole with homemade sauce and sangria.
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Oh don’t mention green bean casserole! YA is blaming me for the fact that it did not appear at yesterday’s gathering. I said we could certainly get ingredients to make it today but somehow that’s not soothing her soul.
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Also, since Dad isn’t there, Son brined his own turkey .
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One thing I’ve realized is that when you place an online order for pickup at a sandwich place, you are shown the kids’ menu. I discovered a couple of kids’ menu options I like quite a bit. One is the tuna sandwich at Panera. Had one yesterday. Comes with your choice of sides. I got an apple.
Last year I got groceries via the pickup option quite often, but since getting vaccinated I’m going into stores more often than not.
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