I wish I could envision being satisfied without ever eating meat, but I can’t. Sometimes I choose the vegan option at church lunches, but I’m always still hungry immediately afterwards. I could potentially go vegetarian (no meat, but dairy OK), but I’m pretty sure that would result in me eating such massive amounts of cheese, that my cholesterol levels would go through the roof and they are already too high.
I think I have to include chicken and lean beef in my diet in order to keep things balanced. Otherwise, I’d be dreaming about cheeseglorious cheese day and night.
Do you or your family make any special dishes for the holidays?
We officially took over hosting Thanksgiving from my parents a few years ago, as they are now both 85+. The two things I make the day before Thanksgiving (today) are sweet potato pies and sausage stuffing.
Since my sweet potato pie recipe (with photos) is linked above, I’m going to write up my sausage stuffing recipe for posterity. It comes from my mother, who got it from her mother, who probably got it from her mother. Long live the matriarchy.
Mom’s Turkey Stuffing
Brown two 16oz roll packages of pork sausage (Jimmy Dean, Jones Farm, etc) with one large cut-up onion in a Dutch Oven.
This type of sausage is found in the frozen foods section. You need to thaw it in the fridge before you make the stuffing.
Break up into small pieces a stale-ish loaf of bread and combine it with the sausage mixture. (If the bread is too fresh, it doesn’t work well. You can leave your bread out the night before to dry it out a bit.)
Add 1-2 teaspoons Bell’s poultry seasoning and salt & pepper to taste.
“Since 1867” (wow, that’s an old company)
Add water, if needed, to moisten the mixture.
Keep in the refrigerator overnight and stuff the bird in the morning.
Whatever doesn’t fit in the turkey, can be baked in a casserole dish until hot.
This is how the stuffing looks before I stick it in the fridge for the night.
Cyclists on the rail trail who don’t yield to pedestrians. They like to “thread the needle” through two pedestrians (or groups of pedestrians) walking in opposite directions, coming within inches of the walkers. Just wait until it’s safe to pass, jerk!
E-bikes on the (very flat) rail trail moving at top speed. Technically e-bikes are considered “non-motorized” vehicles, so they’re allowed, but they can go very fast and seem dangerous. Typically, the people choosing to use all the power their e-bikes have to offer are quite fat and should really be pedaling (in my opinion).
Anyone on the rail trail in MAGA gear. Honestly, just fuck off. This is Massachusetts.
How’s that? Angry enough for a Tuesday? Thanks WordPress. You finally let me answer the Daily Prompt and now I’m mad! 😡
For a couple of weeks now, I’ve been seeing “Answered” under the Daily Prompt. In other words, WordPress asked the exact same question a year ago and I responded. Believe it or not, I just now figured out how to find my original response to the prompt and “reblog” it (OK Boomer!)
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world?
OK, one reason I like my blog is that I feel free to say what I want, including about politics.
In the old days (before Trump), I thought Facebook and other emerging social media was fun. Find old friends and classmates, reminisce, post pics, share news, chat about nonsense, etc.
Then everything went to hell and I had real and permanent falling outs (fallings out?) with the Trumpers in my sphere, as did millions of others.
I’m still on Facebook, but I try not to post too many political things, with abortion access being an exception. (I will not shut my trap about that one until it’s no longer an issue or I’m dead.)
People who read and comment on my blog (and vice versa) are 99% online friends only. I will likely never meet them in real life. But there’s a freedom in that. They’re choosing to read my thoughts, and I theirs.
With 89 days left until we (hopefully) send Donald Trump packin’ for good, my Facebook and Instagram friends (all people I know or have known in real life) have my blog to thank for my relative level of self-control.
So, I can say this on my blog: I am loving the energy right now. From Kamala entering a packed and cheering rally to Beyoncé’s “Freedom” to the Tim Walz dad jokes. It’s soooo good. This is the kind of optimistic, joyful, caring country I want my granddaughter (coming soon) to grow up in.
The idea of “girl dinner” came up in a recent post by Singing Gecko and it stuck in my head to the point where I ordered “cheese and charcuterie” as my meal in a restaurant which had many normal/traditional entree options.
It was $38 and it was huge! My husband had some of it, but he had a steak on the way, so it was mostly up to me. Having recently doubled my cholesterol medication dosage, I felt I was up to the task.
The description said “house jam, cured meat and cheeses, local honey, NH mustard, crostini”
Obviously, I got a cocktail too, followed by a glass of Prosecco. (Girl dinner includes alcohol.)
A delicious vodka-based concoction invented by a creative bartender
We had a table on an exterior deck and the weather was perfect.
But the best part was the view. I would describe it as “bucolic New England farm.” The landscape was dotted with wildlife including sheep, finches, butterflies, and the occasional soaring bird of prey.
And as the sun set over this beautiful landscape, and they boxed up my leftover cheeses, I felt that my expensive appetizer (a.k.a. girl dinner) was a great choice and was definitely worth the money.
I’ve posted many times about my love of music, especially singing. Singing with choirs and choral groups has been bringing me joy since I was a teenager. I’ve done a bit of solo singing as well.
Typically, I don’t sing much in the summer, because my church (and choir) go on hiatus. Yup, that’s right, Unitarian Universalists take the summer off (which is a good thing because our beautiful, historic churches are rarely air conditioned).
This summer I’m trying something new. I’m going to collaborate with a musician who plays the digital bagpipes—of all things. We’re going to get together and work on a few songs. If things go well, we may have some opportunities to perform next church year. One song she really wants to try is Skye Boat Song. I’m going to need to practice this one. I have no idea what it will be like to sing with bagpipes. I’ve sung with piano, guitar, and even organ, but this will be new.
Along with about a billion other people, I am very curious who Kamala Harris will pick as her vice presidential running mate. I’m confident that whoever she chooses will be embraced by her growing legions of supporters.
I had been thinking she was going to choose Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania or Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, but now I don’t know.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been killing it on the news shows. He’s approximately the same age as weird JD Vance and is also a military veteran with young children.
Also, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota is really growing on me. He’s another elder GenXer (born in 1964), so I’m predisposed to like him. He gives midwestern high school principal vibes and I think he’d help her out with middle-of-the-road types.
Remember how ready we were to get those first Covid vaccines the minute they came out? We were so so sick of staying at home!
Well, as someone who worked in an educational setting, I was eligible a bit earlier than some. I could get a vaccine, but I had to go to Boston Medical Center to get it. BMC is located deep in Boston’s South End and is known for serving vulnerable populations, low-income individuals, immigrants, and those without insurance. For many years, there was a massive homeless encampment known as “Mass and Cass” just a block or so from BMC. Hard drugs were openly bought, sold, and used at Mass and Cass.
Tents and makeshift shelters near Mass & Cass (the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard) Photo by Jim Davis/Boston Globe
Anyway, I got my first Covid vax at BMC and then just wanted to get out of that area ASAP. On the way back to my car, a very thin, desperate-looking woman approached me and asked for money. She said she needed it for food. I gave her a $20. That was all I had. She was extremely grateful. She turned the bill over in her hand, like she couldn’t believe it was an actual twenty.
I’m not sure what motivated that. Pity, yes. Selfish desire to be left alone (just let me get back to my car lady) Kindness? I don’t know. Is it kind to give money to a junkie? What if that $20 enabled her to overdose? A better person might’ve tried to walk her back into the hospital and get her some real help.
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