Thanksgiving '08

I can’t let the weekend go by without talking about Thanksgiving now, can I? It wouldn’t be right. As much as I like to avoid writing about the obvious, I can’t deny things like holidays, birthdays, elections, etc. This is an important holiday not so much to remember that the European settlers broke cornbread with Native Americans just before they stole all their land and drove them to a life of gambling, alcoholism and rain dances for tourists. My people had nothing to do with the colonization of the U.S. We were too busy getting raped and pillaged in our own countries-thus my blond haired, blue-eyed son. But, we’re here now, and I suppose we should be thankful for those greedy, murderous settlers who paved the way for us Jews to come and peddle pots and pans. Who knows who would have been running Hollywood today if not for the pilgrims?

My sister Rachel, husband Ron and kids Joshua and Evan drove in from Boston. They woke up at the crack of ass to avoid holiday traffic and made it here by 9AM. We were able to hang out, feast with family and friends and clean up every cooking utensil and accessory known to humankind by 8PM. Now that’s a result. For my foodie friends, I give you Gabriella’s menu (cranberry sauce and pies provided by friends):

To start: Chinese chicken wings marinated in hoisin, soy, rice vinegar, ginger sauce; Pita & flat breads with a choice of salmon spread or spinach & artichoke dip. Carrots & hummus. You can’t be a lesbian without serving hummus. Es la ley. (Budweiser commercial reference)

Soup: Spicy butternut squash soup with a dollop of crème fraiche and cilantro
Main and sides: Turkey roasted with herb butter; Onion bread stuffing made with celery, mushrooms , butternut squash and apple; Italian potato & green bean salad; herbed mashed potatoes with mascarpone, roasted vegetable medley; cold black bean salad; spinach pie with feta cheese and pine nuts and, of course, cranberry sauce

Dessert: country apple, pumpkin and pecan pie



We managed to squeeze in the thank you round table before getting all the kids in bed, and I share my thoughts of thanks with you.

I’m thankful for table pads which protected our glass table from spills and scratches throughout the evening. We went on a cooking holiday in Morocco for Gabriella’s 40th years and years and years....ago. (ok, only 4 years ago) If you know me at all, you know that this was the ultimate gift of love because I loathe cooking. It was an amazing holiday. Even the cooking was fun because all of the stresses I associate with cooking were completely absent. No recipes to research, no shopping for ingredients, no clean up, nothing else to do but hang out with other foodies, drink wine and cook in a gorgeous villa in Marrakech. We found a 100 year old door hand-painted by a Moroccan, Jewish tribe in the Berber mountains, and it is now our dining room table. I’m not mad about glass table tops, but it had to be done to display the door. I’m so thankful that Gabriella and I have been able to travel together, and while our worldly travels have come to a halt for now, we have fantastic memories and an itch to travel that can only be treated with future travels.

I’m thankful for James Dyson and his vacuum we bought today to suck up all the carpet bits that were left behind by the Empire Carpet Men when they installed the carpet in the boys’ rooms. We much prefer the look of hardwood floors, truth be told. For the lads reading this entry, yes, it is ironic that the two lesbians would prefer to wood to carpet. It was a matter of function over form. It’s our band-aid answer to insulation this winter. Asher’s bedroom sits right over our porch which is not insulated and is, therefore, one of the colder rooms in the house. After last year’s heating bill, we vowed not to crank up the heat like we did last year. I’m f-ing freezing, but we can afford to eat. I suppose that’s good. The excitement of the new vacuum was almost too much to bear for Asher. He couldn’t wait to get it out of the box and insisted on helping us snap a few things into place. And, he absolutely would not rest until he was able to vacuum those carpet bits. Bless his little cotton socks. Who knew household appliances could be so thrilling? I am thankful for the Dyson and thankful that Asher can find such joy in everyday things. Note to self: take joy in everyday things.

I’m thankful for all the standards which I realize not everyone can claim: good health (touch carpet), a roof over my head (especially now that it has been replaced--the roof, not my head), a loving family and close friends. I have a pretty excellent life, and it doesn’t hurt for me to admit it even though it’s so easy to complain about the daily grind. Of course, there is always room for improvement, but the fundamentals are pretty fundamentally fantastic. I am thankful, and I hope that everyone I know and love is just as thankful for their lives as I am for mine. Happy Thanksgiving.