Apparently, my new Thanksgiving tradition is to have my Thanksgiving dinner on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Yes, it is Friday as I write this. I roasted the turkey (breast) today and it is sliced, sitting in au jus in the refrigerator. The bones are also in the refrigerator … they will be used to make bone broth later…
Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve Day was full of electronic glitches … and then, when I came in with Emmett, from our before bedtime walk … water under the washer … gah! I mopped up the water and went to bed, hoping the problem would resolve itself.
Honestly! I have never known a “water leak” issue to resolve itself. I cannot believe I even had that thought.
Thursday morning: more water. I pulled out the washer and THANKFULLY, it was only an issue with the intake hose, which had burst. Easy fix. First, easy to shut off water to that hose, remove the hose and make plans to obtain a new hose on Friday (today). Which I did and have since installed, done a load of laundry and all is well: HURRAH!!!
Onward with Thanksgiving fun: Cranberry sauce, stuffing prep, pie crust…
The cranberry sauce!
While I was keeping an eye on the cranberry sauce, I worked on my afghan block. This was an especially fun block: 5 of 6 in my current order.
But, with the sauce and the block and after the relief that the plumbing issue was not a MAJOR plumbing issue… I ran out of steam for making “THE DINNER”.
I watched a lot of VendeeGlobe 2020 videos and some other sailing videos which I will share about in another post!
Wednesday’s electronic glitches were my Amazon Smart Plug/Alexa and new Bose noise cancelling headphone…
I don’t know if they were related, but I was not a fan of the headphone and so …
Return.
Meanwhile…
I keep laughing at Emmett peering around the corner to look for the squirrel… he waits and if it/one of them is there, he goes!!!
On our walk…
It was overcast, but gorgeous light!
So.
After returning the headphone, and after seeing a few videos from youTube people I follow:
I finally, after looking and watching and thinking and dreaming ….
ordered a drone:
That is not my hand … DJI image of DJI: Mini 2.
It should arrive 12/4 ish.
I have watched a number of “how to fly DJI Mini 2” videos. It might be 2021 before you see anything. We will see.
YIKES!!
As I write this, it is Friday, almost 3:00 p.m.
Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow: Saturday. My new Thanksgiving Tradition.
I’ve done holidays on my own for many years and for many reasons enjoy! So, this year, as many (hopefully most) are celebrating with the people they live with and thus are safe with, there are lots of articles, blog posts, videos with ideas for a small scale dinner without giving up the things we love … and we all have our must haves :) .
But this year, I’m going turkey, albeit, I bought a bone-in turkey breast vs a whole turkey. It is now thawing in the refrigerator.
Meanwhile, I saw this video by a favorite New York Times person: Melissa Clark: One-Pot, One Pan in under 3 hours!
There are a number of genius ideas in this video: boneless turkey breast wrapped in bacon so you get “crispy skin” with a boneless breast. I already had my bone in turkey breast, but will not forget this!!
Then she made dressing and it looked so good! I normally do not make dressing as I usually make a good roll or bread and dressing is a bit overkill. But it looked so good!!
So…
I made bread in order to dry it out and make dressing…
Sweet potatoes are kind of steamed, then roasted. I tried it along with a russet potato as well as with some brussels sprouts. WOW. I am sold on the technique. And although I will mash the russet and sweet potato, the method produces more flavor and better texture than boiling.
I mashed a bit of each as a test. The other bonus is that I can do the potatoes and some sprouts in 1 pan in the oven vs several stovetop. So, kind of a mash of Melissa Clark’s 1 pan/1 pot idea and Kristen’s technique and I am excited about getting all of the things I want for my dinner without getting every pot and pan that I own dirty!!
And about the videos … because of Covid-19, both Melissa and Kristen, are doing these videos in their home kitchens (as are many) … with husbands manning cameras and in Kristen’s case … her adorable daughter helping.
In addition to turkey, stuffing (that will go on the pan with sprouts to crisp up) potatoes, sprouts … there will be cranberry sauce (easy do ahead), gravy and … PIE!
It is gorgeous! I have learned so much from Erin and I thought I baked a good pie. Erin explains the why of pie: why certain things work, why certain things do not work, the good/bad/ugly and how to fix mistakes.
There are a variety of crust options, filling options, decorating options. Erin encourages mixing and matching depending on what you have, what you want and just for the sake of being creative.
Anyway, my Thanksgiving pie is going to be …
Black bottom pecan pie. ( I blurred the recipe for copyright reasons … the recipe is not mine to share)
I made one right after I got the book. YUM and easy and I decided it was what I wanted for Thanksgiving.
So, despite Covid-19 and the many goings on in the world that I will not mention … I am very much looking forward to my Thanksgiving Dinner!
There are so many things to be thankful for and gosh … in this time of the ability of virtual everything … we are so fortunate that we have the ability to connect with each other safely, to see and share experiences, to get ideas, to not be alone.
I feel so fortunate that I am able to work, to be outside with Emmett and Auggie in a beautiful place, to have the means to gather supplies via online stores or “click and collect” … And this year, it might not be “over the river and through the woods” to grandmother’s house, but instead … fire up the iPad or computer or phone and Zoom with everyone while enjoying pie and coffee :)
I am continuing to follow the Vendee Globe 2020: solo, around the world, no assistance, sailing race. For me, it is a wonderful respite from the “things that I will not mention”. I am following all of the skippers: videos, photos, news articles. Much is in French, but I am picking up some French, using some of the translator software available and some of the videos have English subtitles, so day by day, I feel like I “know” each skipper and their boat a bit more.
There have been some heartbreaking boat “breakages”. Heartbreaking because the skippers and their teams and sponsors have spent 4 years preparing … and then … some of the difficulties were from UFO’s!!! Unidentified Floating Objects. Who knew there was so much CRAP floating around the ocean … as in objects that would seriously damage a 60 foot boat. Most of the boats have infrared cameras at the top of the masts to try and detect things, but with the speed of the boats … it is a challenge.
One of the most interesting things is that with the videos and instagram posts, the skippers are posting downs as well as ups … how they are feeling, the challenges of being alone at sea for so long (we are 15 days into a 60-70-90-100 day race): time to rest, to eat, to relax, to shower … the boats are racing machines so they have bare minimum as far as comforts.
Another benefit of technology for the race, similar to us as we prepare for a holiday: the ability to share what is going on, to connect, to hear from all who are watching and cheering them on. They ALL have said how much comments and likes mean to them as they race.
The 2nd week recap video. Even if you do not sail, I think you might find this video captivating. It is a great compilation of some of the skipper’s videos and excellent narration as well as beautiful music.
Yes, so. It is Monday evening of Thanksgiving week and the prep … in all ways is full of JOY!
The “two” kind of one …. for Friday morning treat.
Meanwhile…
Emmett found the orange bandana – YEA! I thought I might have accidentally tossed it, but this morning, he found it below our walk path … YEA Emmett!!!
Emmett being sneaky … peering around the corner to check for THE SQUIRREL…
That’s it … the end of the work week before T-day week.
BUT, we are a bit behind work-wise so it will be a weekend of catch up.
No worries! We have all supplies for our T-Day and are looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.
At my house, it has alternated between “winter” and almost winter and today, Sunday (11/15) it is approaching 40F so an ugly melt-down.
C’est la vie (that’s life) !! I am thinking about a crash course in French as I continue to follow Vendee Globe 2020 and many of the skippers are French … Vendee Globe is a FRENCH thing!!! … so their videos are in French and I would LOVE to understand what they are saying.
But, despite my inadequate French, I do get a taste of personality from inflection, facial expression and what they choose to share.
The official Vendee Globe 2020 website has an English version of everything and some of the videos get updated with English subtitles so all is not lost in what skippers are saying.
To date, it has been very exciting [to me] … slower progress and 3 fronts … one which was TD Theta. The first week was intense and low on rest/sleep/meals/downtime for ALL of the skippers. There is a great video wrap of the first week:
At home … work, walks, play, teach … some family stuff, ya know … life!
Sunday evening … a good work week, a good “get outside and play” week, a good “interact with the world” week.
The Vendee Globe is so worth exploring … IMHO :) Many of the skippers are sponsored by organizations that are involved in ocean health, climate change, children’s health charities, and other planetary improvements. It always brings me close to tears when I read the stories behind why each of the 33 skippers are participating in a physically/mentally grueling challenge. Yes, they would LOVE to win as would their sponsors. But there is more behind all of the participants.
To me, it is some of the best people (skippers and their entire teams) vs as well as FOR the environment.
This week: some “normal”, some challenges, some learning … a good week!
I think blog friend/reader Margaret said it best in her comment: “…. the baby in the White House…” And the GOP senators, house members are generally (there are some great exceptions) being complicit (Ivanka might not know that word, but I’m guessing most of the GOP does!!!) in enabling/humoring Trump while the election process and America’s reputation is further diminished.
And President-elect Biden/Vice-President-elect Harris wishes to unite us become much harder.
So far, the good news is that the -elect are moving forward with not much attention to the bad news, i.e. they are getting on with the job. And I was encouraged by the choice of Chief of Staff: Rob Klain. I watched Mr. Klain speak about the bipartisan effort of stimulus and he was complimentary of the process on both sides. Hoo-rah!! It seems as if he is on the path of “let’s work together to solve problems” … I hope so.
Enough politics. I hope and pray that all moves forward peacefully. Hopefully … eventually, most will be open-minded enough to work together, to compromise to work for the best for all.
Meanwhile … it is Winter again at my house:
The morning walk. Hard to see, but it is snowing. That blue band is Emmett’s LED collar :).
Morning snow.
To date (11/12), I think about 6 inches of snow fell and that has settled at 4 inches, but it warmed up this afternoon and we had some melting.
It is a bit early for “cabin fever”, but so far, Auggie does not seem so inclined to go out in inclement weather as he was previous years. He was 7 in July, but … we’ll see as Fall/Winter progresses!
My new obsession: Vendee Globe 2020.
Vendee Globe is an ocean sailing race: around the world, solo, non-stop, no assistance. Vendee Globe happens every 4 years.
I grew up sailing and did some small boat/lake & river racing. Over the last year, I have been following some “’round the world” cruising vlogs on YouTube. By virtue of those connections, I happened to see info on the Vendee Globe race and got hooked!
Aside from the sailing, there is a fascinating technical aspect of this race. Because of COVID-19 as well as technical advancements, this race was designed to be “consumed” via the internet. The boats are wired for input: video, text … and every skipper has some social media people digesting and editing … as well as the Vendee Globe site…
Above is an early image of the tracking map showing the position of every boat. The tracking map is updated every several hours.
Onboard videos are updated from each skipper as they have opportunity.
There are skipper cards with info about each skipper, their boat, their experience and how/why they are competing.
The individual stories as well as the entire history of the Vendee Globe race is incredible: 28,000 miles (plus/minus), non stop, 1 person-1 boat with no help. The current record is 74 days. Yes, 74 days!
As I said, I am hooked on following the race. I started with a focus on Pip Hare: 46 years old, sailing a 20 year old boat, British, a LOT of ocean racing experience (Medallia sponsorship). I added Alex Thomson: 46 years old, sailing a brand new boat, 5th Vendee Globe and a super high tech site (Hugo Boss and Nokia sponsorship). And since I have been following, I am getting to know the other skippers, their boats and sponsors and reasons for racing.
It is GOOD NEWS.
It is stuff that has passion and requires super-human dedication. It allows me to reject that crappy political stuff.
So. Alex Thomson racing/Hugo Boss/Nokia … their technical info is incredible:
Skipper Alex is wired for health and well being info.
I didn’t include, but there are also inputs for the boat and the environment. I think other skippers have similar, but Alex’s info is the most readily available to me.
The Vendee Globe 2020 main site above.
It is well done! I wish I had better French as many of the skippers are sailing for France and their posts/videos are in French … Still, the visuals are incredible. Honestly … these boats are in the middle of whichever ocean and I am getting real time updates!!
Tomorrow will be nerve wracking as the group heads into/around Theta:
YIKES.
This will be the 3rd “low” with high winds/high seas.
I will be watching.
The political bad news … GAHH … NOTHING compared to the good news of the 33 skippers challenging the oceans of the world.
