November 24, 2009 · 1 Comment
Talk about missing family. I’d like to be packing up the car and husband and dog and driving to Nanny’s but that is not to be this year. Now I hear that two of the young girls (under ten) are hosting a tea party for all the other girls coming in for the weekend. My apt cooking school pupils (teens) are making petit fours for the event. I hope to receive a photo of the final product that I can share with you. It’s so sweet of the girls to host and cook for this new family tradition, and I’m sorry to miss it, but I’m probably over the age limit for attendance anyways!
Not having any children, one of my favorite things to do on Thanksgiving is play outdoors with all the kids. One year it’s trampoline, usually pushing the young ones on the swingset, and remarking to Jim how sweet these children are, and how smart as well. There may be near 60 people this year, with all the new babies, and everyone gets along. The parents may not agree, but as a cousin/aunt at a 12-hour Thanksgiving feast it looks pretty cool to me.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Here’s the menu I’ve come up with and probably will not make, because Jim wants steak and probably a loaded baked potato and iceberg wedge with Thousand Island. That’s a breeze for me, and means we could even go downtown to see Pirate Radio! I’ve never been able to go to the movies on Thanksgiving Day, even as a kid, because I was too involved in preparing the “sides.”
Dee’s Thanksgiving Menu starts with appetizers Spinach Balls (I think I posted that on the site) and Spicy Almonds and Cashews (my version is different but check out Epicurious); Roasted Winter Squash Soup; Roasted Capon with Sausage/Apple Stuffing and Gravy; Brussels Sprouts with Leeks and Bacon; Braised Carrots in Consomme; Mashed Garlic Potatoes; Orange-Cranberry Sauce (fresh, of course); and Mincemeat Tarts.
I’m liking the steak idea, but will save the menu for a dinner party. Take care and enjoy the holiday. There’s a new, trendy bowling alley opening up in the neighborhood tomorrow. If I can round up a couple of gals we can bring canned goods for the Food Bank and bowl for free tomorrow afternoon! Sounds like Thanksgiving to me…. Dee
Categories: Editorial
Tagged: bowling, petit fours. Pirate Radio, tea party, Thanksgiving
I’ve refrained from saying anything but hope her husband will forgive me this personal post. Now we get into the southern thing. Nanny’s husband’s sister was a great friend to her. As a new member of the family I’d heard stories of this smart, elegant lady. She was a force to be reckoned with, a human tornado, all in the best sense. This post does not cover anything but my impressions.
Finally, after a year or two of marriage, the immediate family hosted a surprise party for Jim’s younger brother’s 30th birthday. We’d spent a couple of days cooking and the last day moving everything to the site and finalizing the dishes for 100 guests. Near the end of service, I was sweaty and not fit to mingle with fellow guests when a woman walked in the door. The crowd hushed. Hair done, fully made up, jewel-toned suit, VJ walked in and made her way to the kitchen.
I knew it was her when she walked into the room. She walked up to me and said “You must be Dee. I’ve wanted to meet you.” I responded in kind. Last year I organized a concert for Nanny’s birthday and VJ and her dear husband were the subterfuge to get Nanny to the surprise venue. A few months later she was gone.
When I was growing up, there were very few female role models to look up to, and mine were Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Annie Oakley (she was the only one with a book I could read), Maria Tallchief and Isadora Duncan. If I’d been VJ’s student she would have been my role model. There are more female role models, but most are not on the news or easily found. My violin, piano and choir teachers are hidden gems and some are still in touch 40 years later.
Perhaps men have been taught to mentor in a business-specific way. Women do it their own way and it’s not acknowledged or women are not allowed to go above that glass ceiling to have the “right” to mentor others. That said, there have been many female mentors in my life and I’m glad that VJ provided that gift for her students. Please join me in a heartfelt thanksgiving to her immediate and extended family. Dee
Categories: Editorial
Tagged: Juni Fisher
