Queen's Meme #61 - The Silly Serious Thanksgiving Meme!

The Doyen of Bloggingham rolls out another questionnaire.  To join in on the fun,  sign in at The Queen's Meme.

 

In Canada, it is celebrated on the second Monday in October. In the United States, the fourth Thursday in November. Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, loved ones near and far, the blessing of simply breathing everyday. Let's pause for a moment and think about what we're thankful for. My goal this year is to focus on the small things that I should be grateful for - even without a holiday looming. Having said that, this is serious and silly simultaneously!
Enjoy.  Have seconds!

1. If you knew this would be the last Thanksgiving holiday with your family, what would you do differently?  The food would be the same only the location would change.  We love Bass Lake in November and December when it is rain and snow and the Chalet's overlooking the lake have nice warm pot belly stoves and complete kitchens.  It's a great place to snuggle with loved ones or to go alone with a big stack of books.

2. What is your favorite Thanksgiving dinner dish?

You have to practice with this one to find your preference for hot vs sweet vs alcohol

Brandied Sweet Potatoes

2 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cane or maple syrup
1/4 cup water or orange juice
3 tbs.'s brandy
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon 
1 tsp. pepper flakes
Place peeled and sliced  sweet potatoes in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender, but firm. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large skillet on low heat. Stir in the brown sugar, brandy, maple syrup, water, and salt and cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Add the sweet potatoes and stir gently to coat. Place in a buttered casserole dish, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake @ 350 degrees for 20 minutes, basting with sauce, half way through. ! 

3. Why did John Smith fall in love with Pocahontas? Was it her beauty or her bravery?  


Well she was a nice enough looking woman, though probably strange to him culturally and certainly very brave to cross 3000 miles to visit a totally foreign culture not to mention dying there and never seeing home again, but he was probably more attracted by wealth and land (Cynics R Us).  Let's let him say for himself:  "motivated not by the unbridled desire of carnal affection, but for the good of this plantation, for the honor of our country, for the Glory of God, for my own salvation... namely Pocahontas, to whom my hearty and best thoughts are, and have been a long time so entangled, and enthralled in so intricate a labyrinth that I was even a-wearied to unwind myself thereou."


4. Fill in the blank: Over the river and through the woods to Queen Mimi's blog we go.  Just keeping my "get out of dungeon free" card in good order. 

5. What is a cornucopia?
A. A foot ailment  B. Freud's hidden coping strategy  C. a Enuch with a very large vocabulary D. third cousin of Onomatopoeia


Absolutely D.  But it's an even closer relative to the Enjambment since it straddles the table and recites poetry.

I am not prone to weeping, as our sex

Commonly are; the want of which vain dew

Perchance shall dry your pities; but I have

That honourable grief lodged here which burns

Worse than tears drown.

6. Find a word that rhymes with Thanksgiving


Banks Living unlike the zombie ones that have completely failed.


7.  Do you have any holiday traditions you'd like to share with us?


After dinner movie fest to get ready for Christmas:  Well we used to do the after dinner It's a Wonderful Life and the musical Scrooge.  Now it is the semi comatose viewing involving the throwing of a pigskin and battering of bodies.

Happy Thanksgiving!!