Poor Thanksgiving.

Overlooked.

Demoted.

Underappreciated.

As I drive around town and shop in the stores, I’m surrounded by Christmas decorations. There’s red and green garland, ornaments and elves on the shelves in every store.

Know what I see on the clearance aisle? Thanksgiving decorations.

Thanksgiving used to be one of the bigger holidays of the year. Commercials advertised a piping hot turkey resting on a big platter. Moms were filling bowls with mashed potatoes and gravy. An orange tablecloth covered the table, and marshmallow ambrosia was on the table for everyone to have seconds.

Growing up, our mom made sure we had all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes – turkey, bread dressing, salad, mashed potatoes, rice, gravy and rolls. Her favorite dessert was pumpkin pie, and it’s the only time of the year she made it.

We’d watch a football game in the afternoon, fall asleep on the couch, and then go back for seconds a few hours later. Thanksgiving was a day when we gave thanks, ate ourselves into oblivion and vowed we wouldn’t eat turkey again for six weeks.

All that has ended.

I’m not sure if it’s a rebound from covid or the sad state of the economy, but people are Christmas crazy. I was in an arts and crafts store, and people were lined up at the cash register, their carts filled with Christmas decorations.

One shopper was pushing a cart with a stuffed gingerbread man that hung off the sides because it was so big. People were buying artificial Christmas trees so fast, the loudspeaker crackled with “John, report to the front for a tree take out” every two minutes.

Stores no longer wait until the day after Thanksgiving to start promoting Christmas and holiday shopping. They started this frenzy right after the back-to-school supplies were pulled from the shelves.

That’s not an exaggeration.

But I feel for Thanksgiving.

The day was once a big deal, a time moms spent weeks getting ready for. There was the shopping for a big frozen turkey, knowing how many days it would take to thaw out the bird in time to pop it in the oven at 6 a.m. so families could sit down at noon.

There was chopping – onions and celery – and making sure there was nutmeg and cinnamon in the pantry for the pies.

Even though I’m not a good cook, I enjoy cooking on Thanksgiving. I buy a big turkey as soon as I see them because the bigger birds are the first to go.

After the turkey has been procured, it’s time to shop for everything else. My grocery store list for Thanksgiving has at least 20 items on it.

There’s the 10-pound bag of potatoes because I like to make mashed potatoes from scratch. Then there’s the dried cornbread dressing mix. My son prefers baked cornbread which I might actually attempt this year.

The Wednesday before, I bake an apple pie, cherry pie and a pecan pie. Sometimes I’ll bake brownies, but that’s only if I have time. I usually forget to buy a can of cranberry sauce, so that’s a run-to-the-store Wednesday night.

We use the good china and we give thanks before we sit down to eat. We are blessed and fortunate to have so many incredibly good things and people to be grateful for. It’s the one day centering around remembering the gifts we’ve been given.

That’s why my Thanksgiving decorations won’t come down until the turkey’s stored in the fridge and all the pie is gone.

I want the last Thursday of November to know – I respect you.

It’s a fabulous and, in my heart, much appreciated holiday – Thanksgiving.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald. 

This week, our eldest granddaughter turned 18 years of age, that magical threshold when a child crosses over into adulthood.

Kylie’s been adulting for a while – she’s in NHS and theatre, has a part-time job, drives herself to and from school and makes wise decisions.

As she’s already been accepted into the college of her dreams, there’s not a lot of time to make sure we’ve prepared her for life away from home.

Before you head off to college, my dear, sweet, wonderful granddaughter, in no particular order, here’s a few last-minute bits of advice.

Register to vote. It’s an incredible way to have a say in how your government conducts business, especially on the local level.

You’ll meet people with good intentions and those with not-so-good intentions. Knowing the difference will serve you well.

Be open to meeting new people. Find out about their customs, culture, likes and dislikes. Understand not all will be people you want to keep in your life.

Get rid of people detrimental to your personal growth and character. Don’t feel bad about crossing them off your list. Human parasites will drain you of positive energy.

Forgive when it’s right to forgive. Some people don’t deserve forgiveness. Accept that and move on.

Don’t get a credit card unless you can pay the balance in full each month. Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe, and it can sink you. If you can’t pay cash, don’t get it.

Pay attention to the details, from choosing classes to buying a car to renting your first apartment. Read the fine print.

When considering a potential partner in life, examine how they live their life. Small bad habits turn into big bad habits. Conversely, good habits turn into fabulous habits.

Notice how they treat their family. Are they still on good terms? Does the family laugh or treat holidays and people in a respectful manner? Do they have lots of friends or co-workers or do they find fault with everyone around them. If so, run, don’t walk, away.

Don’t stay in a job or profession you don’t love. Life is too short to be miserable. In fact, the gift of life is too short to be anything less than enthusiastic about everything.

Come visit us when you can but remember we’ll understand when you don’t come. You’ve got a big life to live, my sweet granddaughter and that means you’re out there exploring the world. That makes me much happier than an afternoon where we sit and watch “Wicked” for the 10^th time.

Be kind to your sister. In this world, our sisters are our soulmates, even though you want to wring her neck. One day soon, she will turn into your best friend for life. I speak from experience.

Trust your relatives, especially the strong women you have in your lineage. They’ve forged a path for you. Follow but make your own way.

Enjoy college. In fact, enjoy every step of the way as you move through life.

See the world. See this big, beautiful planet with your own eyes. Ski down a mountain covered with quiet snow. Sit on a warm beach and enjoy the sunset. Snorkel in crystal clear waters, lunch at a mom-and-pop diner and walk the streets of a big, bustling city.

Find something to do in your leisure time that brings you joy. If that’s puzzles, do that. If it’s writing music or lyrics, sit down at a desk and get busy.

No matter where you are or what you do, create incredible memories.

Happy 18^th birthday to our dear, sweet, smart, talented, loving and beautiful granddaughter. Blow out the candles on your cake and make your dreams come true.

That’s our birthday, and lifelong, wish for you.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald. 

After decades of continuous service, my Magnalite pots and pans are showing their age.

Most Louisiana cooks over the age of 40 swear by two types of pots and pans – Magnalite and cast-iron. Magnalite doesn’t require any special care, but the cast-iron ones need a little spoiling.

I don’t have a lot of the black cast-iron pots, but the ones I have are the workhorses of the kitchen.

Rounding out the collection is inexpensive cookware. They don’t last as long and they have a few other drawbacks.

Food sticks to the surface of the pans after a while, and the pots warp. Trying to balance an uneven pot full of hot water on the stove is not easy.

Perhaps, I told myself when throwing away two cheap pans, I might as well buy a good set that will last instead of replacing the cheap ones every couple of years.

That longevity, I discovered, costs.

A 10-piece high-quality stainless-steel set of pots, pans and lids runs right at $800.

That’s more than I paid for my couch.

As I don’t like to cook, paying that much for pots and pans seems a waste of money. I decided to make sure the cheap pans last a long time. This feat can be accomplished by cooking in the air fryer and the microwave.

It’s not just pots and pans that are expensive. Gone are the days of the inexpensive Pyrex mixing bowls that nest inside each other. New bowls start at $9 each.

Kitchen gadgets can be expensive. A wireless Bluetooth meat thermometer can run as high as $270. A fork stuck in the middle of a chicken thigh works just as well.

A good set of cutting knives will also break the bank. One six-piece set I saw was over $700. I’ve had the same set of knives for over 50 years. They need sharpening, but they get the job done.

I own a few other geriatric kitchen items. A set of orange Tupperware measuring cups are my go-to whenever I’m baking, and I know they date back to the 1980s.

Same for the baking sheets I’ve had for decades. Sure they’re a little beat up, but they work perfectly fine when baking cookies or a frozen pizza.

We’ve used the same forks and knives for years. They don’t match, but they’re capable of getting food from the plate to our mouths without a hitch.

My glass Pyrex baking pans are a little etched, but the baked chicken comes out dry.

My fault, not the pan’s.

Maybe if I had that $700 meat thermometer, I wouldn’t overcook the chicken.

Our coffee mugs are all different colors and designs, but each one represents a memory of where we’ve been or a special occasion.

Some things aren’t expensive to replace. Potholders are usually less than $10 for a set of three, but I use the ones my grandmother crocheted over 50 years ago.

The potholders are lightly stained, and I’ve had to sew up a few rips over the years, but there’s no way I’d leave them in a drawer, forgotten and left to rot from not being used. They were made with love by my grandmother, and they’re priceless to me.

After researching new pots and pans, I made a decision. The pots and pans I have now suit our needs, so I’ll see if I can get a few more decades out of them.

Just because something’s a little dinged up doesn’t mean it’s outlived its usefulness.

I could be talking about myself, but for right now, we’ll stick with the Louisiana queen of the kitchen – Magnalite – and her princess – cast iron.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald. 

Some people love when the seasons change. Daylight either stays a bit longer or disappears earlier.

The temperature either warms enough for us to haul out our shorts or cools enough to bring out the long pants.

The change also brings a visitor.

This visitor is unwelcome.

This visitor is a nuisance, mostly in the morning.

The visitor?

Seasonal allergies.

I don’t need the weather folks to tell me when the season is changing. My allergies alert me the minute a front starts to roll in.

The allergies start with a stuffy nose when I wake up. The first sign is my nose feels like it’s stuffed with cotton. Then my eyes start to itch, my throat feels scratchy and, as an added bonus, there’s the sinus headache.

That one hits about 4 a.m. After years of battling the pounding in my forehead, I found what works. I take two Migraine Strength Excedrins and get a bag of frozen peas out of the freezer. The peas, a blanket and my miserable self huddle down on the couch, the frozen peas over my eyes.

After a couple of hours, the headache’s gone, and I feel like I’ve gotten a spa treatment as the puffy eyes, another byproduct of allergy season, have gone down a bit.

Then there’s the sneezing.

When the allergies arrive, I don’t sneeze a quiet, gentle lady-like “ah-choo” into the crook of my elbow. It’s a loud honk that scared the dog.

Plus, I don’t sneeze just once. My allergies make sure I sneeze at least a dozen times to be sure I’m good and aggravated. They don’t want me to forget I’m allergic to whatever pollen, dust or mold spores are floating around the atmosphere.

I stopped keeping a box of Kleenex next to my computer because that’s gone in a few hours. I use a roll of toilet tissue – it’s soft, inexpensive and lasts through two days of sneezing and sniffling.

I’ve tried a variety of medications. There’s the pill you’re supposed to take before allergy season rolls around to potentially ward off the unwelcome visitor.

After a month of taking the pills, when allergy season arrived, I was still sneezing on the couch with a bag of frozen peas on my face.

Some of the medications have side effects. One type I tried made me a zombie. I practically fell asleep on my lunch sandwich but at least I wasn’t sneezing. Another drug dried my nose up so much, I had nose bleeds.

I’ve tried natural ways to deal with allergy symptoms. Hot, herbal tea works well, but even the non-caffeinated ones keep me awake.

Honey is supposed to help the throat, but I pour so much honey in the cup, I might as well eat a Snickers bar and a bag of peanut M&Ms.

One year, I tried a neti pot. They are advertised as being magical in helping clear out one’s sinus passages.

Getting the hang of a neti pot is a feat in acrobatics. My first few tries, the water spilled over in my eyes and dribbled down into my ears.

After I got the hang of using the pot, I did feel a little better. That is until I read an article that the improper use of a neti pot can increase the chances of an infection in, horrors, the brain.

I weighed the pros and cons and decided I’d rather sneeze than risk anything else compromising my brain.

Here we are, a few days into this seasonal shift. Once again, I’m back to sneezing and rubbing my eyes, waiting for the unwelcome visitor to realize it has outstayed its welcome and move on.

At least until the weather changes again.

And then it’s time to buy another bag of frozen peas.

 

   This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.