THANKSGIVING DAY

Eve, in the evening, I was still working on the fruit salad. I had peeled and sectioned the great pile of citrus fruit earlier in the day.

Now I cut up the pineapple, washed the grapes, seeded the pomegranate.  And I started on the green salad, as well.

I washed the two kinds of lettuce, washed the grape tomatoes, peeled the carrots, peeled the onion, chopped up the (yellow) peppers, mixed up the salad dressing.  Then I put together an enormous tasty meal to feed to the chickens on Thanksgiving Day.
("No, no," said The Yard Man, "chickens don't really like fruit peelings." 
"Well, what?!" I said.  "I should give them turkey and gravy, make little cannibals of them all?!"
[Next day, they got the fruit, and clucked in a thrilled sort of way])


THANKSGIVING DAY in the morning,
I gently mixed all the cut-up fruit together, added the grapes, cut up the kiwi and added it.


As soon as I had that fruit salad ready to go, I got out two big bowls.  I chopped the carrots, chopped the onion, started tearing up the washed greens. 

By now, The Yard Man was ready to set out for his sister's house.  "Are you about ready to go?" he asked.
(I was tearing through that job of tearing the lettuce [at least I wasn't tearing up, as the onions caused me to do!)  "Just about ready," I said.


I tossed in the carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes.  Poured on the sunflower seeds. 

When it came to the pomegranate seeds, I did a little dance in my head--should I set them waltzing with the fruit, or partner with the lettuce?  I couldn't decide, so the pomegranate seeds went solo. 

And then we were out the door, The Yard Man whisking two bowls from their waiting spot on the table, while I urged for caution.

(to be continued)
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IT WAS A RANDOM ACT

of kindness that I experienced in the grocery store parking lot today.
When I drove there through heavily falling snow, and spent an extended amount of time in the restaurant* part of the store, I found a thick layer of the wet, white stuff covering my car upon my return to it.  As I began a red mitten type clean-off (awkward and somewhat ineffective), up stepped a young man with a nifty tool he had just used to clean his own car.   He used that tool on my car, and did a fantastic job.  I was charmed by the fact that he even cleaned the roof (not entirely necessary, you know, Reader Dear)!

It made me thankful for kind strangers in parking lots!

*I was accepting past-due rent.  I was getting a "Cancellation of Lease" agreement signed.  I was visiting with my Youngest Tenant and his father, and explaining to Youngest Tenant that leaving only four months into a one-year lease involves a (reasonable [if-one-is-the-landlord]) penalty. Youngest Tenant ordered a French Vanilla latte, and I followed suit. Youngest Tenant's father treated. 

It made me thankful for kind fathers of tenants who make things right!  It made me thankful for French Vanilla lattes!

When I got home in my snow-free car, with French Vanilla latte coursing through my veins, I set about making an enormous quantity of fruit salad.

Dear Viewer, if you come back tomorrow, you will see more of this dish.  You will see an enormous quantity of other things that make me thankful, as well.

Happy Thanksgiving Day Eve,
Dear Reader Dear!

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MIXED BAG

For the past several weeks, I've been noticing this guy hanging out near the road, each time I'm making a trip to the post office. I usually wave as I go by, and once I thought (hoped) I saw him wave back.

Yesterday I stopped and took a picture.  I asked him if he plans to don a red suit soon, but he just grinned.


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The Yard Man brought home a box of vegetables from the food co-op where he works.  He does this regularly, but not so often do I utilize them to decorate the supper table.  (The next day we devoured the little Christmas tree and its ornaments).

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Three friends and I met for lunch yesterday.  Because the restaurant was Ethiopian, and there was no coffee to be had, we followed up our meal with a visit to the nearby Starbucks.  Viewer Dear, you likely cannot discern this from the photo (taken by a kind neighbor), but we did a riotous amount of laughing!  

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Our covered bridge in autumn.

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TINY ACTOR, ACTING LIKE

 he's eating tangerines.

Small Actor, taking a break from acting.

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FATE BROUGHT IT ALL ABOUT.

A pair of shoes, Reader Dear, had been residing in my closet for decades.  In fact, more than a couple decades, almost eons!  I up and threw those shoes away the other evening.  Just tossed them in the trash, along with the crumpled napkins and used teabags!

It was all in the timing of things,* the way I said goodbye to them so quickly.  You see, this event occurred during the late-night evening with four friends (only two of whom weighed in on the issue of the shoes, and the fact that I had stored them for such a lengthy expanse of time with no intent of ever actually wearing them again [because they were white and plastic and the cheapest pair of shoes I have ever purchased (that, and the fact that they were starting to get a little mildewed, and the style was that of the long-ago time when The Yard Man and I mutually answered a minister's questions with, I do!)]  The other two friends were discussing politics, or nature, or the nature of political persons with The Yard Man [actually, I have no idea what those men  were discussing] when my two female friends cast their eyes upon these shoes and exclaimed in a chorus, "THROW THEM OUT!!")
I suppose these friends, Dear Reader, are not of the most sentimental sort, but they are two of the very best that I've got!  I value their advice.  I carried that set of footwear directly to the garbage bin and pitched them in.


And, the next morning, I tried very hard not to give it a second thought as I covered those shoes over with trash and dragon fruit peelings.
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*"I want to see the shoes you wore to the wedding!" had requested my  out-of-town friend.

As you may have read, Dear Reader Dear, the wedding of my Dark-haired Daughter and David took place just weeks ago.  As fate would have it, the shoes I wore to that wedding had been shuffled away to a far corner of my closet (since they're summer shoes). As fate would have it further, I'd just done the shuffling on the prior day; I'd just been reminded of another pair of footwear dwelling in that far corner.  As fate would have it, my friend didn't specify which wedding.