Happy Thanksgiving!

2009 November 26
by vbonnaire

Well, I decided I’d cook.

This is what I serve, although there are only two of us, now.

I had a chance to just go out, but?  Dunno.  Thanksgiving is sort of a huge thing for Americans…

Turkey, simple bread & onion and celery and sage dressing

Mashed potatoes and candied yams ala orange marmalade…

– Gravy!

Cranberries,

Tiny peas from a silver can

black olives, celery sticks

rolls

Pumpkin pie

I might make an apple pie too.

Editor’s note — I did custard pie — I invented it today — and a classic pumpkin –

the custard pie is three eggs, half cup sugar, I c. Milk, I c. Half and half ,  dash salt — a gigantic SPLASH of Myer’s rum and about a third of a cup of golden raisins plus vanilla — A Rum Raisin pie. (that was my mom’s fav flavor of ice cream) — miss her — miss all of them. We’ll see.  Next up?  Champagne!  Soon.

ps: all of this is from scratch with exception of the peas

how I will accomplish…

have coffee

make cranberry sauce with boiling water and sugar — easy!

I have a smallish bird so stuffing is one loaf of white bread (I have used many kinds over time including sour dough!)

Saute several onions and a bunch of celery in butter while you are toasting the torn bread on a cookie sheet till dried — toss all this with poultry seasoning — salt and pepper — wash, stuff and truss.

Boil yams until soft and skins slip off — layer in a pan with butter and orange marmalade — as if for scalloped potatoes — bake in the last hours while turkey is finishing up

He does great mashed potatoes –skin and boil potatoes till soft, mash with butter and milk until like clouds.

Make pies ala martha pies and tarts book (a staple from the early years when I wanted to be a good wife)

—- her crusts and pies are really good, too.

the gravy is the last thing to do, in the pan after you have removed the turkey to a platter…

I miss all the relatives I used to do all this for today –

Also, I am just sick over the news at RD’s.  Sick.

Many years ago the newspaper I worked for used to give all the employees bonuses and bags full of all the things for the dinner so that every employee could have one.  Read that piece by Riverdaughter above and take a look at what has become of AMERICAN WORKPLACES.

Tragic.

I wish you and yours the best holiday — one of the MAJOR AMERICAN HOLIDAYS

and, hope you have enough to eat, and friends to share it with.

When I was a child we were always in fancy restaurants on the big holidays.

I started the tradition of this dinner when I was about 21?  Something like that.  I’ve made it in many kitchens over the years and even when I was a college student with hardly any money and very few pans.

Geez.

hugs and xxoo!

from me!

ps: got a laser printer and now I can print out the book to proof it — it’s for sale as soon as I rewrite.

Oh and, never trust anyone in politics who has to hire ghostwriters, no?

Pretty sad, no?

WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK!

HEART OF CLOUDS (the novel post-NaNoWriMo) — ready to roll.

2009 November 25
by vbonnaire

So, what comes next?

Editing — and contacting my fav literary agent first.

There has been a lot of mess of late re: literary agents in general in the web.

I like the idea of having one, myself.

What being part of this crazed writing month in November did for me was get me out of wasting time on politics and concentrating on something more useful.

I’m glad.

Check out this fab poster!

I did what I set out to do — write a book of Children’s literary fiction.  But, as I wrote it there was more to it.

I wrote it as an extended short story in a way — and I wrote it to be a film.

It has a lot of things in it from Depth Psychology.

In some ways it is quite poignant, because the subject is LOVE.

How LOVE looks.

I’m very happy with it.  Very happy.

Nanoday #24 Heart of Clouds will end, today! (plus guess who arrived in a dream?)!

2009 November 24

I DID IT!

I WROTE A NOVEL! IN 24 days and 50,000 words and, C. S. was my guardian angel this morning!

I DID IT!

 

That’s right, he actually came in a dream as I am at the finish of this book!  I woke up from a nap yesterday and this dream about C. S. Lewis — it had something to do with libraries and librarians and also the book F. 451! Dunno.

Writing this book released dreams about 7 times…

Seriously!

I’m sad to let the characters go, a bit, but the end of the novel has written itself — in a half dream state.

It occurs to me that there are many different messages in the book and I’m very happy about that — at the core though is love.

all right ————————- onwards to the last words to sum up the whole…

I thought I’d look at C. S. during the crafting, for luck!

back later and xxoo!

exhausted!

Heart of Clouds!