Falling Off the Map

It’s amazing how one day of not blogging turns into two or three. I started a number of times each day just to wander off either physically or mentally. The notes below I did on Sunday basking in the warmth of a true summer like day.

‘Canadian Thanksgiving

This is my favorite holiday of the year, unsullied by commercialism, and stress, a true time of thanksgiving. Most years it is cold, many times snowy and the odd time like this year it is warm and sunny. When I say warm I mean like 70ish which is warm for the frozen north. I am outside, reclining under a cloudless sky, so blue it could be it could be a vast warm ocean, wearing summer togs and listening to leaves rustling from a gentle breeze. Somewhere distant there is the drone of a lawn mower.

This is the time for family, turkey, warm smells and vibrant colors. It’s a lazy relaxing holiday with most of the work being a little grocery shopping and some cooking..even lazier now that they have stuffed turkeys which are pretty delicious. No fuss, no muss, just a little post eating mess.

For some reason, regardless of name, this seems such a natural time of year for giving thanks and snuggling down for winter. Of course bears snuggle down not people but it is the thought of the whole thing.

I like that there is no thought of gifts and the accompanying stress it’s just about people. For many years it was at this feast that I made a point of inviting people I knew were going to be alone so aside from family there were friends who became family.

We often think of the first Thanksgiving arriving with settlers to North America but in fact feasts of thanksgiving at the end of harvest were celebrated by our native brothers and sisters for centuries before.’

The plan was to give a more in-depth history of Thanksgiving practices in Canada and to baste flavorful delightful photos, however I was suddenly felled by…yes…my annual October cold. Nuts. And Monday I was hosting dinner for my family. Thankfully my son and daughter-in-law took over most of the work so what was to be a quiet relaxing day for them turned out rather hectic. Today things are back to normal and I am pretending this cold and sore throat are soothed by left overs most notably so far…lemon meringue pie, pecan pie, bread and cheese. And it is only noon!