Happy Thanksgiving!
[guest post by Dana]
Despite the standard rash of articles smugly instructing Americans how to talk politics with family members at the Thanksgiving dinner table and persuade them of their obviously wrong views, I tend to view the day through a simple lens: A heart full of thankfulness and love rule the day. Not much else is needed because everything else pales in comparison, including one’s political views.
With that, I tip my hat of thanks to Patterico for his great writing, and for providing a place to opine and be challenged by some incredibly thoughtful commenters. And also to JVW for his well-crafted, and frequently witty posts. What a couple of great guys!
Have a full-of-gratitude day with people you love and who love you back.
–Dana
Tell us what you’re plans are for the day. And of course, what you’re cooking (if you’re the chef today)!
Dana (174549) — 11/25/2021 @ 9:48 amHappy Thanksgiving y’all!
I’m enjoying family today. Hope y’all have a great one.
Dustin (f468bc) — 11/25/2021 @ 9:50 amVery well said, Dana! I am so thankful for Patterico, JVW, and you! My family has opted to stay in a hotel and have our TG dinner catered. No dishes, no house-work, just leftovers aplenty.
felipe (484255) — 11/25/2021 @ 10:00 amHappy Thanksgiving to everyone
frosty (1e6b9e) — 11/25/2021 @ 10:08 amThe words that came to me during morning reflection were graciousness and gratitude.
steveg (e81d76) — 11/25/2021 @ 10:25 amThanks to all of you and have a great Thanksgiving, filled with love and happiness.
Two things I’ll try to avoid today, hypotheticals and talking politics with family members.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 11/25/2021 @ 10:46 amI’m crossing fingers on my Martha Stewart turkey brine. We’ll see if it’s a good thing.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/25/2021 @ 10:56 amHappy Thanksgiving to all of you. But especially to Dana, who contributes so much to this site.
Jim Miller (edcec1) — 11/25/2021 @ 10:57 amThey no longer have even a laptop here. It’s so hard to use anything here – even an iPad with a keyboard attached. I got here early.
Sammy Finkelman (21dbe4) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:03 amIt’s easier to read, though.
Sammy Finkelman (21dbe4) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:05 amAvoiding my family (and more to the point, airlines) for the second year in a row. Turkey, smashed potatoes, fresh vegetables and a quiet evening.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:06 am@9: If you need to get their telephone modem working, I can give you some pointers.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:08 amThe third thing I’ll avoid today is green bean casserole.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:08 amPaul,
I boycotted turkey this year because of all the prep, but I would love to hear a review of your Martha Stewart bird.
Ditto green bean casserole. One of our guess is bringing an incredible roasted veggie platter dressed with balsamic and bacon (real bacon, finely chopped) and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Yum!
Dana (174549) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:28 amI am thankful for the posts made by Patterico, JVW, and Dana. And for the people who kindly make constructive and often funny comments. We are all so isolated.
My two sons are visiting from college, and my older brother just got in. So we have much to celebrate and savor.
I wish you all the best.
Simon Jester (195e3e) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:38 amMy darling wife just pulled a loaf of cranberry-walnut bread from the oven, and if I could, I’d send a whiff of the aroma to all of you who make this site a thoughtful place to visit, and especially to our host who treats us to a regular helping of Bach.
John B Boddie (9f8361) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:45 amAs someone who no longer has any family to spend TG with, I have enjoyed nine Thanksgivings, Christmases, and New Year’s with my loving girlfriend, for whom I am extremely grateful every day.
Rip Murdock (f8a200) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:50 amI love that, John B. Boddie!
Dana (174549) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:51 amJim Miller @ 8,
Thank you so very much. I appreciate that so much.
Dana (174549) — 11/25/2021 @ 11:52 amThe problem with using a phone, or anything without a physical keyboard, is controlling what it does – navigation and input.
That’s probably why there is so. much word completion built in now
Common input tools have gone from worse to worse: Keyboard -> mouse -> trackpad -> finger (!?)
My finger sometimes doesn’t even work.
Voice might be better, or mind reading. It might be easier to train yourself than using your fingers.
Sammy Finkelman (21dbe4) — 11/25/2021 @ 12:19 pmWhen I go into CVS it was pointed out to me that each picture printer had a mouse when I mentioned I had trouble with using my finger
The machines in many drug stores are half broken. In Rite Aid they are very far behind in fixing them. In CVS they may not be taking input from a USB drive, so I can’t put JPGs on them to print
What I’d like to learn is how to create NFTs.
Sammy Finkelman (21dbe4) — 11/25/2021 @ 12:45 pmi
I’m grateful for Patterico, Dana, and JVW. I’m meeting my sister and brother-in-law at the Peppermill in Las Vegas at 3 PM.
Charlie Davis (03f4c9) — 11/25/2021 @ 1:16 pmHappy Thanksgiving everyone. I’m thankful that my son (in the Navy) was able to visit for the long weekend.
Davethulhu (f178d9) — 11/25/2021 @ 1:26 pmBest to all.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 11/25/2021 @ 1:31 pmHappy Thanksgiving to all.
mg (8cbc69) — 11/25/2021 @ 1:39 pmSmoked Short Ribs as the alternate meat. 6 hour smoke, just a dry rub, I like bark.
Just finished meal #1 with mother and sister; x-i-ls after 8. Happy Thanksgiving!
urbanleftbehind (0ce586) — 11/25/2021 @ 2:05 pmHappy thanksgiving all. Find the misinformation in that!
Appalled (1a17de) — 11/25/2021 @ 2:14 pmBelated Happy Thanksgiving to all.
lurker (59504c) — 11/26/2021 @ 12:38 amThere was no place I know to plug in a USB drive yesterday on an iPad. So they must be getting less universal.
The meal itself lasted a little longer than an hour, till almost 6.
Sammy Finkelman (c49738) — 11/26/2021 @ 3:41 amSince I already cook 99% of the meat and eggs in the house, Dana, I took over the turkey duties a few years back, leaving Mrs. Montagu to the stuffing and mashed potatoes and aesthetics around the house.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 11/26/2021 @ 6:32 amI was thinking about deep-fried back then because a friend of mine swears by ’em, but didn’t have the motivation, then I read a book called Salt-Fat-Acid-Heat and discovered marinating and brining, the latter of which is excellent for turkeys because they’re a great way to season the bird, and the salt brings out the favor and keeps it moist. Even better, the process produces a phenomenal gravy from juices at the bottom of the pan.
Martha Stewart didn’t do me wrong. It was my best one yet. I laid it on a bed of carrots and onions, and ended up using three sticks of butter for basting. The key this time around was making sure I took it out right at 160 degrees.
Today, it’s turkey sandwiches, with stuffing, cranberry, mayo and this delicious cranberry-cream cheese-jalapeno dip from Costco, after some gym-ratting to burn off the excess calories from yesterday.
The short ribs rocked. Mini Briskets rendered perfectly with a crispy bark. Foodie Nirvana.
mg (8cbc69) — 11/26/2021 @ 7:31 amI like squash pie and I get extra to take home. A lot extra this time.
I’m thinking that maybe the iPad did have a USB port and that maybe the keyboard was plugged into it (although a wireless keyboard with a radio USB connection would also work, you don’t want to misplace the keyboard, so it most likely would be designed to be attached.)
Sammy Finkelman (c49738) — 11/26/2021 @ 9:10 amLooks like the new covid is coming for christmas dinner. It will hunt the anti vaxxers down.
asset (d44c8c) — 11/26/2021 @ 12:36 pmOne of my sisters, Lisa, disagrees with me on just every political point possible, but, surprisingly, we were able to have Thanksgiving dinner at her house yesterday, and politics was not discussed!
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (ae0ea3) — 11/26/2021 @ 5:33 pm