Good Morning.

In just a few days, friends and family will be gathering for that peculiar American holiday.

Whether you are "Team George" (1789) or "Team Abe" (1863), I presume we'll be doing all the same things next Thursday.


Personally, we find this year to be somewhat daunting. Not because of the expected crowd (small) or the menu (traditional). It is because two of the honored guests are nearing the end of the line. Both Papa TriSec and Maria's mother will be turning 90 in about four months' time.

Neither one of them is in any particular medical distress at the moment, other than what you could expect from the vagaries of time. In part though, it's the driver for my choice of a traditional Thanksgiving spread this year.

This has been 'my' holiday since I had cancer 11 years ago. My thought process at the time was that I might not be able to eat any of it, I'm feeling well enough to cook all of it, so I won't spoil anyone else's Thanksgiving. In the end, I was feeling well enough to have a reasonable holiday that year, and we've been doing it ever since.

I very often choose non-traditional dishes. I presume I do hate America, since I'm not that big a fan of turkey. I don't think I've actually cooked one in quite a few years now, so we'll see how we do.