In which the days are darker, and the holidays are mostly cancelled

Everyone here already knows that I'm no fan of winter.

This year, of course, holiday gatherings are cancelled.  You'd think I'd be thrilled.  

I'm not thrilled.   All that dark, with no feast.  Humbug.

We put up lights.  Lights help.

Santa is Da Guy for roof stuff.  

We even put up lights inside the barn!  It's kind of nice to do chores by twinkle-light.

We also (finally) put the finishing touch on the re-painted house:  a door-pony, to replace the stupid faux-gold door knocker/peep hole (that was a foot over my head) the house came with.  Jim put "patina treatment" on this little fellow, and I love the look. 

Every time I come near the front door now, I stroke the pony's nose.

When you come visit, wear a mask and pet the door-pony.  I'm going to call him "Ovi", which is Finnish for "door." 

Thanksgiving is a big deal here.  I've written before about how long it takes us to prepare the Thanksgiving meal each year (spoiler:  some ingredients we are harvesting now were planted in 2009).  

Has everybody been watching Bake-Off?  If not, why not?

 

Just because there's a pandemic and a ban on indoor gatherings (which we fully intend to obey) doesn't mean we won't be cooking...and eating.   The plan this year is to cook a modified version of our traditional food glut, and then deliver packages south (to Will and Jim's stepmom) and north (to my parents).

We've had multi-day Thanksgiving celebrations before.  

Because we knew that there wouldn't be a big crowd at the table this year, we split some of the larger turkeys in half at the time of harvest.  So, instead of a 26-pound bird requiring a Sawzall to get into the roasting pan, we have half of the bird, and it will easily fit into the smoker.

We've been eating a lot of roasted vegetables already this winter, partly because we love squash, and partly because we had a tremendous harvest--and so did our friends.

Patty grew Tahitian Melon Squash this year.  The seed catalog picture
shows a squash a bit bigger than a butternut.  Reality is a tad more dramatic.

So, the Thanksgiving menu will definitely include roasted squash and root vegetables, as well as turkey.  What else? 

I was surprised -- and unprepared -- to find chanterelles on the trail a 
few days ago.  I hauled them home in my scarf!  They will go into the stuffing.

I've been experimenting with "hand pies", partly because they are just so cute.
I made these Dad-friendly pies with no sugar--the apples are sweet enough.

After Thanksgiving, of course, the holidays continue--at least, that's what I'm told.  Monica and I are both having fun with our NaNoWriMo projects this year, and our intention is to keep writing and editing them in December and beyond.  If you follow me on Facebook, you will see snippets every few days.

Jim has other plans for December.

www.jinglering.com  "Jingle90"

He has already done several "Virtual Santa" visits with children, and has more on the calendar.  If you (or someone you love) wants to book a visit with Santa, we hope Santa Jim, aka "Jingle90" will be your Santa of choice.

No matter what you do, or do differently this holiday season, Dear Readers, please stay safe.

And don't forget to ride.

It's the best way to celebrate--everything