A Thanksgiving Past

Thanksgiving is over as well as the shopping spree in the stores. We finished "Small Business Saturday" and are coming up on "Cyber Monday". 

There are just too many close knit days to deplete the wallet even more these days. Considering Amazon is promoting things "up to 45% off", there's a good chance you'll find something worth the percentage, but maybe not, as sometimes the box stores have better deals. Like I've said in the past, "research is your friend" and one place might not be the best place to buy everything. It all depends on what you're looking for.

Or in our case, what we were looking at. 

My mother decided to make Thanksgiving this year, as I had to work the week. It's the first time in a long time that I wasn't able to get off the day of and the day after. 

As we usually go to a relatives, this year we didn't want to attempt it as it would have been too much to go up and back on Thursday. It comes out to be three hours in the car (round trip) to be there for what, two hours? One time we did try to make it to Sarasota, it took 5 hours of bumper to bumper traffic because everyone had the same idea of leaving town that morning. It normally takes 90 minutes door to door. 

Which is also why we didn't want to chance it. Had I had Friday off, maybe. But who knows.

That's why we had dinner here. Too many variables. My mom invited a couple who she's friends with. We've come to call each other "family" because we do a lot together including Christmas and Easter dinner at their house, so doing national bird day at ours was okay. 

The meal plan was such:

• Individual charcuterie cups
• Turkey (cooked in the crock pot - new recipe)
• Home made cranberry relish / sauce
• Green beans and broccoli
• Roasted mini red potatoes
• Rolls
• Home made Ambrosia salad (made by the guest)
• Sweet potato casserole with mini marshmallows
• Stuffing
• Dessert was made by our guest and it was Costco's pumpkin pie and home made spice muffins.
• Drinks were water and punch (cranberry, orange and pineapple juice mixed with some ginger ale)

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures except for one, which was the burnt sweet potato casserole. 

It was already cooked when my mom topped it with the marshmallows and put it in the oven under broil at the last minute. 

Next thing you know, we're smelling something burning.

Whoops. We weren't paying attention because we were trying to set everything up on the table as well as being deep in conversation.

Everyone still ate it, but scraped the burnt off as much as we could. It wasn't an end all, as we just ate around the extra crispy parts. 

Side notes for what was on the table / made:

• Amazon has various suggestions for "Thanksgiving dinner" ideas, and unfortunately, ordering an entire turkey through them would likely come from Whole Foods and cost you a literal arm and a leg. Or in this case, a wing and a leg. 
• Solely based on the fact it's priced per pound plus a $13.95 delivery fee, even for Prime members (see here). 
• This is why it "pays" to shop around: we got our three pound boneless breast at Aldi for $10.99 and it was big enough for four people, with leftovers. I couldn't find the circular that was promoting it, but if you search around, there's a Facebook page or two where people are talking about it.
  
  

• We cooked the turkey in the crock pot according various recipes found online. The most searched was "Crock Pot Turkey with Garlic Butter". Every site has a different value, so it's a matter of what you're going for. 

• The pumpkin pie was "hacked": Our guest had seen a video on how to make the best of the big Costco beast. 
• You take a biscuit cutter (pretend like you're making biscuits at home) and start cutting the pie up, into the round shapes. It becomes individual little pies. Add whip cream accordingly.
• What's left over of the pie, put all of that in a blender or pan and mush it all together. Scoop out that extra into bite sized balls and cover it in white chocolate. It's like pumpkin pie truffles. 
  

• The spiced muffins were.. home made but I don't know how home made. 

Overall, for a "1pm seating" we were done in two hours and our guest went home with full bellies and leftovers. My mom and I put the rest away, reset the table and by 4pm, were crashed on the couch, ready to watch a movie. You'd never know we had a big turkey dinner at our place just a few hours prior. 

Now if we could only figure out how to limit the crazy amount of extras and dial it back so we don't feel like we're going to be throwing away more than what we need, that would be spectacular. 

Also, when is a good time to turn the scale back to normal?

Image taken from Starting Line Fitness blog

Take care of yourselves and watch your spending!

Cheers;

Ooh... the pretties... in the "cold"

I've gone to the gym several nights this week, as my daily routines have changed. A few days this week has been in the 50s and 60s for most of the morning and then again at night and the sky has been all sorts of colorful as the sun goes down. 

I was able to get the various pinks (kind of) on Tuesday evening, when I had left the gym to get some water out of the bubbler by the pool. I didn't think to bring my water bottle with me, and wanted to get a drink before continuing with my next set. 

Just the opening view alone of the archway and the sky was nice, and when I walked more onto the pool deck, I got to see the openness of it all and capture the rest of what the building hid. 

When viewing the photos, keep in mind, it's just shy of 6pm, eastern, in Florida. 

All photos taken with an iPhone 11 and dropped into Photoshop to add my name to it. 

I'm sure this is nothing abnormal for a lot of people, especially now, where some of my northern friends are seeing the Aurora Borealis show up in their neck of the woods. 

Yes, I've already gotten pictures texted to me from Peabody, Massachusetts, where the purples and greens were so vibrant, you could still see the spots of stars behind the gasses. My friend sent me such amazing photos as she's a nature lover and tends to go venture out at night in order to see the wonders of the local universe. 

That's why I know the pictures I took aren't "ooooohhhh wooooooowww" to some folks, but others may enjoy it. This is what 52° in the Sunshine State gets you. No snow, but other sorts of pinks, purples and blues. 

This week is the week where some businesses are putting up their Christmas decorations. It's cold enough, might as well pretend we're getting something we shouldn't. 

We have two more weeks until the big turkey day, yet we seemingly skipped it and went to the night a baby was born in a manger (I've got toddler versions in my blog.. search around and you'll find him). 

Last night I was able to take a quick photo of a candy cane infested (fake) tree that has been slowly decorated over the last few days. 

For as much as I am not a big Christmas person and think that some times over decorating looks tacky, there's something weirdly calming about what they did to this tree.

It seems chaotic, but I think the spot light it's under, tones it down a bit. I do have to say, in person, it looks so much better, but even "on film", it looks okay. It's a bit tacky when I think about it, but overall, it is a half decent attempt on creating something different. Unfortunately, I didn't get close enough to it to get all of the stuff hidden in places, even though there's plenty to look at. 

I'm just glad there aren't a dozen in this small space, like some places I've been to. 

Yes, I've actually worked in a facility where each event room was big enough that there were not one, but three fake trees decorated accordingly. Much like this one, but dialed back a lot (those photos are around my blog as well). 

The next few weeks are certainly going to be interesting, to see what people are doing to celebrate the rest of the season. I know some people aren't investing in much since there's been some worldly challenges lately, but others are treating it like normal and doing their usual routines. 

It makes me wonder how many people are going to be able to do Thanksgiving this year, as one store I was in, was selling Butterball turkeys for a little under a dollar a pound, making a few frozen birds well over the 80 dollar mark. That was obscene - seeing a 13 pounder for $95. I can't imagine the person buying that - how many people are you inviting, and where do you get your money for that? Considering you'll need to get everything else that goes with it - stuffing, pie, sweet potatoes, etc. It'll easily be a $200 (or more) dinner.... even on Amazon, it'll cost you plenty, but free shipping is free shipping? You're apt to not save that much in gas if you were to split your time between a couple grocery stores and get a "better deal". 

I'm not saying to do one over the other, by any means. It's tough times for people, and if you can figure out how to cheat the system a little bit in your favor, go for it. Only do it legally though - I don't condone thievery or any other type of criminal shenanigans. If you have coupons for items, do it. If one store has a better price per pound, buy it. Choose wisely and do your thing. If you follow those social network "influencers" who do late night "freegan" things... that's on you. I've seen the videos and understand where they're coming from. We've got too much waste in this world, but doing dumpster diving is on them, not you or me. I'm okay with watching the "tutorials", but I'm not going to do what they do... unless I go off grid at some point in my life and start bartering with people in the area for "necessities" - if I grow one thing and you can use it, while you've got something I could use... let's talk; let's trade. 

I know I sound like I'm contradicting myself. I'm trying not to - in my head, I'm somehow being very methodical, for as much as I'm sounding crazy typing it all out. I've got a process; trust me. 

Much like my method and process at the moment is to finish this up as I've got company coming in a few minutes. I must go act like a civil human being and be a generous host. 

Until more things happen in this world... 

Be good to yourself and take care.

Cheers;

Night time photography | Did we miss Thanksgiving?

Over the past few days, we've had somewhat clear skies and an almost full moon. As it's been cool enough to keep the windows open, we've also been able to air the house out. The only challenge is that the mosquitos are still in full force. 

However, I was able to take some post-Halloween creepy-esque photos of the cloud coverage over the moon. Why stop being scared on November first? 

All photos were taken on an iPhone 11 and "edited" in Photoshop. I added my name and erased some identifying information (in one of the latter pictures). 

I think the playground photos came out kind of cool, for the moon hiding behind the clouds. I was too lazy to get my Canon out and hook everything up, otherwise I would have gotten some better shots of that lunar satellite when the sky cleared. Therefore, the phone pictures took "night photos" - whatever special filter the iPhone has in the camera to take low light imagery. 

Although, when you're driving past a house where the owner are on the force, you have to be careful when you take your photo.

I saw the Christmas lights from the intersection and decided to go do a drive by. 

Gif found on Tenor
Scene from the 1995 movie, Friday

Little did I realize the owner was outside putting everything up, hence the reason the cruiser is in the street and the other car in the driveway. I didn't want to get arrested for slowing down and taking a picture.

Try explaining that type of reasoning when you're asked to get out of your car and put your hands on the hood.

This is also why I said I edited out pivotal information - the cruiser's plates and car number. 

We just finished with Halloween; we haven't had Veteran's Day. Can we at least celebrate Thanksgiving before the holiday lights go up? 

Gif taken from a user's Pinterest pin (not mine)
From the 1993 movie, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

When I told my mother the transient parcel of the community are already putting their end of year stuff up, she thought that it's a little too early and the master board documents prohibited this from happening. She had asked a friend who lives in another parcel of the community when they're allowed to seasonally decorate, and the friend said that Christmas stuff can't go up until the day after Thanksgiving. Therefore, the houses I saw are jumping the gun. 

I probably could get better pictures once the holiday is in full bloom, because like I said, the owner was currently putting this out and I didn't want to have to answer questions. We're having issues in our community as it is, and when each parcel has a couple houses full of people on the force (or EMT / EMS), you be careful with what you do. I'm sure they don't mind photos, but they don't want themselves or their vehicles shared. So semi blurry and edited photos it is, for a start...?

That's about it for updates for now. Thought I'd share some photos and such before anything else happens. 

Until we get to the next big thing, stay okay!

Cheers;

The next morning…

Again, I’m using my iPhone 11, Logitech M535 Mouse and Apple Magic Keyboard to write this post. So please excuse any and all errors.

This morning is not foggy in Bradenton. It is nice and sunny, and feels comfortable enough. It’s a little chilly, and allegedly there is rain coming at some point today. 

All photos taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T7i and stock lens. Some look a little “funny” because I was shooting through the screen.

I know the people I am with are going to want to shop all morning today before the weather changes. So it’ll be interesting. There was talk about Bealls, Costco, some other retail stores and lunch at some point. 

After all the food we ate last night (turkey, stuffing, [string] bean casserole, some sort of potato dish, homemade cranberry sauce, apple pie, pumpkin pie, homemade carrot cake and fruit for dessert), I’m still so full. I can’t think about eating today. The crazy thing is, all the food was made kosher because a couple came and they are strictly kosher. So the normal fare had to be made extremely differently. Such a nice set of hosts I am staying with? 

I’m so tired, but this is what holidays are for - over eating, under sleeping and trying to con yourself into getting a deal on an item you know damn well is already over priced. But you buy it anyway. 

Hopefully we have enough down time today that I can take a nap… and it’s only 8:37am and we haven’t left the house yet….

They’re talking about leaving shortly, so I suppose I should wrap this up and get ready.

Keep your wallet safe.

Cheers;

“Visions of the things to be”

Early morning fog where I am in Bradenton, Florida (For Thanksgiving today) makes for the M*A*S*H theme (“Suicide is Painless”, track one off of the album from the movie).

I’m writing this post on my iPhone 11 and using my Apple Magic Keyboard with Logitech M535 mouse, so please excuse any and all errors. 

As it is still early, I don’t have a lot of crazy photos, but I did take “some” fog photos (okay, over 40) that I slimmed down to 20 to put on my blog. Plus there’s one of Chester. 

I didn’t do any editing except put my name on the photos because again, I am working off my phone for this.

All photos of the fog and dog were taken on Landscape mode on my Canon EOS Rebel T7i digital camera with the stock lens. 

The photos below were taking on a walk and it’s local “greenery” along the route. The condensation on the plants had the people I was with, amazed. They were taken on my phone and not super edited except putting my name on them. 

I know they’re probably not the best, but it’s one of those days where everything is hectic. The dog is going postal at everyone because he wants attention and it’s not even close to 11am. There’s only 4 people in the house right now and that includes me. Five more people are expected for dinner tonight, and we will see how that goes. 

The plan is to eat by 5 tonight, cleanup by 8 and bed by 9, if not sooner. Tomorrow we are attempting some shopping but not the crack of dawn shopping. We don’t need anything except maybe window shop for what’s left of what happened before 7am. Someone mentioned Costco, others mentioned Best Buy. One of the relatives needs a new computer (Apple desktop as it’s a 2013 model and won’t update. Doesn’t that sound familiar????). 

Until we can figure things out, I’ve got to give my phone a rest. It’s at 65% battery and I’ve already had to log back in to this account a few times. I don’t know why I keep losing the connection. There are plenty of Black Friday deals on Amazon for those who want to preview and shop early, and no go out. 

Don’t over indulge tonight but remember it’s still not too late to turn your scale back 10 pounds before you start eating. 

Cheers;

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