Thanksgiving report

We are in the last day of the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. It is a beautiful day in Dummerston, VT - sunny and relatively mild for the season. We are fortunate indeed! Thanksgiving Day was, of course, unusual this year. No in-person gatherings. Ellen and I had our thanksgiving dinner sitting by our fireplace: turkey drumstick (for me; white meat for Ellen), squash, mashed potato and gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce, plus a choice of apple pie, pumpkin pie or mincemeat turnover  - a very traditional meal. Ellen had bought a very inexpensive 13lb. turkey - $4.00! But it had no pop-out button - it was cheap for a reason. Result - it was undercooked. Not a common thing for master chef, Ellen, believe-you-me!  So I didn't finish my drumstick. But everything else was delicious. But - it was a busy day with three Zoom sessions: (1)with Rob, Katie, Kate (all in Santa Fe), John and Cynthia at about 1pm; (2)with the Phil and Deborah McKean/Jacob families (about 30 persons in all) at 3:30pm, and (3)Katie, Savanna, Brendon, Tye, B, Dusty and Dorothy at about 6pm. So we felt very connected. 

Here are some Thanksgiving meals:

John and Cynthia's meal:    

Layered Enchilada, roasted brussels sprouts, potatoes and mushroom gravy.               Apple sauce from our wild apples hadn't made it onto the table yet.

The Shay meal in Santa Fe:

                                                                Turkey & stuffing 

                                                                Braised red cabbage 

                                                                Beans, cranberry, pickled radishes 

                                                                And of course the walnut balls

Hot turkey sandwich on Friday at our house

Friday, we had a quiet day: I read an entire novel, Wildlife, by Richard Ford, which Ellen had recommended. It is told from the perspective of a 16-year-old boy watching his parents' marriage unravel over a period of about four days. Masterfully done!  I also did something I have not done for months - I went to the pool. Yes, it is open, but under very restricted conditions. All I did was use a couple of pieces of exercise equipment just to exercise my body. I had the exercise room to myself.  Unfortunately, the hot tub is closed, as is everything else except the gym and the lap pool: no changing room, no showers, no steam room, no water aerobic pool, etc. The staff cleans the equipment you used as soon as you finish with it. I think it was entirely safe. 

Saturday, I slept late, had more leftovers, did the Spelling Bee, transcribed some Jerome tapes, and we both forgot a Feinland family Zoom session - quelle domage! However, John put me on to a talk about "how to buy a telescope" coming out of the Dublin Academy (New Hampshire) observatory, which was fascinating, even though I am not contemplating buying a telescope. I learned that there are three basic types of telescopes: 1) refraction (the traditional type); (2) Newtonian reflective, and in particular, Dobsonian (the best bang for the buck), and (3) the composite Schmidt-cassegrain type - the best all-round including photography. Avoid all box-store telescopes (junk). You can do really  well in the $500-900 range, but of course they can get up into the thousands. Here is the Schmidt-cassegrain type:

Diagram showing interior construction: a combination of lenses and mirrrors

Eric, the speaker, showing a real telescope of this type

Today was an outstanding 1st Sunday in Advent church service at Guilford Church, featuring a beautiful anthem, I Believe, based on an inscription coming out of the Holocaust:

            I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining;

            I believe in love, even when I don't feel it;

            I believe in God, even when God is silent.

You can find it by going to YouTube, searching "Guilford Community Church" and scrolling for "I Believe anthem." 

Later today we may get to Grandma Miller's bakery. We're out of morning-glory muffins.