Obviously, none of us was able to have the big get-together with family and friends this year. My Tess and I included. We had a quiet day. Tess surprised me by cooking (I was getting ready to plunder the frozen food section at WALMART again, when she stopped me😌). I did put the boxes of clothes she sent to the church that she donates to (in Baton Rouge) on the porch for the UPS guy though, so I earned my dinner 😁.
In the morning, we took a walk, enjoying the fall leaves and fed our neighbors. The ducks 🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆, wild birds🐦🦉🐧 and squirrels 🐿️🐿️.
Dinner, was stick to your ribs southern comfort chicken/turkey casserole. 😋 There was also a salad 🥗 and baked 🍠sweet potatoes, but unfortunately, the dog🐕 ate mine😏. Bad doggie 😂.
Dessert, was yummy in my tummy coconut cream 🥧 pie.
Tess and Lily are sorting out the winter clothes and bedding because it's getting cold🌬️ 🌡️!🥶 But, I am looking forward to Tess' soups🍲 oven meals🍛, and baking🍪 baking 🍰baking 🧁😋, which always increases at this time of year.
I think the ducks are getting ready to leave for their winter home. That is, if they aren't too fat to fly 😀!!!
Looking forward to Hanukkah 🕎(beginning sundown on Dec 10), but not as much now. We had planned to have my parents visit us for two weeks then and Miss Belle for Christmas, but that was before...😔
Still, we're glad to be home and thankful to be together and that our families are safe and well. What more can you ask for?
My Tess was watching elephant 🐘 videos the other day and we both wondered what Tai was up to these days, so we Googled 😃!!!
You may remember Tai from her appearances in
Jungle Book
Water For Elephants
Larger Than Life
George of the Jungle
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Operation Dumbo Drop
TAI 🐘 is 52 years old today !!! 🎂🎁🍌🍌🍌 (but doesn't look a day over 30) and is living at the HILL COUNTRY ANIMAL PRESERVE in STONEWALL, TEXAS an elephant owned by her trainers GARY and CARRI JOHNSON.
TAI lives there with four other precious pachyderms and they are all available for a monthly "adoption" donation that supplies them with feed, supplements and their favorite treats. You can also visit them, which not all sanctuaries allow, (which seems kind of odd).
So, if you've always wanted a pet elephant, one of these ladies could be "yours" for practically peanuts🥜🥜🥜. Get it ? Peanuts ? Because elephants like peanuts🥜🥜🥜???😉
As you may remember, I grew up in Louisiana. As the daughter of a German-Irish Jewish mother and a French Creole Catholic father, my upbringing was a combination of both cultures and religions. My parents respected each other's beliefs and my sister and I were raised to do the same.
Traditions, including holidays, were observed in various ways. For example, Hanukkah and Christmas were equally important in our home as were Easter and Passover. They could have easily clashed, but before they exchanged their wedding vows, my parents vowed to keep their own religions and cultures alive for future generations. They had seen too many other couples marry and have children and discard their own heritage in favor of their spouses, and they and their children suffer because of it. They also wanted their parents to be honored.
I think it instilled a much more open minded view of other cultures and spiritual beliefs in me, and that is always a good thing.
As a child, we celebrated Halloween and the two following days, All Saints Day and All Souls' Day. On All Saint's Day, we visited the cemetery and tidied the graves, put out wreaths and bouquets of flowers and favorite sweets and lit candles.
On Halloween, my parents hosted a masquerade party for business associates, friends and family. I remember the ladies and gentlemen in their beautiful costumes waltzing in the candlelit ballroom. It was like a dream. For years, before I was finally old enough to attend, I watched from the top of the stairs with my nanny, Miss Belle. When the refreshments were served, she would go downstairs and bring up a tray for us to share with dainty cakes and finger sandwiches and ice cream. When we moved to California, my parents were invited to many parties. I went with them occasionally, but it was not the same. Something was missing.
I was never allowed to go trick or treating, so the concept was new to me, when I came to work for My Mr. Cham. Now, he loves Halloween and I love him, so I like to help him to enjoy it. He decorates, buys the treats to bestow on our costumed visitors, chooses our costumes, and makes dinner. I usually assist him at the door and provide the dessert for our post-festivities dinner. He also chooses our entertainment for the evening.
This year, our dinner was Panda Express Orange Chicken, fried rice and egg rolls.
Dessert was little sweet potato pies with whipped cream. My Mr. Cham is partial to an extra sprinkling of nutmeg.
I also made a tray of brownies with walnuts, candy corn and pumpkins.
We did not have any trick or treaters this year, so after dinner we watched the YouTube playlist that my dearest had prepared. All of our favorite animal channels had Halloween videos this year, including Claire Luvcat https://youtu.be/iA8gyRbIR6s
Old movies are still the best. I have not set foot in a movie theater in over a decade and I do not miss it. Anything worth seeing, will be available on dvd eventually and I am a patient person. Good things come to those who wait. My Mr. Cham is proof of that.
