Today looks very different for most of us this year. Some families have scaled back to just a single household, as per the governor's mitigation protocol. Other families have chosen to go ahead and celebrate with a large family gathering for anyone who feels comfortable sitting around the table together. Then there are those who are attempting a virtual Thanksgiving via Zoom or some other platform that will allow family to still feel somewhat connected.
Our family will be doing a modified Thanksgiving. We are still meeting face to face around a family table because it is what Bill's Grandma Norma wants to do. What Grandma wants, Grandma gets. She is 92 years old and wants to see her children, grand children, and great grand children
Not everyone will be there today. Some of the families with multiple small children in school will not be coming, since their families have been far more exposed to potential illness. Some family members feel uncomfortable around a crowd right now, and we offer no judgement. Some family members are working today. Those who coming are a lot like us, and are rarely around other people anyway.
Being out on the farm, I mostly just see my immediate family. Bill drives a semi, and is alone in the cab of his truck all day long, since his customers no longer allow drivers into their building. The others who are coming rarely leave their homes these days
We will do our own version of social distancing inside her spacious home. There are three rooms set up for the families to sit in and eat. We can chat between the rooms, and eat together as family units.
We are all using common sense. If anyone has a family member not feeling well, or has knowingly been around anyone who is not well, then that whole family will stay home. This is how it has always been.
Yesterday Bill and I hauled off our second trailer load of scrap metal to the salvage yard. It didn't pay much, but between yesterday's load and Tuesday' load it covered gas for his truck for the week.
After coming home from the salvage yard, it started raining so we worked inside preparing food for today. Grandma had asked Bill to bring a batch of the Strode Cranberry Salad, so we got out the old metal hand grinder and started grinding up the fresh cranberries, oranges, and apples. I did the taste testing and adjusted the sugar because poor Bill hates this stuff. He makes it for Grandma, and used to make it for my dad for years, simply out of love. He is such a good hearted man!
Charlene's Cranberry Salad
Using an old metal hand cranked grinder (we have found our Rival Electric grinder to be useless for this particular grinding task)
Wash, drain, and grind 4 pounds of fresh cranberries.
Wash, quarter, and grind 8 Granny Smith apples. No need to peel or core.
Wash, quarter, and grind 8 organic oranges, with skins on.
Add sugar to taste. We use 2-3 cups, which seems like a lot, but adjust to your taste. It will be a bit bitter because of the orange peel that is in there.
**Pro Tip** use a bowl placed under the metal grinder to catch the juice! It WILL leak juice everywhere, but you need the juice to add back into the salad or it will be too dry. Bill's dad always uses a roasting pan on a TV tray under the grinder to catch the juice that drips. Since the grinder clamps onto the edge of the kitchen counter, this works really well.
Thankfulness and gratitude are a choice you make to stay in a positive, abundant mindset. We have much to be grateful for, always. So, from the OCG-IL crew, we hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving celebration, whatever that may look like this year!
