Thursday, November 28, 2019

THANKFUL???

I've been enviously reading other blogs, which have been giving glorious Disneyesque descriptions of Thanksgiving - - - of sumptuous turkey feasts shared with a Hallmark Movie cast of family and friends.

I can give you the Alfred Hitchcock version of Thanksgiving. This week has been so rotten that I get physically ill just thinking about it - - and my only two plausible options are suicide or selling this frickin' place.
I probably won't do either, but they presently linger at the top of my list of Reasonable Solutions.

I plan to recount my woes in a future blog post, but today I'm too mentally and physically exhausted to do it.

Despite all of my troubles, and the grim fact that I don't have a goddamn thing to be thankful for, I decided to make a fairly decent dinner - - as a stark contrast to the usual sandwiches, tuna, and pizza that I've been eating.

No turkey here today. But I had some chicken in the freezer. I thawed it, doused it with oil, paprika, and herbs, and tossed it in the oven. Then I made green beans with onions, and yams with cinnamon and brown sugar.

The cake that I had planned to bake never materialized.

Despite the devastation of a dire week, I managed to preserve documentation with my El Cheapo camera.

In layman's terms, that means I took some pictures. 



Thanksgiving dawn

 Chicken, anyone? 
I made four of these, so I have enough to eat tomorrow

 Migration, anyone?
Yesterday morning I heard a loud chattering ruckus outside. When I opened the back door I saw thousands and thousands of birds in the treetops.
They suddenly swooped up all at once and took off. It happened in only a few seconds and I hardly had time to snap some pictures.   

  As they were leaving.....

A strange photo
difficult to discern 
My cat Bosco has been very sick all week with a respiratory virus. He crawled under the covers and stuck his head out - so I put a vaporizer by the bed.  I've been doing this several times a day and it's been helping him.

 My other cat Kitzee (also known as Scratch) comtemplating a weed

A few nights ago there was a horrendous rainstorm. I opened the door to look out for a few minutes - then I went to bed. I had NO IDEA that Kitzee slipped outside when I wasn't looking! I slept for about five hours.

When I got up, I was stunned to discover that Kitzee had vanished. I searched everywhere. I finally opened the back door and there she was - - completely DRENCHED! She looked like a used dishrag.
I dried her with a towel, brushed her, and put her next to a space heater - where she slept for over an hour. 

She recovered beautifully, but it was a traumatic experience for a fourteen-year-old cat. 

 Weird glimpses of a chilly, hazy Thanksgiving Day in my back yard




I'm glad the damn holiday is over 

NOTE: 
I haven't been responding to your comments lately because I'm in bed with a bad back, an injured elbow, and a sick cat (Bosco) - and I'm typing on my laptop with one finger.  It's extremely awkward.

8 comments:

  1. holidays are stressful whether you are alone or with the family. glad you made it through. so did i. interesting about using the vaporizer for your kitty. sorry to hear she isn't feeling well. my kitties are indoor cats, but lately i've been giving them a shot of oxygen by holding them in my arms and letting them breath in the fresh air, at the front door. it has invigorated them. they are going on 17 years old. glad you found your other missing cat. a shame she got all wet. but no harm done. your el cheapo camera takes better photos than my new cell phone. love all the trees in your midst.

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  2. First of all, the sky is such a beautiful color! We're getting those cold, clear days here too right now. It's supposed to get down near 20 tonight. Second, your poor kitty! Mine snuck out into the garage somehow, and was unhappy with the temperature and comfort of it when I finally located her. Last, those Hallmark holidays are often fiction. I had a good time with my elderly parents at my brother's house, but had to sit at the table, staring at a Trump mug on their cupboard. I have no idea how you feel about politics, so I'll just say that I'm no fan of 45. I love my brother, and avoid discussing politics or religion, since he's also very religious. Sadly, our relationship has become much more surface than it used to be, like many people's posts about their delightful get togethers. It's the Facebook effect of pretending everything is perfect and wonderful when things are actually falling apart underneath. By the way, your dinner sounds delicious!

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  3. Well, at least the food was good and your cat survived. Two things to be grateful for. My cat spent the night in a well stocked (with wheelchairs and the like) and I didn't hear his cry untik 4 oclock in the morning. I have felt guilty ever since. Seriously, I hope you start to feel better soon.

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  4. That sucks! I spent my holiday with Annie in my chair under a blanket, taking meds, coughing, mouth breathing, blowing my nose, unable to sleep for any length of time...but I was warm, had leftovers to nuke, and was able to binge-watch some good shows. Sorry life has been the pits lately, my friend. This has been a long year...for too many people I know. I hope 2020 is much better.

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  5. Well, OUR Thanksgiving observation was far from Disney-esque or Hallmark, even. At least, as far as I know, no-one suffered food poisoning. If you'd like a good belly-laugh, check out Sean of the South's column yesterday: https://seandietrich.com/happy-thanksgiving/

    Wow, that photo of the birds (Hitchcock, anyone?) is something. Great timing, capturing it. Love your tender heart, ministering to Scratch. I hope she's recovering nicely.

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  6. Hi Jon,

    I simply ignore certain holidays like they don't even exist. For one thing it's too commercialized now with stores filled to the brim with inventory and piles of frustrated shoppers who feel like they must' buy the best' or 'be the best' until their charge cards are maxed out. I notice this all the time. Cash is rare at the check - outs.

    Best advice - don't look at blogs which make you feel lousy. Most things aren't as they appear anyways. I never knew what Instagram was until I heard a mental health advocate speaking on the news hour about the negative impacts social media is having on today's society. So I looked at some Instagram's - and all it is are people posting nothing but 'selfies' depicting their perfectly beautiful lives. I'd much rather read a good book in peace than waste my time looking at that sort of narcissistic nonsense.

    You made yourself a nice meal, so that counts for something to be thankful for. Plus your kitties are another blessing. I sincerely hope things turn around for you ... feel better soon. Take care of yourself !

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  7. Hey Jon, give Bosco a big warm hug for me. See, those space heaters really do work wonders! Your Thanksgiving chicken meal made my mouth water big time. Alas, the crazy frozen meal I bought proved to be worse than what's served at most soup kitchens. Lesson learned. Next year I'll go to a soup kitchen in my area instead - at least I'll be enjoying Thanksgiving with other down and out people like me. That really means a lot...

    I've discovered one or two awesome silent movies on YouTube to keep me company during my holiday solitude: Silence is my current way of coping with a much too loud world.

    Hang in there, sweet poet! Your current situation is tough (to say the least), but you are much stronger than you give yourself credit for - I believe in you big time :-)

    Always big hugs for you and yours,

    Dylan

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  8. My husband doesn't speak with 2 out of his 4 siblings and has no relationship with his mother. I lost my dad last year, who was the only normal one in my family. It's all I can manage to sit at the table with my mother and brother for the meal. The one advantage to being the host is that you can feign extreme busyness and have a minimum amount of interaction!!!

    Your chicken looked delicious to me. I'm sorry that your kitty was stuck outside, but I had to laugh at the weed contemplation. Some days, that's a highlight.....LOL!

    Keep on keeping on, Jon. We are here for you!

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