712.

Happy Sunday folks.

My weekend turned out to be a mostly quiet one. Quite the opposite of what was planned but it's obviously what I needed.

As some of you know, for many in America, Thursday is the celebration of the country-stealing holiday we call Thanksgiving.

Hurray.

For me it's a time to spend in reflection and fellowship. Sometimes with family, sometimes not.

My birth family has been the source of many life lessons. But that's the way it's supposed to be, right?

Lately there have been lots of lessons.

One family member voted for Trump. Another texted several family members begging for money for an adult child who chooses to stay unemployed because he is too full of himself to take a job that's not in the field of his college major. Then there are the enablers who always make excuses for the others, regardless of the situation.

I really don't want to share a meal with these people.

I also know they'll want to talk about Mr. Bliss. He'll always be part of our family though he's no longer with us. I don't want to talk about him every single time we gather for family events.

Thinking about him while I'm going about my daily life has its own challenges. Being with a group of people who want to talk about him has been overly emotional in the past.

Baby Bliss has a paramour who's taking up a lot of her non-working hours so I expect she'll eat with his family.

Which leaves me here eating alone and I'm fine with it. That way if I want to cry, I can do it without feeling bad about it.

It looks like the rest of this week will be devoted to planning my Thursday meal.

Definitely macaroni and cheese. Frozen because there's no way I'm attempting that one from scratch.

Probably rotisserie chicken from my local Harris Teeter. Or maybe salmon, which I already have in the freezer.

A pie too. Pumpkin is the traditional dish for the holiday but I've never been a stickler for other people's traditions and I do love a good apple pie. Pie will be pre-cooked. I wish I could do it from scratch because I don't want the ton of sugar and other stuff they add in.

Hmmm... Maybe I will make my own apple pie. I've baked a few since Mr. Bliss departed. Not that mine are anywhere near as good as his, but I've learned that the hardest part is chopping, coring, and peeling the apples. I have a graham cracker crust that I've been anxious to use in an apple pie. It's not the usual crust for the pie but I love graham cracker crust so I want it.

If there's pie there should be vanilla ice cream. There are already two pints of Ben and Jerry's in the freezer: vanilla and Mint Chocolate Cookie. When ever I buy a favorite flavor of Ben and Jerry's, I buy a pint of vanilla to mix with it. Their delectable yummies are flavored ice creams mixed with other flavors and it's just too much flavor for me. So I mix with vanilla to get just the right amount of flavor for me.

Is that too much flavor for you?

Yes?

Exactly.

Veggies will probably be steamed kale and mashed sweet potatoes.

And because this time of year brings my favorite bread to the supermarket (I've loved it since childhood), there will be brown and serve rolls.

If I'm really lucky my other daughter (Baby Bliss' co-worker who we've adopted into the family and shall ever after be referred to as Big Sister Bliss) will make a chicken pot pie for me and I won't need the chicken/salmon or the bread. Maybe not the mac and cheese either.

Everyone cross your fingers for my pot pie. Big Sister Bliss makes a scrumptious chicken pot pie and she's been promising one since last week.