Alabama 2019 - Days 7 & 8 : Speedy and Dirt Cheap

Thursday 28 November - Thanksgiving

Breakfast is pancakes and bacon, which makes a change from porridge.

All is quiet, on the walk this morning we saw more people than we have seen on any previous morning.  It is like Christmas day, lots of people out walking. After breakfast, I took Robbie and Mady up to the end of the road on their bikes.  Robbie is just learning and seemed to enjoy it, although every time he stopped he took his helmet off.  Mady was having fun some of the time, but I don't think she really understood why we were 'going nowhere'. Karen and Robert are busy preparing for the evening Thanksgiving meal.  Most of the stores are closed today.

Lunch is rice, beans, and salad.

After lunch, Robbie takes us for a walk around the lake.  He is a good guide.  There is a bird that he calls 'Speedy', we haven't identified it for sure yet, we saw one of his 'cousins', we also saw a turtle, and spent a while watching a Grey Heron fish.

Grey Heron Hunting

Turtle

Speedy

Jo + Robbie watching the Heron

Robbie in front of the Park sign.

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We bought an acorn back from the walk that Robbie really wanted to open.  When he did, with Robert's help, all he found was grubs.

Too much food is kind of a theme for Thanksgiving.  Robert and Karen worked hard to provide an over the top meal.  Robert has a smoker and smoked a turkey — it was delicious.  Karen had prepared other traditional dishes and made two pies — pumpkin and peanut butter, both in gluten-free bases.  We were all soon very, very full.  As ever there was lots left over, so more of the same for dinner tomorrow — can't wait (weight?).

Friday 29 November — Black Friday 

We went to a store called 'Dirt Cheap'.  Boy did it live up to its name.  We were looking for a Christmas Tree (fake).  There were loads, most of them too tall. All the boxes were open, all had either mixed content, missing content or broken content.  We did not find one that was complete and working.  All they have at the store is salvaged goods, which they presumably get for next to nothing.  There is Christmas that all over the store, all for a dollar or three.  It's hard to work out the prices because the label says $2, then you have to find the discount code — typically 60%, so the price is $0.80.  Then there is extra discount if you shop between certain hours. I hope I never go back.

Then onto the park with two very nice play areas.  Here we are 'selfie style' enjoying the park, but one of us not enjoying having our picture taken, which is why I am pointing, so that he will look at the camera.

We were not there long when Karen got a message that her parcels had been delivered.  She was worried that it would be left on the doorstep, and sure enough it was.  Delivery is no better in the USA than in the UK, perhaps it is even worse here.

Alabama 2019 - Days 5 & 6 : Grand persons and digging in the dirt

Tuesday 26 Novenber

This is not a sight we would see at home, a vulture walking round a dead animal in the road.  I think the carrion was another bird or a rabbit.  Mauve was fascinated, I was grabbing my phone to record it.

Today's main event is Grandparents day at Robbie's school (Cary Woods). The sign at the entrance was Grand persons day.  Pam had driven Mady, Jo and I to the school, it is only a few minutes away.  Robbie loved showing us around and took us down to the hall to eat.  The Thanksgiving meals were all set up ready to go.  We collected our meals and found a table.  One of Robbies friends sat at the other end of the table and his grandmother kindly offered to take a picture of us.

Here we all are:

On our return, Pam leaves to go to other members of her family for Thanksgiving.  We stay with the children.  First we clear the leaves from the front a little. Then they are playing on the front grass, Mady digging in the dirt.  One of the boys from down the road sees Robbie and comes to play, he is 9 years old. More of his friends arrive, they are older.  A very boisterous ball game gets underway, eventually one of the older boys is hurt and they all go home - which is a relief for us.

Now all is peaceful and quiet, I can pretend, just as the children are.  My pretence is not Pokemon related, but it might involve digging in the dirt. I'm just enjoying sitting on a verandah in a rocking chair with my faithful dog lying there.  I'm watching my lands, enjoying the late autumn sun, satisfied with a good day and a good season.  Well all the elements are there and I can dream too, can't I?  It was a lovely day, quite like Mid-September in the UK.

Dinner was home smoked red-snapper, it was delicious. 

Wednesday 27 November

Today is also like mid-September, it is raining hard, so hard water is running out of the gutters.  There will be no walking a dog while it is like that! The rain didn't last long, almost all traces of it were gone in an hour or so.
I looked after the children while Karen and Jo went shopping. We did a little more leaf clearing, it's harder work when the leaves are damp. A guy in a truck stopped and offered his help, I told him we were just playing and were not serious about clearing the leaves.  They are deposited by an Oak and a Sweetgum tree mainly.  Both trees are quite large, so there are lots of leaves.
Mady dug in the dirt again, I think it is her favourite outdoor activity. We had to go out, so I was following instructions to keep her out of the dirt.  She had a melt down when I told her to stop. So, we played games while cleaning her up and her usual pleasant temprament soon returned.
When Karen and Jo got back we loaded ourselves into Karen's car.  There really isn't much room and Jo is stuck (literally) between the two child seats. We are soon at Taco Mama.  Mady is then with Carly, one of the employees and is very happy.  There are all sorts of people in the restuarant, and it soon gets busy, so arriving early was a good choice.  The food is good as always.  Robbie enjoys his meal eating quite a lot.
After lunch we visit the new bookshop next door.  It is very nicely laid out and has a few nice souvenir type gifts too.  Back home I play with Mauve for a bit, and take her for a walk about 4:15.
Later, we go for dinner at Cracker Barrel.  Its a nice place, but a bit of a disappointment.  Our orders are  not delivered properly, Robert's is completely wrong, mine is incomplete, Karen's is overcooked, Jo's is OK.  They sort it out, but it shouldn't have happened.

Visiting the American dream - The day America stops

Well almost. America is the original 24 hour society, but on Thanksgiving most of that is put aside and for one day being with family takes precedence. This is similar to England during the Christmas holiday. The difference is that America will do it all again in about a months time, because Christmas is also celebrated. Another difference is what follows - Black Friday, but more on that later.

We were privileged to be included in the celebration. Partly due to Robert's work commitments, partly due to the lack of schedules that a new born baby imposes and partly due to the distance to be travelled, we arrived relatively late in the day. A warm welcome awaited us as we met people we had not seen since last Christmas. Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens", t were soon eating foods we had never tried before, and many that we had. This was not the 'sit around the table turkey dinner' that is so prevalent in films, but a buffet style, with a wide choice of different foods, so that there was something for everyone. I now have some new favourites. Green Bean Casserole is especially worthy of mention, as are the sweet potatoes, which I don't usually like, but these were very tasty although the texture is still a problem.

To understand Thanksgiving we must ask what is the thanks for and who is being thanked. The holiday was instituted by Abraham Lincoln to give " Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens" (Wikipedia). That tells us who we are giving thanks to, but not what for, although giving thanks and praise to our beneficent Father is purpose enough, I think there is likely to be a more specific origin. A further scan of Wikipedia suggests that the celebration comes from the services usually held to give thanks for arriving safely after a long and difficult voyage. This became mixed with harvest thanksgivings after some bumper harvests and later military victories. What established it as a national celebration was the various government authorities supporting the celebration. Today, there is no religious service specifically for Thanksgiving, the only distraction is the need to be at work, this is mainly true for the service industries. There is also the Macy's parade, which is televised and provides a centre piece for some.

To me it seems that this unique holiday is much more about celebrating family at all levels, which in itself is a healthy thing for a nation to do.

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