Thanksgiving Pies

Armed with the experience of the lemon pie, I tackled mince pie for Thanksgiving. David made mincemeat using the green tomatoes left over from the garden. I made the pies separately just in case something went wrong with one of them, but both came out fine. I pinched a piece of crust off the edge of the less pretty one (on the right) to make sure it was up to standard, and declared the project a success. Just as the timer went off for the second pie, the phone rang. It was David saying that they had a holiday emergency.......their dryer had quit, leaving the linen tablecloth and napkins still wet. Now, moments later, they are swirling around in the heat of my dryer. What fun, and what a relief after recent events, to put everything else in the background. For one day at least, the worse that can happen is a wet tablecloth. We are ready, willing, and grateful to throw ourselves wholeheartedly into the celebration of a day, so I saw on TV the other night, that never really existed. How uniquely human...........we create a cerebral diversion for our cerebral troubles and step outside of the rest of the animal world for a moment.

Or at least we think we do. Dylan chasing his toys belies the fact that humans alone do things simply for the fun of it......

Speaking of animals, the chickens, who normally streak out the door the minute I open it and head for the far side of their pen to look for crumbs, noticed through the window as I approached that I was carrying a bag. When I opened the door, they surrounded me. Lilly, the brains of the flock, jumped up to investigate the bag while the others waited inches away for me to toss their Thanksgiving treats on the ground. Apples and cornbread......a chicken feast. Mine awaits down the street.