So here I am in the dungeon awaiting rescue after the pink explosion is finally contained. We have 4 kids and since the three youngest are girls, my son and I are often outnumbered in more ways than I can describe. My son, displaying wisdom beyond his years, has departed for a friends house.

The “girl party” will consist of games and chatter and cooking. The girls will be baking cookies with my wife. Most will be eaten at the party and the rest will go home with the girls. Leaving the smell behind to taunt the men and boys who will be allowed to get a whiff of the lingering aroma of goodies long since gone. Oh well, I doubt I would have been able to endure the “girl stuff” to get the treats anyway.

So like an inmate in an ancient prison, I await the mercy of the King (or at least the diffusion of the girls).

Some of these are for the kids, others are about faith. Some people focus on the needs of others in the community and others focus on the needs of their own extended family. It’s a time of the year when people seem more likely to be selfless.

Yes, there is always a lot of rampant consumerism. Toys for the young, and the not so young, are so abundant. Electronic gadgets seem to grow on trees (or at least under them).

You may not know what will be under the tree each year but you can count on a good gathering and a good Christmas dinner.

I hope yours is wonderful.

Let me know what you had (your favorite item on the table).

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Grease a 10.5 x 7 x 1 pan. Preheat 375.

Cake:

1/4 c vegetable oil

1 egg

1/2 c milk

1.5 c flour

3/4 c sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix and spread in pan.

Topping:

3 tablespoons butter, melted

mixed with

3/4 c brown sugar,

3 tablespoons cinnamon and

2 tablespoons flour

Sprinkle over batter. Bake 375 for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Also works in an 8×8 square pan, or, doubled, in a 13×9 (but obviously for this last, it will have to cook longer).

I love Thanksgiving.  The family together, pretending they want to be that way every day, but can not due to some scheduling conflict that is just too stubborn to shake.  That’s a good share of what Thanksgiving is about.  Yes, there are parades.  There is football.  There is FOOD.!  Oh, yeah.

We normally have a small family gathering on Thursday, ie Turkey Day.  We have about 15 to 20 at our home and everyone brings something.  We normally prepare the main course and several side dishes.  Other side dishes come in with the crowd and a few important desserts.

When I say I love Thanksgiving, I mean it.  It’s a great holiday.  That doesn’t mean I love turkey, however.  It’s fine, but if it weren’t the traditional food of Thanksgiving, I wouldn’t be eating it on any Thursday.

So, here we are eating Turkey, and all the trimmings.  About half of which I would never miss if their sources became extinct tomorrow.  That’s fine, one thing about holidays, there is always plenty of something good to eat.

This kind of brings me to one of my points.  What is it about Thanksgiving that makes changes or new things unsavory.  Try having some other meat in place of turkey, you’ll have a riot, even if everyone in the family is allergic to turkey.  Oh, some new foods might make it on the menu.  Trial salads and such.  But not as replacements for any of the traditional fair.  Those things are locked in.

Well maybe that’s for the best.  I’d be real sad to see pumpkin pie get the boot.  Or to see mashed potatoes and gravy sent packing.  Maybe that’s the point of the Thanksgiving tradition.  Keeping it the same preserves the whole package.  The food, the gathering, and being thankful for all the abundance we have in our lives and in our country.

Thank God for Our Family and Friends.  Thank God for All He has Given us.

Have a great Thanksgiving.  Whether you eat the traditional fair or you break out of the box, I hope the purpose of Thanksgiving is still at the heart of your day and gatherings.

Brutus