Well folks, that’s a wrap! I had my last poetry reading off 2022 yesterday. Shahayra Majumder and her friend Tucker’s band Extra Lime performed last night at The Tasting Room in Monona, WI. Shahayra, Tucker, Mike, Maddy, Deets and Brian: you really made our reading extra special and I hope we get a chance to do this again! It’s the 24th appearance I’ve had this year for my book and I’m ready to hibernate for a bit. Shahayra and I will be at Mystery to Me Books on February 23, but for now, I’ll rest and work on Book #3. I’ll write a reflection blog post as we get closer to the New Year.
I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year. I do love to cook and I think I’m a fairly decent chef so it doesn’t scare me to put out a spread. It’s just a matter of making a list and printing out or finding the recipes in my library of cookbooks. I think my menu is a little heavy on desserts, but if that’s the worst thing to happen, we’re in good shape .
I have mostly fond memories of Thanksgiving. A couple of times I tried to switch things up and go to the Outer Banks for the holiday, but missed the mark with a crowded restaurant buffet or flying home on Thanksgiving, spending the night without family.
My Grandma Gen would go all out for holidays; cooking and prepping for days. I remember so many details of these times together. She’d even have little crafts or skits for us kids to tell everyone how grateful we were while adults sipped on my Grandpa Orrin’s dandelion wine. And she made a very complex and yummy Jell-O. It’s the kind of holiday that you sit at the kids table well into your teens. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
One thing I’ve been doing a lot of this year is recalling and collecting wonderful memories. My friend Adie came up to visit this weekend and her friendship is something so incredibly precious. I am so blessed to have her in my life. We’ve been friends for 50 years, which seems crazy to say, but I am who I am because of angels like her in my life. I thought of a metaphor this week: do I collect stones or feathers? Stones are much heavier and these are memories that don’t serve me, so why do I keep so many of them? I’m hoping I can create a poem some day with this metaphor. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to collecting feathers this week by being with family and cooking up a storm!
I hope that you are able to enjoy time off this week!
Let’s chat soon.
With affection,
Carrie VS
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