I realize I am rushing things a bit as it isn't even Halloween but I was watching a cooking show on PBS the other day and it prompted this. The point behind the episode was how to cook the perfect looking turkey for the holidays and it really got me thinking.
I admit I have only cooked a turkey once and only for Thanksgiving. I am not a fan of turkey and honestly cooking an entire turkey for one person is a bit ridiculous. I cooked the turkey two years ago for a joint dinner with some friends. My friend had a turkey and was going to cook it, but since I had the bigger dining space we decided to cook the bird at my house to make things easier. I ended up having to go to the emergency room. I was on blood thinners at the time and cut my finger going into a drawer for twine to truss the bird. Once the bird was in the oven and I washed my hands again the cut wouldn't stop bleeding so... Needless to say I will never again cook another turkey.
That is my personal Thanksgiving nightmare and I am sure others have ones that are much worse but my point again is, why should there be nightmares? I thought Thanksgiving was about being with family and/or friends and eating. That doesn't mean it has to be perfect. We are humans and by that very nature, fallible. Nothing is ever going to be perfect and who cares what it looks like, as long as it tastes good? The other issue I have is traditions. I grew up eating certain things on the day and the day after. Since my father died twenty-two years ago I haven't had those same foods because I have never been "home" for Thanksgiving. My mom and I were invited to various places and after she passed away I have spent the day with friends. The only tradition has been that we each bring our own part of our tradition to the meal. In my house it was never a big deal. Mom would be in the kitchen, killing herself quite frankly and cooking for hundreds, listening to my high school football game. Dad would be in the living room watching whatever football was on television. I would hide in my bedroom doing something, either reading or trying to find something on television other than football. I would hide because I really dislike football and wanted to be as far away from it as possible. Mom would put a delicious dinner on the table and then not eat. As she had been in the kitchen all day she was too tired to eat. She would have leftovers about 10:00 that night after I had cleaned up. My favorite part of the day was to steal the stuffing that was sticking out of the bird. It was generally overcooked and I loved it. Of course Mom would yell at me, mainly because I was faster than her and not occupied so I could steal it before she got to it.
That brings me to another issue - stuffing the bird. One of the things this program on PBS raised was that issue. They stuffed part of the dressing into a cheesecloth sack then put it in the bird, once the bird was done that sack would be emptied into the remaining stuffing and that would be cooked. The reason being that stuffing does not reach the desired temperature to kill bacteria if the bird is cooked to its desired temperature. My feeling is, while I understand the science behind it, I don't understand the logic. I ate stuffing straight out of the bird for 27 years and never once went to the hospital or got food poisoning. Now we are so bacteria conscience we can't do that and what do we have? A generation of kids who are allergic to everything. While science has its uses, its taking all the fun out of eating for me.
Thanksgiving is meant to be a day to be grateful for what we have. We should be grateful for our imperfections. So what if dinner doesn't look like a Norman Rockwell painting. We are with the people we care about, warm, safe, healthy and happy - that's what is important.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
From dust ye come....
Will the world come to an end if we don't dust our homes? I was thinking about doing a survey of women, simply because most men don't see dust and if they do don't see it as a problem, about whether or not they like to dust and how often the task is completed. I am convinced there is a correlation between the two.
I recognize there are medical reasons for people to keep dust at a minimum and for those people I would happily dust were they to visit my home. I am talking about the rest of us or at least the percentage of the population who are genetically capable of seeing dust and recognizing it as an issue. Do we really need to dust that often? Scientists have said that even the cleanest houses have microscopic bugs. I am not even going to discuss the critters we don't see that we ingest on a daily basis in our food and drink. So what if the furniture has a fine layer of dust on it? Of course one answer to that is keep the blinds drawn and the lights low so you cannot see it. Life is too short and there are too many other things to do in the world.
I run a duster over things every so often as I am walking past them, or when I'm on hold with some utility company. It is also one of the reasons we have hands - to send those dust bunnies flying as we go by. However, I would rather spend my time reading, dancing, sewing a gift for someone or knitting perhaps for charity than dust. That doesn't mean my home isn't clean. It may not be spotless but it is tidy. The kitchen, baths and Mojo's litter boxes are always clean. I simply dislike dusting. I have too many things, tchotchke if you will, and it takes too long. When I am changing things over seasonally I may dust. Though I shamefully admit; I have a chess set that was my father's in my dining room on the bottom shelf of my server and several of the pieces were knocked over during an earthquake we had in August, 2011. I didn't reset the pieces until I was home for Easter break. In my defense there are a lot of pieces and to dust them really well takes some time. I do not dust on a weekly basis. Life is too short to waste time and that is a waste of time.
Think about the act of dusting. What exactly are you doing? Using a object to pick up the dust. Well you aren't going to get it all so what happens the rest of it? It moves from one surface only to settle onto another. Then you vacuum. Most vacuums aren't perfect, the act of vacuuming creates dust. I read somewhere that if you have a cat you shouldn't vacuum right before a friend who is allergic to cats comes to visit because the act of vacuuming sends the dander flying through the air and makes it worse. So what does that tell you? Anyway, once these tasks are finished dust will return to surfaces right away. Unless your house is hermetically sealed, face it, you're gonna have to do it again. Seems like a lot of wasted energy to me.
So go have lunch with some friends, dance, knit or watch a sunset. These things are much more rewarding. The dust will still be there when you get home.
I recognize there are medical reasons for people to keep dust at a minimum and for those people I would happily dust were they to visit my home. I am talking about the rest of us or at least the percentage of the population who are genetically capable of seeing dust and recognizing it as an issue. Do we really need to dust that often? Scientists have said that even the cleanest houses have microscopic bugs. I am not even going to discuss the critters we don't see that we ingest on a daily basis in our food and drink. So what if the furniture has a fine layer of dust on it? Of course one answer to that is keep the blinds drawn and the lights low so you cannot see it. Life is too short and there are too many other things to do in the world.
I run a duster over things every so often as I am walking past them, or when I'm on hold with some utility company. It is also one of the reasons we have hands - to send those dust bunnies flying as we go by. However, I would rather spend my time reading, dancing, sewing a gift for someone or knitting perhaps for charity than dust. That doesn't mean my home isn't clean. It may not be spotless but it is tidy. The kitchen, baths and Mojo's litter boxes are always clean. I simply dislike dusting. I have too many things, tchotchke if you will, and it takes too long. When I am changing things over seasonally I may dust. Though I shamefully admit; I have a chess set that was my father's in my dining room on the bottom shelf of my server and several of the pieces were knocked over during an earthquake we had in August, 2011. I didn't reset the pieces until I was home for Easter break. In my defense there are a lot of pieces and to dust them really well takes some time. I do not dust on a weekly basis. Life is too short to waste time and that is a waste of time.
Think about the act of dusting. What exactly are you doing? Using a object to pick up the dust. Well you aren't going to get it all so what happens the rest of it? It moves from one surface only to settle onto another. Then you vacuum. Most vacuums aren't perfect, the act of vacuuming creates dust. I read somewhere that if you have a cat you shouldn't vacuum right before a friend who is allergic to cats comes to visit because the act of vacuuming sends the dander flying through the air and makes it worse. So what does that tell you? Anyway, once these tasks are finished dust will return to surfaces right away. Unless your house is hermetically sealed, face it, you're gonna have to do it again. Seems like a lot of wasted energy to me.
So go have lunch with some friends, dance, knit or watch a sunset. These things are much more rewarding. The dust will still be there when you get home.
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