General topics.

The high dive commercial is good in that it does not make older people look stupid or cute as so many commercials do.

I love that new iPhone commercial where the old man full of moxie does a belly flop off the high dive only to turn it into an Olympic splash at the end -
Magic!

Thank you everyone who posted good advice. I am beginning to take better care of myself.

Kit Harington could show up at my house any day w/o a car -- he is gift enough. Oh my...

Pam, guess that means bearded English actor Kit Harington won't be pulling into my driveway with a new Infinity Q60.

I notice that both he and Matthew are riding alone???

Oh Pam, please don't get me started on those Matthew Macoug......(I don't know how to spell his damn name) commercials. I feel like putting my foot right through the t.v. whenever they come on. Arghhh.........

What Katie!! you mean I'm not getting a new Lincoln delivered by Mathew Macoughny this year?? There goes my dreams and wishes.

moecam, I agree....what used to be a holiday lasting one day is now several tiresome months long. Many holidays that were one day seem to go on at least 2 weeks in general anymore...people take off of work the week before, and others take off the week after and the ruckus goes on the whole time. It seemed much more special when Christmas was a one or two weeks at most, not dragged on for months. And don't get me started on those Christmas luxury car commercials that don't even end until weeks after the holiday making us listen to that music long after the fact. I personally only know of one person in my entire life that got a car for a gift this way and it was an old, used Dodge that was her father in law's company car for an exterminator...they just took the bug signs off the doors and repainted them, and gave her the old car.

Brandywine, I am experiencing narcissistic behavior from an old friend recently, as well as my MIL for the past 30 yrs. I am not sure why this happens. Perhaps it is a sign of insecurity about something and it comes out this way. I have been feeling very bad too, about my old friend's behavior. The best thing is to realize it is not your fault and treat yourself well. I am standing my ground with the narcissists in my life and keeping a bit of a distance. It also seems this holiday season brings out the worst in too many people.

Lu, I definitely think the cardinal was a sign. My Mom always loved cardinals too. After my Dad died, a bright red male cardinal began to appear at the kitchen window right by where my Dad used to sit. My Mom began feeding the cardinal. I bought my Mom a beautiful sun catcher with a male and female cardinal on it for her window while she was bedridden before she died. A few days after Mom died a female cardinal appeared at my kitchen window! Even a catalog arrived in the mail with a painting on the front of a male and female cardinal together the next day. There is truly something about cardinals. I believe your Mom was sending a sign that she is ok and came to check on you too! {{Hugs}}, Katie.

Thank you Veronica and Susan.....So many times I asked Mom to send me a sign to let me know she was safe and OK and I really want and need to take this as a sign.

Brandy I think you have to get to a point where you don't care anymore. Otherwise, it will continue to hurt. My sister used to always hurt my feelings until just recently I got to the point where I had enough respect for myself to where she didn't have the ability to hurt me.

Work on loving you, Brandy. You know how you feel towards people you love. If you saw someone treating them bad you would step in and defend them right? Well start loving yourself enough to the point where you won't tolerate being treated bad.

My middle age daughter has narcissitic personality disorder or so I think. It's me, me me, me. What I can do for her, how much money I am sending, how many gifts she is getting, how big and nice the gifts are. She is barely talking to me because I don't cater to her every whim. She has good job and makes a lot of money. But still wants me to send her money. She treats me like dirt under her feet. I am so very hurt by her actions, I cry and cry. I went to NAMI and go to a counselor and getting a lot of help but it still hurts. Please suggest how I can handle this.

I hope you all enjoyed U.S.A. Thanksgiving - I just wish you wouldn't think that is the be all & end all - I am a very happy non-American - you have started such a rat race in the shopping that it even infects us here in Canada - it is xmas DAY not a bloody 3month season - say YES if by xmas you soooo tired of it that you can't wait to have it over

I say lets celebrate Saturnalia [what christians took over to get maxium exposure] which was the festival just after the shortest day of the year & where the days start to lengthen - look it up

Lu, you are so fortunate to have seen that! I've always heard it said that a cardinal visiting your yard is a visitor from heaven....I would say having it enter the house is a definite sign. Your mom is watching out for you.

Luckily, I definitely think it was a sign from your mother. What a lovely thing to happen on Thanksgiving Day. You will never forget this. it was her way of saying thank you for all you did.

The neatest thing happened on Thanksgiving and the day after at our home.
As we were heading out for our Thanksgiving dinner at my Uncle's,I could have sworn I saw a bird fly in the house but my husband said "no,it flew out".Not thinking anymore about it,time went on.The next morning(yesterday) I had the TV on and I thought I kept hearing the chirping of a cardinal,so I turned off the TV and kept hearing it and then I saw it...A female cardinal in Mother's doll room.I couldn't believe it and still can't.I keep wondering if it might have been a sign from Mother.It must have seen me sleeping but it was quiet all night.Mother knew I had a "thing" about cardinals and this was a female and in her favorite room of the house.Sooo strange.
My husband cupped it gently and helped it out the door and it flew away,but not far......Anyway,I just can't get over this.Does anyone else think it might be a sign?............................Thanks.............................

Darn, hit post too soon (again.)

Reading more about Florence's early years, she had an incredibly tough life - her father was an alcoholic and left the family and then her mother abandoned the children when Florence was 12. She used her God-given talents and sang whenever possible to help pay the bills and keep food on the table for herself and her siblings. What a tough lady - given the era she lived in, that had to be difficult to do!

I was saddened to read of Florence's passing myself - the sad thing is, this apparently snuck up on her - her family said she hadn't been ill at all, and was only hospitalized the day before she died.

Yes, Madge, R.I. P. Florence Henderson. Funny, I just saw her in the audience on Dancing with the Stars the other day and she looked beautiful. I guess you can never tell.

It's the story of a lovely lady ....
RIP Florence Henderson

Ali
I wonder if they even make them anymore
Shaped like a red wine bowl and then a ramekin type bowl sets inside it

Rather pedestrian.....but what passes for a Thanksgiving tradition (my side of the family) is never putting the remaining pumpkin pie in the fridge. Instead, it stays out after T-giving dinner and is hacked at for breakfast, lunch and snacks until it's gone. Doesn't take long. :-)

"Special glass wear." I'm picturing something between a martini glass and a margarita glass with colored ice cubes and shrimp curled around the rim.

After I commented earlier, Madge, SIL said more about the pie. She said it is VERY popular around here (Indianapolis, Indiana area), and I've seen it for sale around here. Never thought too much about it. I'm not big on sweets and that type of pie wouldn't be a favorite for me, but it's a big deal to my SIL's family and our holiday gatherings.

I read a short history of the pie's rise to popularity. You can add any number of things to change the flavor some: cinnamon, nutmeg, or vanilla, but the basic is butter, sugar, flour, and milk/cream... ...and egg whites?

I looked up recipes online and noticed that they all vary some, but I didn't see any that included egg white in the filling. Well... there it is, the secret ingredient. My SIL doesn't use any nutmeg or vanilla. Her family beats egg whites to a fluffy, "medium peaks" consistency and folds them into the rest of the filling ingredients.

You're right, Madge. It's an Indiana specialty. I had no idea.

Your mom's shrimp cocktail serving method was very fancy! I love the idea of colored ice cubes and special serving dishes.

So sugar cream is the state pie of Indiana
Apparently a place called wicks is the officianado of sugar cream pie and will UPS a case of 6 frozen pies for a modest $23!

Mom's two best holiday recipes were au gratin potatoes, a wild rice casserole and a crab cocktail served in special glass wear with space for ice cubes which she would color with food coloring

Maybe over xmas I'll try and make a a couple of these dishes and bring to the hotel California - we're both down sick today and I have to work tomorrow so our thanksgiving dinner will be postponed awhile 🍁🍂🦃

Sugar cream pie is a family tradition on SIL's side of family -- most of whom I've known all my life, rather like my extended family, not in-laws.

It's their family recipe for several generations, a guarded secret, made at holidays by the half-dozen or more.

It's the "big deal dessert" at our holiday times. :-)

Anybody else have some cultural or traditional family food items for holidays?

On my mom's side, there's always a filo (phyllo) hot and cold item for holidays - she's Greek.

Sugar cream pie?

Is that a Midwest tradition ?

I usually hear people talk about viral memes, referring to videos or other web content that spread person to person like, well, like a virus!

Mémé and Pépé, sort of like Granny and Grandpa, more affectionate that grandméré and grandpéré. Great, now I can`t remember how to get rid of the accent....