Happy Thanksgiving!

 One of my favorite meals even though yes, turkey can be not super flavorful.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A family of turkeys living in the Rose Park/Fairpark neighborhood wanders the streets on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. The mother turkey - who members of the community call "Rosie" - has become a mascot for the area and is beloved by residents, along with her six maturing babies ("Utah residents love — and protect — this bird celebrity: Rosie the Rose Park turkey," Salt Lake Tribune).

Urban turkeys.

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

According to the annual “State of the Sides” report, issued this time every year by Campbell’s, the soup people, 67% of Americans prefer the side dishes to the main entree, and 54% would be content if their plate only held the sides.

• On average, Americans will serve five side dishes for Thanksgiving. 
• 59% of Americans will make at least some of their sides from scratch. 
• 59% will celebrate Friendsgiving this year — and 44% say it’s a chance to be more creative with their food options than the family dinner. 
• 66% of Americans say side dishes are a way to bring their cultural heritage to the Thanksgiving table. 
• 40% want sides with creamy textures; 39% want sweet-flavored sides; and 33% want spicy ingredients in their sides to bring some heat. 
• 18% say there should be more plant-based dishes on Thanksgiving. (In my vegetarian household, that figure is 100%.)

Thankfulness.  Hopefully there are events and other occasions in our lives that we can be thankful for this year.  I am down about the US descent into authoritarianism.  

I am down about my health--two cancers and heart failure.  I am thankful that one of the cancers didn't spread and the heart failure is correctable--I have a family history of heart disease.  I guess biking since 1990 and eating more healthfully since I learned about nutrition while working at the Center for Science in the Public Interest 30+ years ago helped keep me alive longer.

I don't know yet about the prognosis for the second cancer, it could be good, it could be bad.

I get to do some interesting stuff in Salt Lake.

Because of the health thing, I can't really bike.  I tried to bike a few weeks ago, a slight incline, it took me 45 minutes to bike three-quarters of a mile (lots of stops to cough, catch my breath, and blow my nose).  OTOH, coming back, downhill, it took 5 minutes.  Grr.

I've lost 35 pounds since I had covid, which wrapped up in April.  How much is due to cancer?  15 pounds was from covid.

Crazy times.

I take solace in turkey gravy.  As I've aged, my appetite has decreased, abetted in all likelihood by my illnesses.

Reducing food waste.  Apparently 312 million pounds of food will be tossed after Thanksgiving dinner ("The unexpected benefit of choosing a smaller portion at Thanksgiving," Washington Post).  The article offers recommendations including starting with smaller portions that you can finish.