Today I picked up two twenty-six pound turkeys from a store near us—we live in the boondocks of southeastern Wisconsin—called Aldi. It’s a great little shop that often stocks German delicacies and, interestingly enough, some pretty incredible cheese from around the world. It’s a lower cost shop than many of the chain or boutique groceries within driving distance. Aldi rarely has the same merchandise more than a few weeks in a row, so you never know for sure what you’ll get. That qualifies as a mini adventure for me in 2020.
The turkeys are for four meals I plan to deliver next week. One turkey, and all the lovely side-dishes our family generally cooks together, will be split between my son and daughter. Another turkey will go half to my in-laws and half to my Sensei (karate instructor) and his wife. We won’t celebrate our holiday together this year. Still, at least I’ll be able to share our love and traditions through the delivery of fowl, stuffing, cranberries, potatoes, gravy, roasted garlic mushrooms, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cauliflower, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, haggis stuffing, smoked salmon dip, and cold cucumber salad. Yep…as a family, we make all that together. This year my husband and I will be doing all the prep and the delivery. And I’m great with that. I’m hopeful that as those I love eat the foods they love, a new memory of perseverance and celebration will be imprinted.
Here’s wishing all of you a warm heart and a warm meal this Thanksgiving.
Books: I’ve got one out! HOME AGAIN, by M.L.MacDonald released in e-book at Amazon yesterday. If you are interested in spending some time in Door County, Wisconsin, HOME AGAIN will make you laugh, cry, and—if I’ve done my job—fall in love. If you want to give it a whirl, the title is linked to my Amazon listing. Leave a review—I’d love to hear what you think!
Living apart: This is difficult for many, myself included. I’m a social animal most of the time. I enjoy people almost as much as I enjoy dogs, really good whisky, and hiking. I have fantastic dogs—two Deerhound siblings named Merlin and Awen, and one fabulous Westie named Gandalf. I’m Scottish, so I’m pretty well stocked on the good whisky (no ‘e’ when it refers to scotch). I can hike by myself—which I do at least five times per week. I miss people. I miss ballet class. I miss the Highland Games. I miss travel, and eating out, and enjoying all the myriad activities our festival season has to offer. I miss our trips to Ontario every Spring and Fall to see shows at the Shakespeare Festival—as well as wine tastings at the numerous and quite wonderful vineyards. I miss the normalcy of movement—we can’t even go to Chicago right now due to the rampancy of COVID-19 spread. It’s simply too dangerous for us and others.
As we enter the dark half of our year here, when the days are short and the nights long and often bitterly cold, all that missing has me grateful I’m here to miss it, as is my family. My daughter is a doctor at a time when that’s dangerous. My son is finishing his master’s program while working at Menards—a giant hardware/home improvement store in Wisconsin. My in-laws are seventy-nine and eighty-one, so they are in a high-risk category.
If you’ve read any of my posts, you’ll know I put a sometimes annoyingly positive spin on whatever is happening at the moment. My writing deals with real issues, and there’s always positivity there that extends well after the HEA. This pandemic has made most in my social circle, including me, tired. Afraid. Lonely. Thank goodness there are so many great stories to read and—with luck, determination, and hard work—to write.
I usually end with a question. Not this time. This time I’ll end with photos of my bookshelf and my writing space, a plea for you to download HOME AGAIN if you’re so inclined, and a Gaelic Blessing because I need it and I hope it will come true for all of you:
Suaimhneas ar sop agat. ~ May you sleep without worry.
Mura fear, nara measa. ~ If things can’t get better may they at least not get worse.
An rath ag rith oraibh. ~ May you always be lucky.
Am agus ionu agat. ~ May you have both time and opportunity.
And may God hold you gently until we meet again. Read long and often, my friends,
(me holding one of God’s creatures in my hands)
M.L. MacDonald (Leigh Morgan)Today I picked up two twenty-pound turkeys from a store near us—we live in the boondocks of southeastern Wisconsin—called Aldi. It’s a great little shop that often stocks German delicacies and, interestingly enough, some pretty incredible cheese from around the world. It’s a lower cost shop than many of the chain or boutique groceries within driving distance. Aldi rarely has the same merchandise more than a few weeks in a row, so you never know for sure what you’ll get. That qualifies as a mini adventure for me in 2020.
The turkeys are for four meals I plan to deliver next week. One turkey, and all the lovely side-dishes our family generally cooks together, will be split between my son and daughter. Another turkey will go half to my in-laws and half to my Sensei (karate instructor) and his wife. We won’t celebrate our holiday together this year. Still, at least I’ll be able to share our love and traditions through the delivery of fowl, stuffing, cranberries, potatoes, gravy, roasted garlic mushrooms, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cauliflower, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, haggis stuffing, smoked salmon dip, and cold cucumber salad. Yep…as a family, we make all that together. This year my husband and I will be doing all the prep and the delivery. And I’m great with that. I’m hopeful that as those I love eat the foods they love, a new memory of perseverance and celebration will be imprinted.
Here’s wishing all of you a warm heart and a warm meal this Thanksgiving.
Books: I’ve got one out! HOME AGAIN, by M.L.MacDonald released in e-book at Amazon yesterday. If you are interested in spending some time in Door County, Wisconsin, HOME AGAIN will make you laugh, cry, and—if I’ve done my job—fall in love. If you want to give it a whirl, the title is linked to my Amazon listing. Leave a review—I’d love to hear what you think!
Living apart: This is difficult for many, myself included. I’m a social animal most of the time. I enjoy people almost as much as I enjoy dogs, really good whisky, and hiking. I have fantastic dogs—two Deerhound siblings named Merlin and Awen, and one fabulous Westie named Gandalf. I’m Scottish, so I’m pretty well stocked on the good whisky (no ‘e’ when it refers to scotch). I can hike by myself—which I do at least five times per week. I miss people. I miss ballet class. I miss the Highland Games. I miss travel, and eating out, and enjoying all the myriad activities our festival season has to offer. I miss our trips to Ontario every Spring and Fall to see shows at the Shakespeare Festival—as well as wine tastings at the numerous and quite wonderful vineyards. I miss the normalcy of movement—we can’t even go to Chicago right now due to the rampancy of COVID-19 spread. It’s simply too dangerous for us and others.
As we enter the dark half of our year here, when the days are short and the nights long and often bitterly cold, all that missing has me grateful I’m here to miss it, as is my family. My daughter is a doctor at a time when that’s dangerous. My son is finishing his master’s program while working at Menards—a giant hardware/home improvement store in Wisconsin. My in-laws are seventy-nine and eighty-one, so they are in a high-risk category.
If you’ve read any of my posts, you’ll know I put a sometimes annoyingly positive spin on whatever is happening at the moment. My writing deals with real issues, and there’s always positivity there that extends well after the HEA. This pandemic has made most in my social circle, including me, tired. Afraid. Lonely. Thank goodness there are so many great stories to read and—with luck, determination, and hard work—to write.
I usually end with a question. Not this time. This time I’ll end with photos of my bookshelf and my writing space, a plea for you to download HOME AGAIN if you’re so inclined, and a Gaelic Blessing because I need it and I hope it will come true for all of you:
Suaimhneas ar sop agat. ~ May you sleep without worry.
Mura fear, nara measa. ~ If things can’t get better may they at least not get worse.
An rath ag rith oraibh. ~ May you always be lucky.
Am agus ionu agat. ~ May you have both time and opportunity.
And may God hold you gently until we meet again. Read long and often, my friends,
(me holding one of God’s creatures in my hands)
M.L. MacDonald (Leigh Morgan)