Thanksgiving Weekend 2018: Present is Past - Past is Present

Everything but Black Friday - - that's what my Thanksgiving Weekend is all about. For me, this entry weekend to the Christmas Season is all about family & friends and spending time with long-held traditions. And these traditions all have their roots firmly planted in the past, and not just necessarily my past. Enjoying all that the season has to offer, rather than spend an over-abundance of money on things soon forgotten than things remembered, is what we try to concentrate on.
Making memories...

In my family, traditions run deep. My wife and I are very traditional folk and we enjoy blending the old with the new, sometimes (as you shall soon see) in tongue & cheek manners, and other times in ways that have been in our families for generations. 

~Cannoli~

Everything you see in this Sicilian treat
was made from scratch, including the shells.

For instance, to the left, here, you see a plate of cannoli. It would not be Thanksgiving or Christmas in our household without this wonderful treat.
In case you are unaware, cannoli are an Italian pastry dessert that originated in Messina and Palermo on the southern Italian island of Sicily. The treat dates back to the time when the area was under the jurisdiction of Muslim Moors who first invaded the island nearly 1500 years ago. But it was in 1061 when the first Norman liberators took Messina, and by 1071, Palermo and its fortress were retaken, firmly establishing Roman Catholicism in its place.
And sometime in the midst of all of this, the cannola was invented.  There are legends that tell us the supposed origin of cannoli, and they agree on one thing: women are behind their creation, which took place in, or around, the town of Caltanissetta.
One tale brings us into an Arab prince’s harem, during the Arabic domination of the island. It seems that here, the emir’s many concubines spent their time creating luscious meals and dishes for their lover: among them, a cylinder-shape pastry case filled with ricotta, almonds and honey.
Supporting the Arab origin of cannoli is the fact that the city of Caltanissetta is historically tied to the presence of the Moors in Sicily, as attested by its very name, which derives from “kalt el nissa,” an Arabic locution meaning “women’s castle.” Interesting, considering the legend is set in a castle and the invention of cannoli, according to it, lies in the skillful hands of women.
You never knew cannoli had such a history, did you?

My grandfather, born in Alcamo, near Palermo, in 1895, brought his family's recipe with him when he came over to America in 1912. And this is pretty much the same recipe we use to make ours today. No, don't ask for it. We do not let it out of the family. But I can tell you they are every bit as good as they look - so much better than what you can buy at the bakery (yes, I am bragging)!
Ahhh...a bit of delicious family history to begin today's post...

So, it is Thanksgiving morning, and we need a bird to cook. Being that the grocery stores are closed, I sent my son out a-fowling so we would have something to eat:

Luckily, we live in the middle of suburban Detroit,
and there were plenty of wild turkeys a-flying
overhead. And he got us a good 'un!
(No, he really did not shoot a wild turkey, nor did he even fire the gun.
I am learning that I must put in disclaimers because this is the 21st century
and we need to be extra careful with nearly everything we write these days)

Emptying the chamber pots every morning is usually 
the job of the youngest member of the family.
So, guess what my daughter enjoys doing?

Heather, Robbie's girlfriend, is finding
that our family is a bit more traditional
than she may have bargained for.

Ah, my daughter once again, and this
time she is making butter whilst
speaking with her friends on her cell.

There's my lovely wife, mop cap and all,
preparing the wild turkey Robbie shot.
Yes, that is a traditional roaster.

Me? Well besides taking pictures of the
activities, I also lit the candles to add to
the ambiance of the day. I find that a Bic
lighter does a great job. 

Okay----enough of the silliness, though we had a bit of fun posing for the pictures on Thanksgiving Day. It's funny how there are some people who believe I sometimes actually live in the past, so why not sort of appease them, right?
However.....I truly do make an attempt to bring the past into the present, especially on certain holidays.

Candles add an ambiance like nothing else. And each candle burning here we made in our yard during the candle making parties I've had. It makes it even more special.

You can see a hint of my granddaughter there, in between the candle globes. Our Thanksgiving dinner is eaten by candle light, just as you see in this picture.  

And this is my family in our annual Thanksgiving picture pose:
my wife and I, our four kids, our daughter-in-law, and our three grandkids.
Oh, and our dog, Paul Anka, too.
I love 'em everyone.

The day following Thanksgiving Thursday is, of course, the non-holiday known as Black Friday, a day I abhor. This day of shopping has taken people away from all that is good and right; it is a day where people spend an exorbitant amount of money (probably by way of a credit card) mostly on things that will not be cared for or soon forgotten only a day after giving thanks for what they already have. 

I prefer to make memories that'll last a lifetime - - -
(yeah, I am a bit snarky here. I'm allowed my opinion on my own blog, right?)

And it's on the dreaded black Friday when you will find me heading to historic Greenfield Village, which is my mental therapy and solace from the 21st century...a sort of catharsis for me. It gives me the dose of medicine I need to survive in this modern world in which I live.
And you shall read of my excursion to the Village in the next posting I do.
But for today's posting I wanted to concentrate on how the past can meet the present here in these strange times; how I can work the past and tradition into my present life outside of Greenfield Village or reenacting.

Such as when we cut down our Christmas Tree.

Ah! Here we are, at Western's Tree farm, located in rural Applegate, Michigan. 

In fact, tree cutting day has almost become a holiday in itself for me and all of my family as we bundle up warm, pack into the car (now multiple cars), and take the long (nearly two hour) drive into the middle of Michigan's rural thumb to the best tree cutting place around, Western's Tree Farm in the tiny town of Applegate.

Since we've been coming for so many years (I believe this was our thirty first visit!), the owners know us and have watched our family grow from just Patty and I to our four kids, and now including our three grandkids.

The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh...er...flatbed cart to the trees of your choice, whether you choose a Douglas Fir, Blue Spruce, Scotch Pine, Fraser Fir, or numerous other traditional trees.

And we did our share of walking, for we
moved up and down the rows of trees to
find the right one.
Here you see my wife, two of our kids,
and two of our grandkids.

After having spruces for so many years,
we thought we'd try a Fraser Fir this time.
And my daughter wanted to give cutting the
tree down a try. She didn't do bad, but needs
a bit of practice.

After we cut it down, Western's trimmed off the lower unwanted branches, shook the loose needles off, wrapped it in twine, and even tied it to the roof of our vehicle.
Inside the cabin (built from the logs of the trees on the property) they sell country crafts, tree stands, skirts, hot chocolate, hot dogs, and popcorn. 

And, as you can see, Santa Claus. That's my eldest grandson on the left and my granddaughter (who's birthday is on Christmas Day) on the right.

Afterward it was off to a burger joint, a visit with a few of my more northern relatives, then home again, where we decorated the newest Christmas decoration:

For the first time ever, we did not put on
multi-colored lights; we decided to try white
lights instead. I must say, it does give it a
more Victorian look, doesn't it?
It's also much smaller than our normal
ceiling topper tree we usually get.
Yep...I do like it!

As for our decorations...

We include a variety of ornaments to make our tree that much more interesting to look at (and not give it the mall tree look).
The newest ornament we purchased just this year is - - ta da! - - a cannoli! 
Bronners (in Frankenmuth, Michigan) is a wonderland of all things Christmas

"Being now at home again, and alone, the only person in the house awake, my thoughts are drawn back, by a fascination which I do not care to resist, to my own childhood. I begin to consider, what do we all remember best upon the branches of the Christmas Tree of our own young Christmas days, by which we climbed to real life.

Straight, in the middle of the room, cramped in the freedom of its growth by no encircling walls or soon-reached ceiling, a shadowy tree arises; and, looking up into the dreamy brightness of its top-- for I observe in this tree the singular property that it appears to grow downward towards the earth--I look into my youngest Christmas recollections!"

Charles Dickens - 'A Christmas Tree'

The very next day found me heading north once again, this time to a wonderful little village called Holly (again, in Michigan) where the nation's oldest annual Holly Dickens Festival takes place.

My period vocal group, Simply Dickens, was performing there after a three year hiatus. It was at the Dickens Festival, back in the early 2000s, that Simply Dickens came about. 

It was also at the Dickens Festival, back in the later 1990s, that I got bitten by the period dress bug!

And here we are in 2018:

Simply Dickens, purveyors of Old World Christmas Carols. 

Singing on the streets of Holly during the
Dickens Festival is where we began
(albeit with mostly different members).

We also performed on the "big stage" for the visitors.
Oh, what fun we all had!

And the tunes we sang: The Boar's Head Carol, The Gloucestershire Wassail, All You That Are Good Fellows, The Wexford Carol, One Horse Open Sleigh (Jingle Bells), Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, and other period carols.

We also performed, in its original German language, Silent Night (Stille Nacht) in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the beloved carol's debut in that Austrian church way back on December 24, 1818.

~Simply Dickens~
(You'll notice that I am not in any of the
photos with my group.
I'm the man behind the camera)

I also plan to take more pictures of the Festival itself, for there are plenty of activities, skits, and Victorian characters walking the streets of this actual 19th century village.
Yes, look for a posting...

So there you have my Thanksgiving Weekend, for the most part.

If you have not noticed, I did not mention what I did on Black Friday itself.

As mentioned, that's coming up in the next post.

Until then, see you in time...

My cannoli history information came from HERE and HERE

To check out information concerning the Holly Dickens Festival, please click HERE and HERE

Visit the internet site of Western's Tree Farm HERE

~   ~   ~