Brother Jake's Cool Mount Baker Volcano Thanksgiving

I am a couple days late sharing that which you see here, which arrived Thanksgiving morning, from my little brother who goes by the name of Jake, even though that name is not on his birth certificate.

The above photo illustrated Jake's Thanksgiving phone text message of "Happy Thanksgiving from the currently cool Pacific Northwest."

That would be the Thanksgiving morning view from my little brother's viewing venue at the Slotemaker-Jones Compound located on the Skagit Flats, near the tulip ground zero viewing location of Roozengarde.

That mountain covered in white snow is the Mount Baker volcano. That band of blue in front of the volcano is known as Cascade mountain foothills.

I replied to my little brother's Thanksgiving message wishing him a Happy Thanksgiving, adding that it is also currently cool in Texas, but from my vantage point I see no mountains no matter which direction I look.

I do not know how many miles I would currently need to drive to see a mountain, any mountain, doesn't have to be a volcano.

As far as I know the only American volcanoes are in the Cascade Mountains, with five volcanoes in Washington, one in Oregon and a couple in California.

Now that you are causing me to think about it, Oregon may have two volcanoes, if one counts dormant Mount Mazama, location of Crater Lake, as a volcano, along with Oregon's Mount Hood.

I just Googled Mount Mazama and learned it is still considered a volcano even though it has not erupted for almost three thousand years before Jesus was born.

At my current old age I at times wonder if I will ever again see an actual mountain...

Happy Texas Mexican Thanksgiving With Icicles

Well. Thanksgiving, food-wise, is now history. The 2024 version of my Thanksgiving was a basic traditional Thanksgiving meal of the Mexican food sort.

Burritos, taquitos, soft tacos, refried beans, rice, salsa, other stuff.

And no cranberries.

The tortilla plate was to the left of the plate you see photo documented. The tortilla plate was used for the soft taco assembly.

No exterior endorphin inducing activity is taking place today.

Too cold.

Yesterday, around noon, I drove to ALDI and Walmart. The temperature was in the 80-degree zone. By mid-afternoon a strong wind arrived, dropping the temperature drastically, along with a wind burst which blew up my patio furniture.

Tonight we are scheduled to dip below freezing for the first time this cold time of the year.

Being somewhat elderly I find I am not a fan of winter with its wanton chilliness and frozen water of various sorts...

A Wichita Falls Possum & Taters Thanksgiving

The Wichita Falls Times-Record-News this morning shared an interesting alternative to turkey on Thanksgiving. The article quoted from an earlier Wichita Falls newspaper called the Wichita Daily Times. 

Following is an excerpt from the aforementioned article...

The Wichita Daily Times reported in 1907 the turkey crop in Wichita County that year was “very scarce” and the birds were small. Farmers blamed it on a cold, damp spring.

That forced the price of turkey to jump to 15-18 cents per pound, or more than $3 for a decent bird.

The article suggested that many Wichitans might have to seek alternatives.

“A sucking pig properly prepared makes a man quite thankful and a fat chicken or duck will also answer modest demands,” the article said.

But it also suggested something “infinitely better.”

“We refer, of course, to possum and taters,” the article continued. “As a dish for the epicure there is no discounting possum and taters, for it is always a winning combination.”

The dish was so popular back then it was served to President-elect William Howard Taft in 1909 at an Atlanta Chamber of Commerce banquet. An 18-pound possum named Billy was served to Taft, who became the nation’s greatest president, as measured by girth.

“After several helpings to the dish, Mr. Taft received a message from a doctor sitting nearby, to be careful, but he paid no attention to the warning,” the Associated Press reported.

Recipes vary, but most often call for one large, skinned opossum cut into four pieces, surrounded by cut up potatoes, with a half stick of butter, a pinch of sugar and salt and pepper. Cook until tender.

A random check of Wichita Falls supermarkets found no possums in the meat sections, so no price check was possible, but the marsupials can usually be found locally in trees, swampy areas and along highway center stripes.

________________________________

I have not seen a single possum since I have been in Wichita Falls. I did see a possum, or two, when I lived in Fort Worth. And, at my old home zone in Washington, my garbage can was regularly visited by possums. 

Possums are so homely it makes them sort of cute. But it can be quite startling to find one rummaging through one's garbage can.

I knew a lady in Tacoma with a basement infested with possums. She moved to a new location and somehow possums showed up in the new location's basement.

I do not think I could ever be hungry enough to want to eat a possum...

Happy Foggy Thanksgiving

Today,  the 2019 version of Thanksgiving, I can think of a lot of things I am thankful for. And a thing or two I am not too thankful for.

A couple months ago I was sure I would be in Arizona today.

Instead I am looking at a dreary foggy Texas landscape. 

And I am blogging on a new phone. If this works I likely won't be hauling my laptop on a plane anymore.

So, one more Happy Thanksgiving one and all before I hit the publish button...

UPDATE: Well, the typing part worked fine, but the photo did not show up, so I had to use the more primitive using the laptop method. I'm sure it was a user error issue which will resolve with practice.

Thanksgiving In Utah Not Throwing Rocks With Spencer Jack

That which you see here showed up last night, sent by Spencer Jack and his favorite dad, my eldest nephew, Jason.

I saw this photo and had zero clue as to what I was looking at, besides it appearing to be Spencer Jack and Jason on some sort of mass transit device.

Train, bus, trolley, tram, monorail? What? I had no clue.

And then a follow up email arrived, with more photos and a text message from which I could make a slightly educated guess as to what Spencer Jack is taking is dad for a ride on.

First the text message...

Spencer Jack and I had a mighty fine time exploring NV, AZ, and UT.

Spencer had this week off from school and desired a return trip to some of our favorite National Parks.

After a late night on the Las Vegas Strip, we headed north on I-15 and followed the Virgin River to Springdale, UT.

Hiked the Narrows in Zion, before climbing to Inspiration Point in Bryce.

Had my first, and hopefully, last, 'almost ran out of gas' moment.  That's another story.   Nonetheless, Spencer and I coasted into Richfield, UT on fumes and called it a night.

Have a Happy Turkey Day.

Thought you'd enjoy the pictures and video (and of course, we checked for hikers, before rock tossing).

-FUD and FNSJ

So, gleaning the info in the above text, and looking at the below photo of Spencer Jack, clearly in the Zion Canyon Narrows, I am guessing the above transit device, on which Spencer Jack and Jason are riding in scream mode, is a bus taking them into Zion Canyon. But, I thought that that traffic reducing means was only active during heavy duty tourist season. So, I may be erroneous in my transit assumption.

There is a big parking lot at the entry to the Zion Narrows. Every time I have been at that location it has been a bit of a challenge to secure a parking spot.

Moving on...

Above I am guessing Spencer Jack is swimming at the motel he and his dad spent the night in in Springdale, the town at the west entry into Zion National Park.

Continuing on...

Here we see Spencer Jack at Inspiration Point in Bryce National Park. The text message indicates a climb was required to reach Inspiration Point. I do not remember a climb. Instead I remember a walk from a parking lot. I do remember a climb via the Navajo Loop, which, if I remember correctly, has its trail head near Inspiration Point.

Bryce Canyon is at a high elevation. In the 8,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level type high elevation. I remember the Navajo Loop hike being incredibly scenic, with multiple other trails, like Peek a Boo, accessed from the Navajo Loop. I also remember the series of switchbacks back to the starting point being brutal, what with extreme oxygen debt.

Bryce Canyon National Park is my favorite of the Utah National Parks.

And below we have the video mentioned by Spencer Jack and his dad in their text message. I really do not think the boys were so irresponsible as to throw rocks off the Inspiration Point edge. That would be an extremely bad thing to do....

Post Thanksgiving Bloated Climb To Mount Wichita Summit

Beginning Wednesday, three days of excessive consumption of food products had me feeling like a python that had swallowed a goat.

Not that I actually know what that would feel like, I'm only guessing it would feel similar to my current state of bloatage.

Wednesday's overeating was Italian themed with too much lasagna.

Thursday's overeating was Mexican themed with too much off all things Tex-Mex related.

Friday's overeating was American themed with too much turkey and all that entails.

So, today I am avoiding food, for the most part, and I hauled my bloated carcass to Lake Wichita Park to facilitate some mountain climbing to the summit of Mount Wichita.

I was only up for one haul to the summit.

After enjoying the solitude of the summit, and recovering from extreme oxygen debt, as I made my way slowly down the steep slope I saw a jogger running towards the mountain, and then, as I finally reached ground level, the jogger proceeded to run up the mountain at the same pace he was running on level ground.

You can see the annoying jogger halfway up Mount Wichita on the right in the picture above.

I doubt I will ever be in good enough shape to be able to run up Mount Wichita. It'd probably help if I did not eat so much....

A Happy Thanksgiving Pre Turkey Taco Tandy Hills Hike

Hope you all are having yourselves a mighty fine Thanksgiving.

The last 48 hours the temperature average has been just slightly below 70, so I was able to have a nice long swim this morning in the not too cool pool. I do not remember the pool being so easily doable this far into fall in previous years.

Makes me a fan, sort of, of Global Warming.

Turkey tacos are my take on the traditional Thanksgiving feeding today.

I'd not been on the Tandy Hills for well over a month. Not since something slashed a tire whilst parked on the summit of Mount Tandy.

As you can see via the view of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth we are being a bit stormy at this location on the planet. Only a few drops dripped whilst I was doing the hill hiking. Now that I am back under cover rain has begun dripping in greater volume.

I saw some colorful tree leaves today, likely being more colorful since the freeze of a few days back.

Also coloring up the Tandy Hills today were hundreds of yellow flags.

I assume the hundreds of yellow flags are part of some complex science project. That or it is some madman's abstract art installation.

It is time to work on those turkey tacos now.....

Have Yourself A Very Merry Warm Thanksgiving

No, that is not me cross country skiing, enjoying the slippery results of today's Thanksgiving Weekend Ice Storm.

No Thanksgiving Weekend Ice Storm has arrived at my location in North Texas, yet.

That is me cross country skiing several years ago when I lived in a far north Fort Worth suburb, the hamlet of Haslet.

The house was in Haslet, the mailbox was across the street in Fort Worth.

From this location the puny skyline of downtown Fort Worth could be seen, looking like little sticks sticking up on the horizon.

I recollect finding it odd that Fort Worth sprawled so far out in the country. This was one of the first Fort Worth things to strike me as odd. Little did I know, way back then, how long that list of odd Fort Worth things would become.

If I remember right the last time I slid on my cross country skis was a few years back, sliding down the hills in Arlington's Veterans Park.

Recently I discovered my cross country skis had partly delaminated, rendering them likely useless, though I've not had the snowy opportunity to test that potential uselessness. I had stored the skis in a storage area which was not climate controlled. I'm assuming the HEAT of summer caused the delamination.

On Tuesday I was unable to find any turkey smaller than 20 pounds. I don't recollect roasting a bird that big before. It barely fit in the roasting pan. I started the former gobbler roasting at 7 this morning, shoving it in the oven before going swimming in the hot tub.

I am expecting the turkey to be golden brown and ready for consumption approximately five hours after the oven insertion time.

Every year I say I am not going to go through the bother of cooking a turkey. This year I was sure I was going to bake a couple of the new style family size Marie Callender turkey pot pies for Thanksgiving. But, that plan went awry when I saw all the turkeys in Walmart waiting to be brought home by someone.

Anyway, I hope everyone has themselves a might fine Thanksgiving today....

Confessions Of A Thanksgiving Party Pumpkin Pie Baker Gone Bad

On the left you are looking at a rare late afternoon look through the bars of my patio prison cell.

As you can see, I am not currently in the hot tub. Or pool.

I suspect when the sun leaves for the day I may find myself having a salubrious soak in the hot tub.

This blogging thing is such a burdensome responsibility. If I don't hit the publish button on a blogging by a certain time I start getting emails, text messages and phone calls inquiring about my well being.

Up til an hour or two ago my head was feeling like it might explode. This potential explosion was made more possible when I added to the head pressure by trying to fix some serious problems on the index page of my #1 website.

Apparently tablets and phones running Google's Android do not like webpages with table upon table nested inside tables.

By around noon I got the index page fixed and tablet worthy. I think. So, I decided to roll my wheels around my neighborhood. I thought that would fix the headache. Instead it made it worse.

So, what caused this horrific pain that has now abated? Well, last night I found myself at a pumpkin pie baking party. At that party I was given various adult libations. Whilst I was drinking these adult libations it did not seem like a bad idea. By morning it became obvious I should not drink adult libations while helping bake pumpkin pies.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, and who isn't? I just got back from ALDI. I have never seen  ALDI so busy, nor ALDI's parking lot nearly full. When I left my abode I saw that I-820 was a stalled traffic jam heading north. When I left ALDI I had intended to return via westbound I-30. However when I got to the freeway entry I saw that I-30 was also a stalled traffic jam, as far as I could see in both directions.

Is this day before Thanksgiving bad traffic a prelude to traffic gridlock on Black Friday? Will the only means to escape the crowded roads and crowded stores be to take a Fort Worth bus to downtown Fort Worth, the least busy big city downtown in America on the busiest shopping day of the year?

I must go boil some cranberries now.....

Happy Thanksgiving From Google, Me & My Stove Top Stuffing

Lately when I go to Google, Google has been doing some cutesy stuff where the Google logo usually resides.

Like a week or two or three ago it was a video game type deal in celebration of the first parachute jump. Or was it celebrating the first hot air balloon?

I don't remember.

And then there was a complicated video game Myst like deal celebrating something to do with a TV show I've never watched called Dr. Who. Well, I think it was Dr. Who. I am fairly certain "Who" was in the title.

And now today, it being Thanksgiving, the Google logo is replaced with a long animation involving all sorts of Thanksgiving related critters, like a turkey, raccoon, bear, fox and others, dancing along to banjo music, carrying Thanksgiving feast vittles, like pumpkins and corn, ending up at a picnic table, with the final scene turning to that which you see above, the "Happy Thanksgiving from Google" message.

I've got a turkey in the oven, slowly roasting, scheduled to be done by the scheduled arrival of this afternoon's Thanksgiving feasting. I made pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce last night. Cherry pie goes in the oven after the turkey gets evicted. The giblet boiling gravy prep is completed. Spuds are ready to go for their pre-mashing boiling.

I called my mom yesterday via my new Google phone. During the course of talking to my mom I was asked what I was cooking today. When the turkey subject came up my mom asked if I was stuffing it.

I said I was.

Mom then told me I should not do so, that it is now considered to be a dangerous thing to do, to stuff a turkey.

I then told mom that I recollected dozens up dozens of stuffed by mom turkeys with no one getting sick.

My mom then told me that that is true, but that her real reason for ceasing with the stuffing of the bird was that using a store bought stove top stuffing mix was so much easier. And was tasty. And so, I got myself some Betty Crocker Stove Top Turkey Stuffing.

I can already conclude that it was much easier getting the turkey ready to stuff in the oven without first stuffing it with stuffing.

But, I am a couple hours from trying this stove top stuffing method off having stuffing as part of my annual Thanksgiving buffet.

I hope y'all are fixin' to have yourself a mighty fine Thanksgiving.....

Back On The Tandy Hills Finding Endorphins & Trucks But No Turkeys

Stunning Skyline of Beautiful Downtown Fort Worth

In the picture you are on the Tandy Hills, looking west across some Texas prairie, at part of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, from a vantage point midway down Mount Tandy.

With my pool too cool to get wet in I am currently suffering a slight endorphin shortage due to a decrease in my regular dose of aerobic stimulation.

I cured my current slight endorphin shortage by doing some very fast paced hill hiking on a very pleasantly temperatured Tandy Hills in the noon time frame on this second Wednesday of the next to last month of 2012.

Already almost half of November has passed into history. In one day over a week from now, that day will be here that many Americans celebrate by eating too much turkey. I will not be participating in that particular ritual this year.

Two months ago if you asked me where I was going to be in the latter half of November I would have likely told you I likely would be in Arizona. That no longer looks likely.

I digressed from the Tandy Hills into the dreaded holiday season, I shall now digress back to the Tandy Hills.

Like I said, the above picture was taken midway down Mount Tandy. At the bottom of Mount Tandy, on the northern side of the mountain, I was startled by a very unnatural man made item.

With that item being the big white thing you see in the picture below.

As I was hiking down Mount Tandy I heard mechanical noises. But, by the time I walked by the above truck, there was no human in sight, the truck's engine was not running, but I still heard mechanical noises, to the south of my location. During my extensive tour of the Tandy Hills today the above was the only mechanical device I came across. And I saw no heavy equipment operators.

Speaking of man made devices.

Sample of New Tandy Hills Signage

Soon, some non mobile, man made devices, are going to be added to the Tandy Hills in the form of signage. Trails will be named, with junctions marked. My years of wandering lost in discombobulated confusion on the maze of Tandy Hills trails should come to an end.

I got the information about the new Tandy Hills signage via Facebook, including the explanatory info below...

"It will soon be easier to orient oneself on the trails at Tandy Hills Natural Area thanks to a trail marking and mapping system designed, fabricated and installed by C.R. Wright. This is an Eagle Scout project for C.R. who is the son of local sculptor, Deran Wright. Before the end of the year, there will be an accompanying map available for download at the Tandy Hills website and GPS coordinates stamped into each of the first 11 markers. So now you can tell friends you'll meet them on the Hawk Trail, the Cottontail Trail or the Wildflower Loop or...you get the idea. Thanks to C.R. and his team for making this happen."

Will Mount Tandy, Lost Sunglasses Ridge, the Tandy Escarpment, Tandy Falls and the Tandy Highway be marked with signage, I can not help but wonder?

I suspect not.

Mount Tandy, Lost Sunglasses Ridge, the Tandy Escarpment, Tandy Falls and the Tandy Highway are already well known landmarks to those who frequent the Tandy Hills.

This addition to the Tandy Hills will sure make it easier to explain where one has had a Road Runner or Rattlesnake encounter. Or to point a hiker to the location of the Bamboo Teepee. Or the Creepy Crypt.

A Frosty Thanksgiving Morning In Texas With The Exiles

I do not know why the Thanksgiving morning view from my primary viewing portal on the world is frosty.

But it is.

Currently, in the outer world at my location, it is 10 degrees above freezing. The exact same temperature my old home location in the Skagit Valley town of Mount Vernon is being chilled to, up north, in Washington, at this point in time this morning.

The high yesterday got into the 60s. This means, even though it is only 42 degrees at the present time, I will be going swimming this morning. And I will likely go on a Pre-Turkey walk around Fosdic Lake. I will try to remember to bring something tasty for the Fosducks.

This morning I experienced the disturbing revelation that Elsie Hotpepper does not know what the word "exile" means.

Elsie had asked what I was doing for T-Day. I told Ms. Hotpepper I was making a Turkey Buffet for my fellow exiles.

Elsie Hotpepper replied to this by asking, "Exiles"?

I will never understand why it is so many people do not know how to access a dictionary when they do not know what a word means.

Walking Quanah Parker Park Thinking About Gas Lease Revenue, Turkeys, Cranberry Sauce & Pumpkin Pie

City Gas Lease Revenue In Action

My route west on Randol Mill Road to Beach Street to go to the Beach Street Super Wal-Mart and Town Talk takes me by Quanah Parker Park.

A few days ago I noticed that the sign I'd blogged about previously, September 10, to be precise, in a blogging titled "Fort Worth's Quanah Parker Park Is Closed Thanks To City Gas Lease Revenue In Action," appeared to have changed.

So I parked at Quanah Parker Park for a quick look at the sign and my favorite Pecan Tree.

Well, the sign really had not changed all that much. Previously it had  a notice tacked on informing wannabe park visitors that the park was closed. That has been removed.

I had not noticed, when I saw this sign the first time, that near the bottom it says "Scheduled Completion Date Year 2011."

Old Heritage Pecan Tree

Since I first made note of this operation, last September, I've seen a lot of the city gas lease revenue in action in Quanah Parker Park.

Action such as Informative Acorn Signage, Such as the acorn signage identifying the special, old, heritage Pecan Tree that lives in Quanah Parker Park.

Other gas lease revenue in action includes cement slabs on which, I think, eventually, park benches will sit.

New litter barrels have shown up along the paved trail.

A new section of paved trail has been paved, giving the few who walk this trail a short cut bypass detour, for which I have not been able to fathom the reason precious city gas lease revenue went into action to pave that new trail.

Some road work has taken place, fixing flood damage. I assume that was part of the city gas lease revenue in action.

There are likely other Quanah Parker Park examples of the city gas lease revenue in action that I am either forgetting or have not noticed.

Changing the subject to my favorite, the weather.

It is currently 65 degrees in the outer world at my location. I have my windows open.

Changing the subject again, this time to Thanksgiving.

I'm already ready for tomorrow's Turkey Buffet. Today I made cranberry sauce, brown rice stuffing and pumpkin pie using vanilla yogurt instead of condensed milk. The pumpkin pie came out real tasty.

Michele Q's George Washington Update On Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving

This morning Michele Q reminded me that 51 weeks ago today I blogged about Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of October 18, 1863 proclaiming the "last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

Lincoln had such a poetic way with words.

Below is this morning's comment from Michele Q....

MicheleQ has left a new comment on your post "Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation":

Actually it was president George Washington who issued a proclamation on October 3, 1789 naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as an official holiday of “sincere and humble thanks.” After that different states celebrated on different days until Lincoln’s proclamation on October 3, 1863 when he made Thanksgiving a national holiday to be celebrated specifically on the last Thursday of November.

In 1939 FDR moved it to the third Thursday of November to lengthen the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy still recovering from the Depression. That move, which set off a national debate, was reversed in 1941 when Congress passed and President Roosevelt approved a joint house resolution establishing, by law, the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.)

In 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the third Thursday of November to lengthen the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy still recovering from the Depression. This move, which set off a national debate, was reversed in 1941 when Congress passed and President Roosevelt approved a joint house resolution establishing, by law, the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

Source: The National Archives

A Cold Tandy Thanksgiving Day Hike

Yesterday I did not go hiking on the Tandy Hills, despite the inviting 83 degrees of heat.

Today, as in Thanksgiving Day, I had a couple hours to spare before the turkey was ready to spring from the oven, so I decided to go for a Tandy Hills hike,

As you can see I am wearing a lot of clothes, which is not my Tandy Hills norm. The excess clothing was necessitated by a temperature of 37 with a steady wind causing a Wind Chill Factor of 27.

I should have been wearing gloves.

This morning, upon waking, the temperature was 50. By the time I went swimming it was 45 and very windy. Swimming this morning was the strangest yet. Due to being warm the past few days the water was quite a bit warmer than the air temperature. This made the water easy to get into.

But, I assumed the water would quickly chill me and I'd have to bail after a few minutes. Instead, within a minute I realized I was going to be able to stay in it as long as I wanted. So I had myself a nice long swim this morning.

I thought when I exited the pool the wind and chill would quickly have me shivering. But that did not happen either.

I am almost 100% certain that tomorrow morning the water in the pool will have become significantly colder than it was this morning.

I have 45 minutes to go before the bird comes out of the oven. The doorbell is ringing. I need to go now. Talk to you later....

Tandy Hills Ruts Up Thanksgiving

No. You are not looking at one of those weird, mysterious designs that appear without explanation in some farmer's field.

I know what made this design. Some idiot drove over the very slack, very low to the ground cable that serves as a very lame fence, separating View Street from the entry to the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Two days ago this latest damage had yet to appear. How is someone doing this? It's in plain view of several houses.

On my last hike on the Tandy Hills I showed you a picture of the ruts made by someone driving some off-road device where he or she should not. Today, looking at the same ruts, I realized the rut-maker had continued on, heading south on the main trail that leads to other Tandy Hills trails. Apparently the rut-maker realized the mud was sticky and so when he/she came to subsequent muddy areas he/she simply careened off into the prairie, making a new trail.

The rut-maker is playing a very dangerous game. Unless he/she knows the Tandy Hills well he/she might quickly find he/she to be in a very perilous situation, careening down a ravine, like the Hapless Haunted Van Man who hit the Witchey Tree, with a dead girl friend the result.

X-Rated Happy Thanksgiving

Last night I was over at Miss Puerto Rico's, sitting out on her balcony, enjoying the view, when I looked up to see a giant X in the dark night sky. The contrails of 2 jets had intersected above me. I'd never seen that happen before. The photo does not do justice to how weird it looked.

I neglected to mention that I went swimming yesterday. It was not as cold as this morning's Thanksgiving swim.

I'm going to go hiking sometime around noon and then we're off to Zorro's Buffet for turkey.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's editorial page today consisted solely of people saying what they are thankful for. About half were in some way or the other thankful that God and Jesus had done some good thing for them, like fixing their health or getting them a job.

I'm sitting here trying to think of anything I'm thankful for. Well, I'm thankful I'm able to go swimming in November. I'm thankful I'm in good shape and healthy. I'm thankful I'm not obese and stupid. I'm thankful for all the people who are good to me. I'm thankful I'm not cooking Thanksgiving dinner today.

On a sort of thankful, but different note, my TV Blog continues to amaze and amuse me. There was a time when I thought I was doing well if this Blog you're reading now and my Eyes on Texas website got over 2000 visitors a day. I started the TV Blog a couple weeks ago. My TV Blog has been getting around 5000 visitors a day for over a week now. It is now, by far, my biggest ad revenue generator.

It's time to get ready to go hiking, so I can get really hungry and then go to Zorro's Buffet and eat a lot. I am thankful I am able to eat a lot. And not get fat.

Thanksgiving Tomorrow Rhymes With Zorro

Last year I went through the extreme bother of cooking all the basic Thanksgiving stuff, everything from pumpkin pie to turkey. It's way too much bother for 20 minutes of eating. Even though the leftovers are a nice thing to have, they aren't really all that nice.

Some of the previous Thanksgivings, in relative-free, Texas I've gone to restaurants. Twice to one up on Eagle Mountain Lake, the name of which I can not remember. One memorable Thanksgiving was spent in a very crowded Truck Stop Iron Skillet Restaurant in Weatherford.

A couple years ago a nurse friend, who can not cook, invited me over for Thanksgiving. At one point I politely asked to have the platter of rolls passed to me. Rather than passing, her uncouth 13 year old daughter tossed a roll my way. Needless to say this was the last time I ate at that house. I recently learned the uncouth daughter is now 16 with a driver's license and recently ran into a wall in her mother's brand new car, rendering a door useless, among other bits of damage.

Tomorrow I am going to go to Zorro's Buffet for Thanksgiving. If Thanksgiving tomorrow is as tasty as the previous visits to Zorro's, it should be one good Thanksgiving. With no cooking. And no one throwing rolls at me. I hope.

Thanksgiving & Deep Fried Turkey

I erroneously thought that this coming Thursday was Thanksgiving and since it is Tuesday today there was not enough time to thaw out a turkey to cook 2 days from now.

Just minutes ago I learned I have another week til it's too late to thaw out a turkey. Last year I went to the bother of doing the whole classic Thanksgiving dinner. It's way too much bother to go through for 20 minutes of eating.

Maybe Zorro's Buffet is open for Thanksgiving. Or, I could get a bird and drag out the Turkey Fryer. It's a bit scary dipping a big bird in a big vat of super hot peanut oil. But what comes out in about a half hour is the tastiest turkey you'll ever have. And totally non-greasy, which seems even stranger than being able to swim when the water is icy cold.

You can go to my Texas website for more about Deep-Frying a Turkey. Below is a Deep-Fried Turkey Recipe to help you with your Thanksgiving cooking project.

Deep-Fried Turkey

Serves 20

4 to 5 gallons peanut oil

12- to 15-pound whole turkey, at room temperature

Cayenne pepper, optional

Begin heating the oil outdoors in a 10-gallon pot over a very hot propane flame. Don't set the burner to its highest setting, as you may need to increase the heat after you've added the turkey. It will take about 20 minutes for the oil to heat. Use a candy/deep-fry thermometer clamped to the side of the pot to determine the temperature of the oil.

Meanwhile, rinse the turkey well, pat it dry inside and out and set it on end in a sink to drain.

When the oil reaches 375 degrees, pat the turkey dry again and sprinkle with cayenne, if desired. If your cooker has a basket insert, place turkey in the basket and set it over a baking sheet; if not, set an oven rack over a large baking sheet, place the turkey on it and take them outside to the cooker.

Check temperature of the oil. When oil reaches 390 degrees, carefully and slowly lower the basket with the turkey into the oil; or lower it by holding it by its legs or by a long, heavy tool such as a clean fireplace poker inserted into its cavity. (Or, pull a length of cotton twine through the flesh loop that is holding the legs in place. Double the cotton and tie securely, fashioning a handle for dropping and lifting.) Immediately check the oil temperature and adjust the flame so that the temperature does not dip below 340 degrees. You want to maintain the temperature at 365 degrees. As it cooks, occasionally move the bird around in the oil so that it doesn't scorch. The oil near the heat source will be hotter.

A whole turkey takes only 3-4 minutes per pound to fry to perfection. Small ones, around 12 pounds, will take about 35 minutes; large ones, around 15 pounds, will take about 1 hour. When the turkey is done, it will float to the surface with a perfectly crispy, brown skin. If you are unsure, you can test the meat for doneness at the hip joint, or insert a meat thermometer into the breast; it should register 180 degrees.

Using the basket insert if there is one, or by again inserting a long, heavy tool such as a clean fireplace poker into its cavity, carefully remove the turkey from the oil and hold it over the pot for a moment to allow any excess oil to drain back into the pot. Then lay the bird on the oven rack. Allow it to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Very approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 415 calories, 27 grams fat, 0 carbohydrates, 40 grams protein, 116 milligrams cholesterol, 96 milligrams sodium, 60 percent of calories from fat.