Beth Bales: A Cornucopia of Thanksgiving Ramblings (From 'Vomit Sauce' to Britney Spears to Dancing With Geneva Stars)

Before the craziness of the Christmas season begins, before Thanksgiving is overrun by shopping, some random Thanksgiving thoughts ...

If a recipe—even one without meat like the delicious-sounding wild rice and mushroom bake I saw earlier this week—calls for chicken broth it is NOT appropriate for vegetarians! Use vegetable broth instead.

As we watch the a thanks for it being a of downtown Geneva for 82 years and a hope for hustle and bustle at that corner sometime soon. As the saying goes, a bend in the road is not the end of the road.

Holiday wish: For people who have suffered heartbreaking loss this past year and are grieving still, a way to get through this first holiday season despite broken hearts.  

Can our leaders in Washington work together, ever? Come on, let’s get this economy moving in a direction other than down.

Your families have missed you. So have your friends. 

Hmmmm, I forgot. Yes, we DO need a vegetable. If nothing else, it will balance out the starch.

Roasted vegetable sauce (AKA "vomit sauce") may not be Thanksgiving-ish, as one child protested, but it was the request of the vegetarian at the table. So vomit sauce there will be. (And that reminds me, I still have to actually make it.)

After 50-plus years of providing for many a holiday meal, it was time to let my 85-year-old aunt off the hook. What can she bring, she asked? Just bring some wine, and yourself, was the answer this year.

Hopes for for everyone. 

Thanks for, via the , the ability to escape into whole new worlds, via books, as well as read the latest best-sellers, albeit it not necessarily immediately. I’m looking forward to reading the Steve Jobs biography. But I have to wait my turn. It beats spending $25 or more for the privilege of reading it immediately.

Once Thanksgiving is over, then, and only then, will it be time to listen to the “all Christmas carols all the time” radio station. Then bring on all the favorites, from It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, to Do You Hear What I Hear, to yes, even Britney Spears’ My Only Wish (This Year). 

Free shipping, no sales tax, coupon codes. Online shopping both simplifies and complicates life. But some clicking around this past weekend saved me more than $20 on just one item. 

Thanks for Alex, our “” instructor, who has the patience of a saint when dealing with someone (that would be me) who no, simply does NOT feel the beat and is NOT intuitive when it comes to dancing. 

A big round of thanks for all the various volunteer organizations that work so hard to improve life in this town, from and at the schools, to that help those in need, to agencies that help support those with health issues. 

A round of applause for those who volunteer to ring the bell at Salvation Army kettles. Dress warmly!

Thankful anticipation for an upcoming week off, and a plan to substantially conquer holiday preparations, leaving me free to actually enjoy the season. 

It turns out that yes, I do need to tape up at least a few of the homemade Thanksgiving decorations from grade school. In for a penny, in for a pound; nearly every cabinet is decorated.

And joy, that after several months, all three of my girls will spend at least a few nights together under the same roof, once more. 

Thanksgiving blessings to each and every one of you.