11:35 p.m. | 2005-11-23 Al a Surprise. I’m going to YoungerSister’s (YS) house tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. As I have for the last several years because she invites me. Which is way cool. See, about the time we moved Christmas to July (roughly ten years ago), we – as a family – gave up celebrating Thanksgiving together. It was a difficult time and the holiday celebrations had become quite oppressive so we ditched Thanksgiving and moved Christmas. Seemed logical at the time. At that time, the “family” consisted of myself, my sisters and my mother. Since then the family makeup has changed along with a lot of other things. However, as a family, we never resumed a Thanksgiving celebration. For several years, I just did my own thing. My “thing” being, um, not celebrating? It can be odd like that when you’re single and your family doesn’t get together. Mostly, I spent the day enjoying a good book. Quiet time is nice like that. However, as I mentioned, a few years ago YS started inviting me to spend the day with her family. I’m grateful for that. I always enjoy spending time with her, her husband, LittleNephew and YSMIL (her mother-in-law). She’s always treated me quite well too. YS cooks, cleans and entertains. All she asks me to do is to keep LittleNephew occupied. I can do that. Not so much with sword fighting – tether ball yes, sword fighting no – but I give it my all. (That’s usually when I discover that I’m not so young anymore.) Most importantly, I never feel like the odd person out when I join her family for Thanksgiving or Christmas in December. I feel welcome and that’s a really good feeling. From the beginning I’ve always asked her “what can I bring?” For the first few years she just said “yourself.” Great. Love that answer. Or, rather, I loved that answer. Much like last year, this year YS asked me to bring an appetizer. As well I should. Last year, she asked me to bring a relish tray. I was happy with that request because I knew exactly what to bring. A relish tray is a family tradition so it was easy. Not daring at all. But, YS has become bolder. As well she should. This year? An appetizer. One that was not a relish tray because she’s got that covered. I agonized. For hours. Like I do when I’m asked to contribute something rather than a specific thing. My mind goes on a trip. What do people want? What do they like or not like? What if I mess up by bringing something no one likes? What if? What if? What if? Oh please. She simply told me to bring an appetizer, not a bunch of drama. I did offer to surprise her and she accepted that challenge. Which required me to dig a little deeper and ignore the sage advice to not try something new for a holiday event. I came up with two appetizers. The first is one that I’ve done before but haven’t ever unleashed on my family. Quite simple. Ham strips covered with cream cheese topped with a green olive and rolled up into nice little ball of finger food. Many years ago, I introduced its cousin – salami slices covered with cream cheese topped with peppers and rolled into easy bites – at Christmas in July (I believe) and it’s been a favorite and demanded appetizer since. I only hope the ham roll-ups get the same review. So there’s one appetizer. Not so risky I think. But since YS gave me free license and I’m much more confident than I used to be, I’m trying a new appetizer. I found the recipe yesterday. It’s a salsa recipe and who doesn’t like chips and salsa? Albeit this salsa is, um, a little different. The ingredients: avocado, tangerines, pomegranate seeds, green onions, jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice, honey and salt. As tuff517 would say: “That’s a lot of flavor”. Yes, yes it is. But, I’m going with it. It sounds just wacky enough to be really good. I’ll find out tomorrow. Just in case, I have ready a container of fresh traditional salsa. (Compliments of the “what ifs” kind of thinking.) It’s fun though. Trying new stuff. Whether or not my appetizers are good, tomorrow’s gonna be great. I get to see my nephews, spend some time with YS and sit down to a great dinner with YS, YSHusband, YSMIL and the boys. That’s always a good time. Here’s to creative endeavors and Happy Thanksgiving celebrations! Enjoy. your thoughts? seed flower