Remember the Stranger

Songbird's Friday Five today were all about Thanksgiving.

1. Did you cook or bake anything for Thanksgiving?
See apple pie at right--along with pumpkin and pecan pies behind it.

2. How was it received?
All the pies were devoured and then we sent some guests home with extra slices.

3. Anything left over?
Yes, thank heavens. We have leftover turkey (both roast and smoked), dressing, sweet potato casserole, green beans with almonds, rolls, cranberry sauce, spinach salad and the afore-mentioned pies.

4. Best use of Thanksgiving leftovers?
We put sliced smoked turkey on top of the spinach salad for lunch.

5. And the worst?
I never did like turkey enchiladas. Turkey and chili sauce don't mix in my humble opinion.

I need to add a reminder: remember the strangers in your life during the holidays.

My nephew is in the navy, training as a surgeon. He is stationed in San Diego, but for the past two months has been sent to a hospital in Sacramento. He wasn't eligible to take leave for Thanksgiving this year so wasn't able to return to Sacramento or come home to Houston.

We called him during our big family dinner and were quite distressed to learn that he had no invitations to join anyone for Thanksgiving so spent it alone. Apparently no one running the program he is participating in thought to ask him if he had plans for the day. It's easy to overlook someone who is temporarily in the area and forget that they might welcome an invitation. We all resolved to be more aware of this in the future ourselves.