Saturday Challenge- Thanksgiving Edition

From Randy Seaver's GeneaMusings: Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1) This is a fun meme co-hosted by McGuffy's Reader and 15 and Meowing (thanks to Suzanne McClendon on the P.S. Annie blog for the links).

2)  Fill in the blanks for these four statements:

1. One Thanksgiving tradition I have is __________________________.
2. Black Friday ______________________________________________.
3. The best part about Thanksgiving Day is _______________________.
4. One Thanksgiving, _________________________________________.

Here's mine:

1. One Thanksgiving tradition I have is a dinner at noontime with turkey, stuffing (or dressing whichever you like to call it), cranberry sauce, potatoes- either mashed or sweet potato casserole, a vegetable and a special salad.

The salad came from a Pillsbury Cook-off cookbook in the early 70’s and was originally called “Lime Party Salad.” I have the book from Mom’s collection. We’ve modified it over the years and it is now often called “The Pink Salad.” Instead of lime Jell-O that the original called for, I usually make it with cherry or raspberry Jell-O. Mixed with marshmallows, cream cheese, pineapple and Cool Whip, it isn’t the healthiest of food, but has appeared on my family’s holiday tables for almost every holiday since it was first made by Mom way back when the cookbook was new.

2. Black Friday is a day that I stay away from stores, especially the mall. I hate crowds and I am not particularly fond of shopping. It marks the day that I try to stay away from retail establishments as much as possible from then until after Christmas. Instead, I usually stay home and relax, catch up on reading, genealogy or a craft project—or all of the above!

3. The best part about Thanksgiving Day is the meal. This menu is one of my favorite meals of all time, so of course I love sitting down to eating it!

4. One Thanksgiving, when I was a teenager, my Mom wasn’t feeling too well. She had recently had surgery on either a foot or a hand, I forget what exactly. The surgery was either the week before, or maybe even early that week. Whenever it was, she was definitely still in recovery from that. It was a quiet Thanksgiving with just my parents and I, but she was determined to make our usual meal. When everything was simmering away on the stove and didn’t need much attending for a while, I promised to keep an eye on things and not let anything burn. I was a good assistant, but still not skilled in cooking on my own yet. She went in the living room and lay down on the couch to rest. When I went to wake her, she started to get up quick in a panic because she had been sleeping and it was time dinner should be ready. I told her to relax, I needed her to do just one thing- come sit down with Dad and I and eat. I had managed to finish preparing the meal on my own with help from Dad getting things and carrying the food to the table for me. It was then that Mom started trusting my cooking skills a bit more.