Photo of the Week: November 21, 2016

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Photo Of The Week
Photo of the Week November 21

Winter has officially come to Denver…for a whole forty-eight hours!  Last week, we had our first snow here in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and as soon as the flurries started to stick to the trees, I grabbed my camera and raced outside.  The day before the snowfall, temperatures pushed into the mid-seventies and dropped down into the thirties in less than twelve hours.  Talk about being a little all over the place.  I went from wearing sandals one day to huddling in front of a space heater with my favorite pair of fuzzy socks the next.

I can’t believe this week is Thanksgiving.  Wild, right?  Like, wasn’t it just August?  I’m excited, though, because once we get past Thanksgiving, it’s basically Christmastime.  Yes, I’m that person who’s already listening to “Silver Bells.”  Christmas can’t come soon enough for me, so I welcome the end of November.

Now, Kevin and I don’t have any travel plans this Thursday – just the two of us in our Denver abode eating homemade cinnamon buns for brunch – but I’m jealous of those who do.  I was watching some old episodes of Friends last week, including the very first Thanksgiving episode where Ross complains how his parents are spending Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico without him and Monica.

“Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico,” I said to Kevin.  “That sounds wonderful.”

“No,” he replied, not missing a beat.

I’ve always wanted to visit Puerto Rico and I’m not a fan of Thanksgiving, so the arrangement is actually quite perfect.  Old San Juan, the turquoise waters of the Caribbean…the temptation is strong, believe you me.

Now, pardon the following digression, but: do you know why turkey is served on Thanksgiving?  Thanksgiving isn’t a centuries-old tradition dating from the colonial era; the first Thanksgiving was actually celebrated around the time of the Civil War, when the poultry industry was on the verge of collapse.  In a weird turn of events, the turkey – a bird native to the Americas and once considered for the national symbol of the United States – then became associated with the holiday.  A turkey’s place at the Thanksgiving table is therefore the result of a few different factors:

  1. Poultry is cheap, unlike beef, which wasn’t commercially available until well into the twentieth century.
  2. The poultry industry needed an economic boost, which the Lincoln-sanctioned holiday of Thanksgiving provided
  3. The choice of turkey tapped into national pride concerning a bird native only to North America, and it is believed that colonists learned how to hunt and prepare turkeys from Native Americans.

The more you know, right?  It’s a little funny, because I don’t even eat turkey…yet I’ve somehow amassed a few facts about how it found its way onto the Thanksgiving table.

So, Happy Thanksgiving, and hopefully next time this year I’ll be celebrating from Puerto Rico!  A girl can dream, yes?  Safe travels, everyone!

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