In 1943, Norman Rockwell rendered
this  heartfelt  image
of  a  WW2  refugee
thanking  God  for  her  meal. 

The  painting  was  used
as  the  cover  for
The Saturday Evening Post.

It  shows  evidence  of
an unseen generous US Soldier
who has loaned the young woman
his  large  coat
to  stay  warm.

Although seventy years have passed
since  that  insane  era,
the  image  can  very  easily  be
believed  in  our  own  time,
for  we  still  haven't  solved
the  problem  of  people
suffering  in  similar  situations.

The madness of war continues
under  a  new  name
and  the  innocent
continue  to  be
the  greatest  victims.

As the Roman Empire,
founded on military might,
fell apart,
so we live
in a similar period of decay.

The Founder of Harvard University's
Sociology Department,
Pitirim  Sorokin,
observed  that  our  culture  is
oriented  towards  the  physical  senses;
has  exhausted  itself
and  is
d i s s o l v i n g;
proving  that  the  future
MUST
reform itself around
other ideas and purposes.


Let's hope we are able to form around
the idea and purpose of

L O V E

which brings with it many spiritual fruits,
such as

JOY  -   WISDOM  -  UNDERSTANDING  -  COUNSEL 

KINDNESS  -  GOODNESS  -  PATIENCE 

FAITHFULNESS  -  GENTLENESS  -  SELF  CONTROL  

FORTITUDE  -  KNOWLEDGE  -  PEACE 

{ to name a few }

as opposed to egomania, greed
and other hate filled havoc wreaking ideologies
before  we  all  perish !

For those of you who have
a tremendous amount to be grateful for,
and will be concerned about roasting the finest Turkey ever,
I share the following reliable and successful technique:

PERFECT   TURKEY  or  TURKEY  BREAST 

EVERY  TIME  !

Done in almost half the time of most recipes,
this no fail method will bring you the result.  

The  only  requirements  for
the  success  of  this  procedure  is
knowing  the  total  weight  of
your  oven  ready  bird,

{ which includes the weight of the stuffing, if any },

and Aluminum Foil or tight fitting cover for the roasting pan. 

You'll need to do a bit of math,
so get your pencil and paper ready.

CLEAN, SEASON,
{Bell's Seasoning is as good as it gets,
or create your own mixture.
Some folks swear that the enzymes in dried Apricots
added around the bird,
help in making it even juicier,
giving a different unexpected flavour,
despite the sulphites. 
Some criss cross the breast with bacon
for yet another dimension of flavour. 
This bacon is removed before the last half hour of roasting.},
STUFF,   {if desired- but REMEMBER to know the approximate weight of your stuffing},
AND  TRUSS  THE  BIRD.


COOKING  TIME  FORMULA  FOR  TWELVE  POUNDS  OR  LESS  OF  TURKEY:

15,{ FIFTEEN }, MINUTES  PER  POUND  PLUS  AN  ADDITIONAL  15,{ FIFTEEN }, MINUTES.

EXAMPLE:   TEN  POUND  TURKEY  PLUS  ONE  POUND  STUFFING  IN  BIRD 
EQUALS  ELEVEN  POUNDS  OVEN  READY  BIRD.    

{11  pounds oven ready bird }  X  { 15  minutes } =  165 minutes  +  15  minutes  =    180 MINUTES 

or  3 HOURS  COMPLETE  START  TO  FINISH  ROASTING  TIME.

 
COOKING  TIME  FORMULA  FOR  OVEN  READY  TURKEYS 

WEIGHING  MORE  THAN  TWELVE  POUNDS:

15,{ FIFTEEN }, MINUTES  PER  POUND  FOR  THE  FIRST  TWELVE  POUNDS, 
PLUS  12,{ TWELVE }, MINUTES  PER  POUND  FOR  EACH  POUND 
OVER  THE  ORIGINAL  TWELVE  POUNDS,
PLUS  AN  ADDITIONAL  15,{ FIFTEEN }, MINUTES.

EXAMPLE:   FOURTEEN  POUND  TURKEY  PLUS  TWO  POUNDS  STUFFING  IN  BIRD 
EQUALS  SIXTEEN  POUNDS  OVEN  READY  BIRD. 

{ 12 pounds }  X  { 15 minutes }  =  180 minutes 
PLUS  { 4 pounds } X { 12 minutes } = 48 minutes 
PLUS  an additional  15 minutes. 

FULL  ROASTING  TIME  CONSEQUENTLY  EQUALS  243  MINUTES 
or  4 HOURS and  FIVE  MINUTES  !!!

Now that you know what your roasting time will be,
this is the procedure:

PREHEAT  OVEN  TO  400 DEGREES !

PLACE  BIRD  IN  ROASTING  PAN  AND  SEAL WELL  WITH  ALUMINUM  FOIL 
LEAVING A BIT OF SPACE  BETWEEN THE FOIL AND THE BREAST
SO THE SKIN WON'T STICK TO THE FOIL.

PLACE  BIRD  IN  OVEN. 
SET  TIMER  FOR  FIFTEEN  MINUTES  !!! 
WHEN  TIMER  RINGS, TURN DIAL ON OVEN TO  375 DEGREES. 
DO  NOT  OPEN  OVEN  DOOR  !!!

NOW  CALCULATE  WHAT  TIME  IT  WILL BE  WHEN 
THERE  IS  A  HALF  HOUR  REMAINING  OF  YOUR  FULL  ROASTING  TIME. 

WHEN  THAT  TIME  COMES, 
OPEN  OVEN  DOOR  AND  REMOVE  ENTIRE  ROASTING PAN FROM OVEN. 
CLOSE  OVEN  DOOR  AS  SOON  AS  POSSIBLE  TO  KEEP  HEAT  IN. 

CAREFULLY,
{ and I mean carefully as steam will wildly escape at this point },
REMOVE  FOIL,
{ and bacon if you used it }. 
REPLACE  BIRD  INTO  OVEN  AND  ROAST  FOR THE FINAL  HALF  HOUR.

YOUR  BIRD  IS  NOW  PERFECTLY  ROASTED  AND  GOLDEN  ! 
REMEMBER  TO  ALLOW  IT  TO  REST  FOR  TWENTY  MINUTES  BEFORE  CARVING  !

!!!   HAPPY  THANKSGIVING  !!!

Hamden hamlet hides just outside
the college town of Delhi,
where you'd be making an excellent
scholarly choice to send your
academic bound brat.

There wont be a chance in heck
of them getting into anything but
an education here. 

If they've been especially naughty,
their first winter will forever cure them. 
There simply is no choice
but to study in conditions similar to
the frozen tundras of Siberia. 

I'm not sure if it would be funny or cruel.



Anyway, as I was passing through,
I couldn't help but notice the Scarecrow on County Road 26
pointing to Donnelly's Farm full of colorful gourds and squash...
and... of course,
Mr. Tom  Donnelly hauling huge pumpkins from his patch to the sales area,
where his lovely wife, Ginny, was attentively assisting several customers.

I enjoyed listening to in depth explanations concerning bees, pollination and
the demise of dairy cattle in the area due to education - not government !

I thought to myself that men are kinda like pumpkins.

It seems like all the good ones are taken
or
they've had everything scraped out of their heads with a spoon.

So, have a look at the mini slide show here and do your Pumpkin pickin at Donnelly's
where the scenery is gorgeous and the prices are ridiculously reasonable !
How 'bout their pumpkin totem that's lit up at night !
Very cool !