Our lawn is piled high with a patchwork of colored leaves, the air perfumed by their dusty fragrance. There’s a crunch underneath my feet that makes me kick leaves up into the air and fall back into deep, soft, fragrant piles the way I did as a child.
I’m on the sofa nursing a cold, planning to be well by Thanksgiving Day. Our cousins, Dan, Xiaoshi, and Sunday Hull are coming for the weekend, and part of the ritual, besides the wonderful potluck holiday meal, is all the things we do together afterward. The antique show, the artisans show, walks on the beach. Both Xiaoshi and Sunday are knitters, and I plan to learn new skills while they are here.
Best of all, we will meet our cousin Hannah Beecher’s new puppy, Geoffrey. She has gone to Pennsylvania to pick him up this weekend. His pictures are beyond adorable, a bright-eyed little Westie, looking like he has enough mischief in him to be lots of fun. We were all heartbroken when Hannah lost Henry, her Westie companion of many years. Geoffrey looks like he will be a welcome addition to the family. Can’t wait to meet him.
Every year about this time, I include my corn pudding recipe in the column. Really it’s Suzanne Hammond’s corn pudding recipe; I got it from her. It’s delicious and an easy dish to make for potlucks and big holiday dinners. I’m giving the doubled amount because, in all honesty, I have never made the original amount. Here it is:
Corn Pudding
1 stick butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
2 16 oz. cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 16 oz. cans cream style corn (do not drain)
2 cups sour cream
2 9 oz. boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
Mix it all together. Pour into shallow casserole dish and bake at 375° till set. For this double amount, it’s usually about an hour.
This is the only “terrible” thing I make, meaning using canned and premixed ingredients, probably loaded with GMOs. But everyone loves it, it’s only once a year, and that’s that.
It’s usually what I bring to our Town Party. This year, the party will be on Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Ag Hall. Margaret Gallagher is in charge, so call her at 508-696-9686 if you want to volunteer. It’s always a great potluck with lots of friends attending, the hall beautifully decorated for the holidays.
I was so sorry to learn of the death of Mary Lu Hough. She was, as they say, “a piece of work,” as anyone reading her beautifully written and accomplishment-filled obituary will see for themselves. She occasionally mentioned to me that she wrote for newspapers and had a column of her own, but until I read her obit I didn’t realize the extent of her career. She was on a whole other level. She was also a lovely person, always gracious, very funny, very smart, and I enjoyed her tremendously. George, too. It makes me sad for their family that they lost both George and now Mary Lu within such a short time. My condolences to you all. She was so proud of you, loved you all, especially those new great-grandbabies, who brought much happiness to her.
Kudos to Solon Oliver, the West Tisbury School’s Chilmark Ambassador for Project 351, a statewide service project for 8th graders. So far, Solon has traveled to Boston to put together food packages for the Greater Boston Food Bank, organized a clothing drive that netted 27 bags of “gently used” clothing, and made cards and raised money for the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund in honor of 9/11. His final project is a food drive for the Island Food Pantry. Please bring unopened nonperishable food items to collection boxes at the West Tisbury School and Chilmark School between Nov. 28 and Dec. 9. Thank you, Solon, for your hard work and generous spirit.
The West Tisbury library and town hall offices will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
On Saturday, the library reopens and will host a special rock concert for kids and their families. Jellybone Rivers and the Maniacs of the Heart will perform between 3 and 4 pm. There will be an open chamber music rehearsal on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 27, from 3 to 4:45 pm. All are invited to bring your own instruments and join in, or to sit and enjoy the music. Dave Kish will be showing the documentary film “The Case of the Three-Sided Dream” at his monthly jazz evening this Monday, Nov. 28, at 7 pm. A discussion will follow.
The town’s Saturday Recreation Program for grades 1 to 5 begins on Dec. 3 at the West Tisbury School. Kids can spend Saturday mornings from 9 am to noon playing sports or participating in art and theater programs. Sign up on the town website or contact Peggy Stone at parkrec@westtisbury-ma.gov or 508-696-0147.
Artists, please note that the contest deadline for The MV Times’ “Island Holiday” cover has been extended through today, Nov. 23.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. Yes, I have brought up my transferware turkey plates and the glass turkeys and pumpkins I decorate my table with every year. But a lovely meal with people you love tastes just as good on everyday dishes. It’s a holiday of shared time and gratitude.
Mike and I used to host our family’s Thanksgiving dinner for many years. We have the littlest house, but nobody minded being tight together on chairs and tables all throughout living room, dining room, and sun porch. The family stories of Connecticut holidays at Granny and Grandpappy Hull’s portrayed a cheerful gathering much the same, except that there were tables butted together from one end of the living room into an adjoining sun porch. There was a turkey at either end, one carved by Mike’s Uncle Dan, the other by his grandfather. (By tradition, the eldest male carves. Mike’s Aunt Janice taught all the boys how to do it perfectly.)
These were special memories for all the kids, but especially for my father-in-law, Richard Hull. I never met either his or Bobby’s parents, but loved the stories of their holiday rituals in their antique house. Richard always wanted to sit at the head of a long table like at his parents’ house, looking down at his whole family. Mike built an addition to our house about a dozen years ago, a pretty, light-filled dining room. It was the first and only year that Richard was alive to proudly sit at the head of our long Thanksgiving table that spanned the width of our house, a happy memory I am grateful for every Thanksgiving.