Now that we’ve all adjusted to turning the clocks back and embracing the 5:30 dark…we all have, right?…we can finally relax into the cozy indoors…and the carb-loading. And, apparently, we needed a holiday to give us permission to invite the relatives…including the grumpy uncle…to eat too much, loosen belts and stumble to the comfy chairs.
Most of us still call it Thanksgiving…but there are some recent caveats…
I recently saw an interview that cited Thanksgiving as the one quintessentially American holiday…the one that crossed religious/cultural borders and united us all, every year, around those cute pilgrim hats and corn stalks…and of course, the turkey…(Insert record scratch!!!). Here in 2023, that ain’t necessarily so. Today families have been reconfigured and redefined; not everyone has a ready-made, DNA-certified circle…including an aforementioned uncle…to call on. So they get to make one up, to mix and match, for the day or forever, to celebrate “Friendsgiving.” And it’s just as tasty, just as nap-inducing.
Even some turkeys catch a break, as the menu has also morphed. Did you know that those poor early pilgrims had to make do with roast venison, fresh-caught lobsters, and fresh-shucked clams and oysters? Oh the humanities! So feel free to go veg or vegan, white meat or red…and sign me up for the seafood, please!
Or maybe your family is celebrating November as National Native American Month…pilgrims need not apply. Or a day to remember and enjoy your own culture and cuisine from across the mountains and seas.
Lots to consider, lots to decide. At the Lansdowne Farmers Market, we’re here to help. We want you to have it your way with the very best and freshest foods: like beets and broccoli, potatoes for mashing, and don’t forget the cabbage for Mom’s famous coleslaw, or some of those strange new and oddly shaped veggies that everybody but me seems to know what to do with. Breads and cookies and, of course, pies…yeah, we’ve got that.
While you’re at it, why not a few fancy things… because who doesn’t deserve fancy on a holiday? Don’t forget the hostess…or the cook…even if that’s you! Some wine that’s chilled, or something distilled. A candle or jars of jam.
Let me add one helpful tip that every host(ess) will love you for…Arrive on time but DON’T surprise them with your famous anything that needs refrigerator or freezer space. Or will need an hour in the oven. That real estate is taken. And bring that bouquet already in a vase, please.
Just to tie up some loose ends:
- This will be the last full Market: 9:00 to 1:00. All of our vendors are invited, so bring your biggest basket.
- For the winter months, our Market will reappear every 3rd Saturday, from 10 til noon.
- Stay tuned for town news, events and developments by reading the Lansdowne Link.
- Stay warm and healthy. I understand that Spring will return sometime in 2024. Be ready.
One last personal thought as we close out 2023:
Over the better part of a score of years, the Lansdowne Farmers Market has been a series of snapshots in how fast and yet how incrementally an image can change. I’ve had the advantage of a front row seat to much more than the change of seasons, and the time it takes for ripe red strawberries to turn into rosy red apples. Look at us now!
Thanks to all the people who participate in this thing we have going here in ‘downe, not ‘dale.
Just me,
Terry B.