"one of the rights our forefathers fought for was the secret ballot" According to Wikipedia, the secret ballot was introduced in the US in the 1880s. I'm not sure anyone fought for it at all. Not unlike other things, we introduced this voting feature years later than did many other developed countries in Europe and elsewhere. Campaign workers may ask who you're going to vote for. Physicians may ask personal questions about your love life and other rather private matters. That these people typically do doesn't mean anyone else in a general conversation should consider it appropriate. Nathan Hale was the "only one life to lose for my country" guy. According to a quick search, the quote about vigilance was used for liberty, democracy, and other things by many people at many different times. Good quotes are often wrongly attributed. Including many attributed to Yogi Berra, like "It's like deja vu all over again", which he denied saying.

Agree with Ritamay. Keep a close eye on your hand. I stupidly broke up a cat fight when I was in high school and ended up in the hospital for 3 days on IV antibiotics because my mom wouldn't take me to the doctor until it was too late for oral antibiotics. It was pretty obvious though as my hand swelled to about 3x it's normal size and was super painful. I was also bitten and scratched all over both hands as I tried to hold onto him as long as I could. One thing to be aware of is that this is usually reported to animal control and I don't know what would happen to the kitty. An officer came and checked mine for aggression and made sure vaccinations were updated.

Suzique…. agreed. I enjoy potlucks. Agreed about some of them being overladen on the pasta salads, however. The one I went to a week ago had four pasta salads, three of which were nearly entirely pasta and some sauce/seasoning. The fourth was actually good since it had a lot of veggies (and I ate that one). Unfortunately my new local crew isn't really food-creative or savvy. Most of the desserts were also store bought - and so I passed on those as well. (Something about those preservatives do not sit well in my belly). I brought devilled eggs - three styles, all labeled - since my chickens have been prolific. Noting that the weather was HOT, I made sure my freezer packs surrounded them at all times, and I kept checking on them due to that. They vanished. When I make food for pot lucks - or even to share with anyone beyond myself - I follow extremely stringent guidelines. My hands are washed at the drop of a hat. At a previous meal (sit down in my home, not a pot luck), when I suspected but could not ascertain that soapy water might have splashed into something I was draining - I eliminated that, and started over again. Were it just for me, I probably would have taken my chances. I guess what I really hated back at my old home was when the pot luck was hosted at my house with a very tiny kitchen and dining area -- there would always, ALWAYS be one or two people who'd come in and decide to assemble their pot luck at that table. It isn't like either of them hadn't been at my house before, to know the dysfunctionality of that space, either. It wasn't like I didn't remind them, either...

Oh man, it all looks delicious. At first I was concerned, then I saw the pink bowl for the stuffing and the pink pan holding spinach dip and all was right with the world. It's amylou, it's gotta have something pink. I think George has taken the correct measures, LOL. He looks a lot like my 25 pound cat, Spark. Orange cats gotta do orange cat things, you know. My Thanksgiving won't be until next Saturday, that's when Ashley has the girls and Makayla can come home for dinner and all other family obligations are fullfilled by all. Elery and I joined the neighbors at the B&B for dinner, the chef there did the cooking and I provided some of the "raw" ingredients. Well brined free range Amish turkey, nearly 30 pounds, some apple/cranberry stuffing, green bean casserole with no C of M soup, just some nicely seasoned white sauce and crunchy pan fried shallots, mashed potatoes from our Kennebecs in storage, gravy, fresh cranberry relish and dinner rolls, dessert was a really nicely spiced apple cake with cream cheese frosting. A couple of cups of coffee, chatting with friends and rooting for the Detroit Lions (who, true to tradition, lost), made a lovely day. Having lost my mother and my brother within the last year it was actually good to have something completely different. I'll start my cooking about Wednesday... Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Annie