We hope you enjoyed a good week and a great Thanksgiving. The holiday mood stays in effect until New Year’s Day, so there are many motions and sounds going on until then.
Whether the holidays bring you peaceful contemplation, the excitement of holiday gatherings or a little bit of both, may you find blessings everywhere you look.
It’s a new month and the last month of the year. It’s a month that’s always filled with lots of planning and preparations for enjoying family and friends. Many are selecting gifts, making invitation lists, attending events and traveling.
Assuming decorations are already in place for most, it brightens the way for the holidays.
Our community is always shining bright with lights and festive decorations. Take a drive through our community closer to Christmas and see what it looks like. Blue Cane residents welcome you to our community.
It’s December, and like most every other month the calendar is filled with birthdays, appointments and, of course, the federal holidays are listed on the calendar.
You may have noticed Pearl Harbor Day may or may not be listed on some calendars because it’s not a federal holiday. It was Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese planes attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Hawaii, killing more than 2,300 Americans. More than another thousand were left injured.
We learned this history when we were in elementary school. We mention this because our friend, Alice Goss-Robinson, never fails to mention Pearl Harbor Day as she was born on the same date, just a different year!
Mrs. Robinson anxiously mentions her birthday every year, feeling more blessed, honored and so happy to celebrate on Dec. 7. Our community sends our best wishes to Mrs. Robinson for a “Happy Birthday!”
Mrs. Robinson remembers a lot about her young childhood days when the family lived in the (Hubbard and Blue Cane area) community. Children walked to school and church. She remembers the time she was all dressed in a white dress for Sunday church. Her mother said, “Don’t stop at the mulberry tree.” Well, little Alice came home with a berry-stained dress! I asked her what happened and she said her mother washed her dress. How loving and sweet can a mother be?
Safety is one of my pet peeves. With a reminder again, be careful handling foods. Perhaps turkey is on the menu again for Christmas, along with ham, of course. Cooked turkey should not be left out for more than two hours. So, refrigerate quickly. Have more than one serving dish to serve at a time. Just because you reheat back to 165 degrees does not ensure turkey is safe. Bacteria can grow between 40 and 140 degrees.
Bacteria can grow quickly if food is left out at room temperature. Just because it’s cold weather does not mean cooked food is OK. Cooked turkey can be refrigerated for 3-4 days and stored for 4-6 months in the freezer. Remember to divide large portions in smaller sizes so they will cool quickly.
You have noticed, too, that food can generally become saltier the longer it stays in the freezer, because freezing can cause moisture loss, concentrating the salt, so be mindful when you season food if you plan to freeze ahead or even after.
Enjoy the day. Be blessed.
