Happy Thanksgiving

As my day begins , I sit here drinking my tea and planning this day. Something that irritates me is my inability to stray from Jared's routine even in his absence. I have no need to be awake so early but something in my head says there must be activity now.

Tomorrow I will host two female sailors. I requested females since Jared is underway and I did not wish to break our habit of hosting single sailors for a holiday. I may not be their family but for me, it is better to be with someone friendly than to be alone. I hope to make their day a little better. I know they have programs at other bases for hosting single sailors. It is my hope that no sailor (or soldier or airman) is alone on this holiday.

There is some cooking to be done today. Most will be the desserts. Chao lei will enjoy today very much I think. There will be many spoons to lick and desserts to approve. My only regret is the unavailability of blackberries here. Mother Bing taught me how to cook cobblers and pies using them so I rarely missed the opportunity to go picking them. A lot of them. Yes, I can get frozen berries at the commissary but they are not the same since they are picked early so they can be processed. The perfect berry is picked by hand when it is ripe. Then they are incredibly sweet with no sugar added. I miss my Oregon. Meanwhile, everything for tomorrow is staged and awaits its time in the oven. It will be convenient to awake early.

I will use my uv lights tomorrow too. The weather promises to be dreary. I thought to try to keep spirits positive despite the grayness. They are not intrusive and can be overlooked quite easily. Their effects are subtle too. A friend that lived in Alaska taught me of these lights. They prevented depression for her. She also taught me that one must use them carefully as they can become addicting and can drastically alter sleep patterns. I follow her advice and do not use them outside of day light hours. They are usually not out of their boxes except for those dark days.

I hope you have found many things to be thankful for this year and wish for you a wonderful Thanksgiving day.