COOKING A GOOD MEAL LIKE CONDUCTING A SYMPHONY

By OLIVENE GODFREY

When son Barry complemented me on our Thanksgiving dinner last week, he reminded me that great chefs have compared cooking a fine meal with conducting a symphony. The cook has to be able to coordinate the meal so that all the food is ready at the same time. I thought of the early years when I was a bride and could only cook chocolate fudge and brownies. My late husband, Ralph, came from a family of big eaters who were used to their mother's superb cooking. So, I bought a cookbook which I still own that I studied as I knew I would have to give myself a quick education in cooking meals.

Ralph was patient with me and we learned to cook the basic dishes together. I had plenty of practice for cooking company meals as we entertained friends and relatives often.

Even when I was young, preparing a large meal was tiring for me. The past year has been a rough one for me and I expected to be tired at the end of Thanksgiving day. But, I was not prepared to be totally exhausted and I didn't feel well for a couple of days. I have decided not to do as much this upcoming Christmas as I have in the past.

The first of last week, Ralph's sister, Agnes, called and said that her brother, Ray, had fallen and broken hip. He will need to go to a re-hab center to learn to walk again. Agnes and I caught up on our families news and it was a good chat despite her bad news. The next day, Joyce' Ray's wife' called and gave me an update on Ray. She is fortunate to have a large family who have been helping her a lot during their bad time.

My sister, Jeanette, who recently had spinal surgery,is recuperating at home now. Barry and I drove over to Dalton
to see her on Sunday. We only stayed a short time at her house as she tires easily and we wanted her to rest.

Our town is growing by leaps and bounds and keeps adding new short order eating places to their list. I was glad to see the new Krystal, the second oldest hamburger chain in the nation.
We haven't eaten there yet as like all new eating places it has been too crowded for us. I remember eating at the old one in Chattanooga when I was a kid. My daddy would stop sometimes and buy a bag of the mini-burgers which I recall cost a nickel a piece back then. Later, when Ralph and I were dating we would stop and buy little Krystal's. A local editor has compared the little burgers with " a little taste of heaven." and I agree and am looking forward to eating at our new Krystal.

See you next time.

GIVING THANKS & WEATHER AFFECTS JOINTS & MORE

By OLIVENE GODFREY

Winter seems to be here in Northwest Georgia with temps in the 20s last week, and rain and maybe snow flurries this week.
With the trees bare of their leaves, the scenery looks like November. About the possibility of snow-- We have stocked up on food and supplies and won't mind a little snow as long as we have power in the house. I am planning to serve turkey breast and the trimmings Thanksgiving day. A family friend will be our dinner guest.

I was thinking this morning before I got out of bed of all the people and things I am thankful for this year. I am thankful also to God for sparing my life last April when I had injuries from a fall. And I am grateful that I have healed and am about back to normal. And I am thankful every day for Barry who is a devoted son to me as he was to his late beloved "pa",
I believe that there has to be a special place in Heaven
for people like Barry. I am also grateful for my comfortable home. I am thankful for family and friends and so much more.

I have always believed that weather affects my arthritic joints.
And my belief was reinforced when I read am item in the December issue of Good Housekeeping magazine on this subject. A medical team at Tufts-New England Medical Center had a study on pain reports of arthritis patients to weather data. They found that people's knees hurt most when the barometric pressure rose, signaling a change in weather. A dip in temperature also caused joint pain but rainfall didn't. The study concluded there isn't much you can do about this but it explained, they said, why your joints may feel better in warm, stable climate.

Last week, on the same day, my sister, Jeanette, in Dalton and my niece, Connie, in West Palm Beach, FL both had major surgery.
It was Jeanette's 10th surgery, her second one this year, and for Connie it was her second one this year. They are recuperating and hoping to feel better by Christmas. We would appreciate your prayers.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend and see you next time.

FALLING LEAVES & A DREAM TREE & CANNED FRUIT & MORE

By OLIVENE GODFREY

A front came through here in northwest Georgia with a brisk wind and almost blew all the colored and brown leaves off the trees last week. The next morning, our yard and the patio which is surrounded with a rock wall were covered with leaves.
Now with the trees bare of leaves, we are entering what I call our bleak, gray winter months. We live in a mountain wind gap and often have strong winds which is why we had so many leaves fall off the trees and trees in other areas still have most of their leaves. A few days ago, son Barry blew leaves off the patio with the leaf blower and went over the yard with the riding lawnmower and mulched the leaves.

Barry has already brought the houseplants inside and in the garage for the winter. But he left a huge impatient red plant and a red geranium on the patio and they are still blooming despite the frosts we have had recently. He moved the new growth tomato plant inside and it is exploding with growth and has little tomatoes on it. Amazing! And the large Christmas cactus is blooming and is a sight to behold.

We have Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to now. But, in January, February and March we can only try to cope with winter weather until the beautiful spring arrives.

I enjoyed a feature on the Today television show last week. The huge Christmas tree has been put up in Rockefeller Plaza
AND THE Today show told the story of the "dream tree" donated to be used in the Rockefeller Plaza this year. A New Jersey couple had nurtured the tree over the years and it grew to be so big it dwarfed their house and that of their neighbors. A neighbor wrote a letter about the tree which led to the donation of it. The New Jersey man's wife died two years ago and he said that she would have been thrilled that so many people would be enjoying their tree this year.

If you are worried about the nutrition of canned fruit compared to fresh or frozen fruit, not to worry, according to an item in the current Prevention magazine. The article says that
canned fruit is packed immediately after harvest, so it retains most of its vitamins and antioxidants. And the spokesperson for the American Dietetic Assoc. says to keep your fruit snack as healthy as possible, choose fruit packed in its own juices instead of in heavy corn syrup.

I read in the paper yesterday that 10 million new flu shot dosages are scheduled to be delivered this month. I am hoping that some of the flu vaccine doses will be delivered to my doctor's office as she still didn't have any as of Friday.
I still haven't had a flu shot and was glad to read in the article that the flu season is off to a gentle start.

1. See you next time.

FALL FOLIAGE & RANDOM THOUGHTS

By OLIVENE GODFREY

The gorgeous colored leaf show we are having here in northwest
Georgia now promises to be well worth the wait for it. We still have a lot of green trees but we should reach the peak of the colored leaves in a week or so. The frost we had recently seems to have triggered the leaves into turning scarlet, gold and burgundy and looking like autumn has finally arrived.

I was under the weather last week and had insomnia worse than usual. By Friday night, I was exhausted and I went to bed at 7:30 P.M. and got a good night's sleep. But, I woke up very early and felt unusually chipper for an old lady. I lay on my back and stretched my arms and legs and thought it would be a good day for a change.

I got out of bed and stood up and suddenly all of my aches and pains started acting up. My cheerful mood vanished as I went through my usual routine. After a good breakfast, to my
surprise, I started feeling better and I decided to go to the supermarket with son Barry to stock up on the coming week's
groceries and supplies. I enjoyed the fall scenery as we drove into town and made it fine in the huge store until we reached the half-way mark and I felt my energy waning. We stopped at the store's pharmacy for a prescription and the friendly pharmacist gave me some materials about the new Medicare
Prescription drug plan and I am sure I will have more to say about this confusing plan later.

I still haven't got my flu shot and my doctor was very upset last week when I saw her for a mini-checkup. She was planning to call our congressman about not receiving the flu vaccine yet. I heard on T.V. last week a doctor say that one way to avoid the flu was to wash your hands often and wash them as long as it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song. I am doing that now.

See you next time.