Underground RR, A Place to Cry and Cornbread

I'm Thankful For:

Twenty-three: the Underground Rail Road

I'm grateful for good men and women who helped the cause of freedom from slavery.

 I'm grateful for the courage against death that many slaves had to escape people literally hunting them. I'm in a part of Maryland that has a lot of American cultural history drenched in the ground with blood of Native Americans, African slaves, free men and Quakers who died trying to help runaway slaves. While the farms are gorgeous I know that there is so much painful history here in this earth that can't be told and it is a shame. Place in Italy can be dated back centuries to the time of Christ. Places in Ethiopia can too, in India, in Japan...but not in the US. There is a rich history yet so much of it was cut out from the stories of the people who lived it. 

I visited this Quaker farm that served as a hiding point for escaped enslaved men, women and children. The Quakers did not participate in the Civil War and they upheld life as the creation of man in God's image, therefore they helped escaped slaves by hiding them in their homes, giving them food and helping them survive. 

Today this farm serves as a manor for fine events and the farmland where many a happy pony prance. I know the earth and sky have seen it all and I wonder what really happened to the people who crossed this land?

horsin around

"Hello!"

Even the outhouse is cute.

Twenty-four: A Place to Cry

My mom and grandma are total opposites when it comes to approaching emotions. My grandma believes that if you hold emotions in it is bad for your stomach. She prescribes long, loud, gusty and soulful wailing to heal soul and body. She recommends tactically waiting till everyone is out of the house, finding a nice small warm place and then crying like if you are dying. 

My mom listens to this advice with her eyebrows raised in skepticism. She, on the other hand, believes in the power of constant prayer, positive thinking, gratefulness for what you have and forgiveness of others to turn away pain and sorrow. 

I got stuck with my British granny's genes of easy cellulite and stunted emotions. When fretting, I go physically cold, staring blankly, stop talking and putter about. And like my British granny, I usually resort to a good cup of Earl Grey tea, a thick sweater and going to bed a bit early to resolve whatever ruffles my feathers.

This move wasn't easy and I was carrying around a lot of tension and it was affecting  my gut. 

My stomach hurt constantly so I decided to try my grandma's advice of wailing. It made me grin thinking of my plan to wait and wail. It felt fake! It felt like I was planning to fake cry and made me laugh but I was going to do it. Two weeks of a churning stomach needed to stop! 

I waited till the chef was out of the house (he would have gone running for my asthma inhaler and taken my blood pressure had he been home, poor sensible man). Then I tip-toed in a closet in the basement to make sure the neighbors wouldn't hear. I muffled out a little fake sob.

It didn't work. 

I tried another little one. Nope. Nada. So I thought of the saddest country song that always gets me choked up "Austin" by Blake Shelton. I have no explanation why but this song does it for me. "If you're calling about my heart it's still yours, I should have listened to it a little more"

boo-hoo-hoo-HOO!!!

And the tear drops rolled, and rolled and I got into it and roared. I thought of everything that bugged me and got it all out. 

Good gravy was that relieving. After about three minutes I decided that was enough nonsense. I unrolled myself from the closet, felt totally relaxed in each muscle, took a deep breath and went about my way to make a good cup of Earl Grey. My gut and soul feel much better since that day. So, I'm thankful for a good cry. 

Twenty-five: Cornbread

Who doesn't love cornbread? I have been loving the time to make some great slow-cooked dinners and discovered that cornbread matches with almost all of them! So far, I have made red-wine braised chicken, Stracotto (Tuscan beef stew) and shepard's pie. All of them go so well with corn bread. Yum yum yum in my tum! And the great thing about cornbread is that you can have it salty with din-din or spread some nutella or jam on it and have it as a sweet snack. Yeah, baby!

Crackin up!

Singing, "Sugar, oh honey honey. You are my candy girl and I can't help but loving you."

Mangia!

And now it is time to start getting Thanksgiving dinner ready. If only the turkey didn't gross me out:

poke poke poke....sorry old turkey...but you are so tasty when you get roasted. 

yuck

brining in the pasta pot

 Bentley and Fatty are more than ready to ring in the Christmas Spirit.  For now, they are both combative turkeys constantly fighting with each other. As soon as the Macy's day parade ends they will transform into round fluffy Christmas tree ornaments. 

Gobble gobble

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your ornaments are history!"