Some Thanksgiving history

I did a little bit of history searching and found this article very interesting. Read on!

History.com


The First Thanksgiving
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.
Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record. Whether at Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, or throughout the Americas, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time. The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal.
What Was Actually on the Menu?
What foods topped the table at the first harvest feast? Historians aren't completely certain about the full bounty, but it's safe to say the pilgrims weren't gobbling up pumpkin pie or playing with their mashed potatoes. Following is a list of the foods that were available to the colonists at the time of the 1621 feast. However, the only two items that historians know for sure were on the menu are venison and wild fowl, which are mentioned in primary sources. The most detailed description of the "First Thanksgiving" comes from Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621:
"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
Did you know that lobster, seal and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu? Learn more...
Seventeenth Century Table Manners:
The pilgrims didn't use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. They wiped their hands on large cloth napkins which they also used to pick up hot morsels of food. Salt would have been on the table at the harvest feast, and people would have sprinkled it on their food. Pepper, however, was something that they used for cooking but wasn't available on the table.
In the seventeenth century, a person's social standing determined what he or she ate. The best food was placed next to the most important people. People didn't tend to sample everything that was on the table (as we do today), they just ate what was closest to them.
Serving in the seventeenth century was very different from serving today. People weren't served their meals individually. Foods were served onto the table and then people took the food from the table and ate it. All the servers had to do was move the food from the place where it was cooked onto the table.
Pilgrims didn't eat in courses as we do today. All of the different types of foods were placed on the table at the same time and people ate in any order they chose. Sometimes there were two courses, but each of them would contain both meat dishes, puddings, and sweets.
More Meat, Less Vegetables
Our modern Thanksgiving repast is centered around the turkey, but that certainly wasn't the case at the pilgrims's feasts. Their meals included many different meats. Vegetable dishes, one of the main components of our modern celebration, didn't really play a large part in the feast mentality of the seventeenth century. Depending on the time of year, many vegetables weren't available to the colonists.
The pilgrims probably didn't have pies or anything sweet at the harvest feast. They had brought some sugar with them on the Mayflower but by the time of the feast, the supply had dwindled. Also, they didn't have an oven so pies and cakes and breads were not possible at all. The food that was eaten at the harvest feast would have seemed fatty by 1990's standards, but it was probably more healthy for the pilgrims than it would be for people today. The colonists were more active and needed more protein. Heart attack was the least of their worries. They were more concerned about the plague and pox.
Surprisingly Spicy Cooking
People tend to think of English food at bland, but, in fact, the pilgrims used many spices, including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and dried fruit, in sauces for meats. In the seventeenth century, cooks did not use proportions or talk about teaspoons and tablespoons. Instead, they just improvised. The best way to cook things in the seventeenth century was to roast them. Among the pilgrims, someone was assigned to sit for hours at a time and turn the spit to make sure the meat was evenly done.
Since the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians had no refrigeration in the seventeenth century, they tended to dry a lot of their foods to preserve them. They dried Indian corn, hams, fish, and herbs.
Dinner for Breakfast: Pilgrim Meals:
The biggest meal of the day for the colonists was eaten at noon and it was called noonmeat or dinner. The housewives would spend part of their morning cooking that meal. Supper was a smaller meal that they had at the end of the day. Breakfast tended to be leftovers from the previous day's noonmeat.
In a pilgrim household, the adults sat down to eat and the children and servants waited on them. The foods that the colonists and Wampanoag Indians ate were very similar, but their eating patterns were different. While the colonists had set eating patterns—breakfast, dinner, and supper—the Wampanoags tended to eat when they were hungry and to have pots cooking throughout the day.

To learn more about all of this Thanksgiving history, click right here.

Thanksgiving

Hello there turkeys... are you kidding me, of course I'm allowed to call you a turkey... it's Thanksgiving. So you 've got all your bags packed and your food all fixed up and ready to head out the door. So what if your not going anywhere this Thanksgiving. In fact you don't really have to do anything because Thanksgiving is in the air. It's something you can't take away.

You know there are several things about Thanksgiving that makes this time of the year very special. Something that has no price tag. It's called love... it's called family... it's called fellowship. We all have our busy life styles. We are always so busy that we never have the time for anybody... and I think I'm speaking for everyone, but Thanksgiving is that moment in time when you break away from everything, and you make time for family fellowship. That is just one small reason of why I love Thanksgiving so much. Of course Christmas is my favorite; and there are other holidays, but it's this time of the year when people get into their seasonal mode (that's what I call it) and their attitudes change... and family's come together.
It's such a wonderful feeling to walk through the door of your family's home that you haven't seen all year or years and you start giving hugs. There is no labor, no stress (or shouldn't be) no nothing but fellowship with your loved ones. I'll admit something. When I was a teenager this stuff seemed really goofy to me. I always felt like this was not my cup of tea and I had better things to do. Yeah, I'd show up to eat but then I was gone. I guess I've grown up quite a bit. Now I realize the importance and the value of getting together with your family. Even when it's not during the holiday season.

There is really a list of reasons why Thanksgiving is so special. It's just going places you've seen a hundred times already and for some reason, those places seem to stand out to you more... or the excitement of seeing different people, places or things seems to have more of an effect than a regular day. Remember what I said earlier... Thanksgiving is in the air. So this year for Thanksgiving, tell someone you love them and how much they mean to you. After all, love is the one true gift that money will never buy.

So whether your traveling across the country... to another state or just going around the corner... I hope your Thanksgiving will be full of love, happiness and joy.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Friday the 21st

Looking back on last Friday... which was the 21st, I managed to survive something and I don't even know how in the world I survived it. I woke up around 10 am Friday morning from a long night of thinking about what all I needed to do. I kept going over everything in my mind so I wouldn't forget anything. I've been battling with my group in my other class on homework and now I have a REAL mid term exam to prepare for in flash class. Since Shelly-bean is the early bird around the house, she makes enough coffee for both of us when I don't have to work. So I got some coffee and started studying for my mid term that was in a few hours. My flash mid term consisted of a written assignment and a design assignment. Well I felt ok with everything but I've never been a good test taker. So I kept going over everything. With a second cup of coffee almost gone I thought that my time was pretty much up and I needed to get ready for class. Oh by the way, I forgot to mention that I had a thumbnail project due that day also. So, for class that day I had to present my second project and then take the midterm exam.

Well, I get there and get unloaded and turn in my second project and as I start going over my work I thought...you know I forgot to eat breakfast. Totally slipped my mind. At this point there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Class started in fifteen minutes and the snack machines only have potato chips and candy bars. Even if that was what I wanted, I didn't have any cash on me. So I just didn't eat. Strange as it may sound, I wasn't even that hungry. I guess I had left over coffee and nerves keeping me from getting hungry. Anyhoo, I present my project and take the written and design exam. Long story short I got 46 points out of 50 for my written part and the design part had two sections. The first section I got 15 out of 25 and the second part, I got 25 out of 25. Not to bad huh!

Now I get to go home and grab my women and go out and get something to eat. My nerves were settled and the coffee was long gone. Next stop... O' Charley's restaurant! Oh man was I ever so happy to have a plate of food... especially from having such a good day.

After that I came home and jumped back into some of my other projects I have archived on my computer. It's 1 am and I make myself go to bed. Strange as it may sound again... I can't sleep. I'm wired like a washing machine gone crazy. I get back up and proceed with my work and next thing you know... it's 3:30 am. Seriously, I was still wired. Not sleepy at all. So I try once again to go to bed when all of a sudden I hear Shelly get up and turn on the light. Looks like Jack (our dog) had an upset stomach and decided to take a nice mushy crap all over the carpet. Well since I still wasn't sleepy I got up to help. That took us almost 45 minutes to clean up. I'm not trying to go into detail here but Jack had crap all over his rear...eww so we had to clean that up too. If we didn't, the moment he sat down somewhere would be the start of another clean up. So we get Jack all cleaned up and it's 5 am. I also had a photo shoot planned around 10 am in Blacksburg SC so that meant I needed to leave here at 8:30 am and that meant getting up around 7:30 am.

As hard as it was to get up and get moving, I made it out and got there right on time. By Saturday night... I was feeling it all from Friday morning nerves to 5 am poop cleaning. Needless to say, when I finally got to bed I was asleep before I could remember going to sleep.

You know what though, in two days I learned a lot about myself, what I love to do and what I see for myself in the future. I'm very excited and very fortunate to be in the position that I'm in. As I learn more I will share more. All you have to do is set back and enjoy. It's all going to be here on the bunny show.

A new line of communication

Ever since Shell-Bell bought herself a laptop... it has allowed us to open up a new line of communication. Here is how it goes. I'm in my office working on homework or whatever, she is on the couch playing card games, playing on MySpace etc. So, if I need to ask her something, I just send her a quick e-mail... That's it. Why in the world would I need raise my voice and shout loud enough so she can hear me when all have to do is ask her silently... which is just typing the question and sending it to her. Truth is, it seems like I remember more of the questions I need to ask her when I do it this way than wasting all that energy to shouting... even though she is in the next room!!! What do you think about that!

E-mail jpg

I got this image in an e-mail a while back... just before Halloween to be exact... and I just couldn't resist posting this. I thought this would be par for the course... especially since you know who is the President now!

Sammy

If there is one in thing in this world both Shell Bell and I are attached to... it's dogs. About three weeks ago my brother-in-law needed someone to watch their new little dogie...Sammy. Initially, we were suppose to just pick up little Sammy from a dog sitter but we insisted on watching the dog over night ourselves. You know I only wish I would've had my camcorder out when Sammy was playing around with Jack. Sammy was so full of energy.... you would think they gave him a red bull to sip on before they brought him over. He just kept running circles around Jack. Well, since Jack is closing in on fifteen dogie years of age, he didn't think that was too funny. Jack decided to show a few teeth and a growl or two. Sammy was ok unless he got hyper around Jack. I guess Jack has claimed his territory around us so all it takes is new people around or another dog and Jack starts getting grumpy. So we had to keep them separated. Thankfully it was only an over night visit with Sammy. Not because we didn't like having another little dog around but when you put two dogs together that you don't trust, things can get out of hand pretty quick... especially when the other dog was bought and owned by someone else.

That Saturday morning Shell Bell had to run out to Walmart so I decided to take Sammy out to my office (outdoors) for a few shots. So here you go. Check out this little fella.

Business card

For the past month or two I've been thinking, sketching, wondering, playing and designing some business cards for myself. And finally... I think I've come to a stopping point. I still might make some changes here and there but over-all I think I may have what I'm looking for.
When I'm designing, I have to feel it as odd as that may sound to you. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally. It's like I have to connect with it. I'm sure there will be times when I may design something and it takes a while to grow on me... but there has to be some sort of connection. So... after several ideas, layouts and many hours into the night... here is what I have.

Front

Back

I don't know what it is about this little saying here but it's something that has stuck with me for a long time now. We all have dreams in life and this is what I'm all about.

Turning your dreams, into a reality.

Class update

Here it is getting close to mid terms already and I am getting a little stressed. I am struggling a little in my usability testing class. We were assigned a group the second week of class and was told this group would be what our whole quarter is based off of. My group consist of a couple of seniors and myself... of course. Well, this group thing is not my favorite way of doing homework that's for sure. We have our own separate work to do but the work is designed throughout the group and so far, these guys are waiting till the last minute to jump on our assignments for this class. What can I say though. I don't know what their daily schedule is and I realize that they don't have a schedule like mine but dang-it... I sure would like it if we could all get together at least once to tackle everything a little sooner than a couple of days before class. I also realize that these guys have another heavy load on their shoulders with their portfolio classes. I keep hearing rumors about that class and I'm not really looking forward to it. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

My flash class is really nice. I only have four people total in that class so the availability of the instructor is nice and is able to help with a lot of issues you may have. This program has really neat features and I can't wait till I have more knowledge on how to use and work applications with this program.

Well, I guess that's all for now. Oh... I almost forgot. I was told by my usability instructor that our class will be giving our final presentation at the Bank of America in the Ballantyne Area. In a way... At first, I thought this will be cool... but also knowing how this group deal is working out, I'm not so impressed with that idea. Only thing I can say is I'll just have to cross that bridge also... when I get to it.

Photo-Retouch

A few months ago I was asked if I would like to try and retouch an old family photo. Since photo retouching is... or will be on my resume, I jumped on the opportunity to do such a task. Now I'm not the greatest in the world at retouching old photos but you learn by practice. Don't you remember the old saying... "practice makes perfect". Well, how else are you going to learn! So, I received the photo and immediately went to work on it. It took me several attempts to get this picture to look the way I wanted it to look and to be honest with you, I'm still not completely satisfied with it. I want to go further with it and hopefully put this in my portfolio for school. This means that it will have to be in tip top shape. Although It's come a long way from where it was but I am a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my work. So take a look. Here is where I'm at with this photo restoration. Be sure to click on each image to enlarge it so you can see them up-close. This will help you see the detail in both images.





Before



After



Well there you go. Hey... gimme a break will ya. This was only my second time doing something like this. I'm looking forward to seeing just how much better this can get.

닉부이치치

What an inspiration! The beginning is a little cheesy and the editing is not the greatest but just watch it all the way through. It's the message that is so touching.

That thing

How many times have you been in a conversation with someone and you can't remember the name of a certain person, place or some type of object? We all have I'm sure. Ok, next question. How many of you are guilty of trying to make someone read your mind? I'm extremely guilty. It's that thing that drives you crazy when you can't think of something. You know... that thing over there or what is that thing. What in the world is that thing? The thing about these things are; or, can be anything. Does that make any sense to you? A thing can be whatever you want it to be but it comes in handy when you can't think of something. You see... there it is again. Some-thing.

You know, the thing about these things are that there aren't any good ways of finding out what these things really are. You have to know exactly what you are talking about because when you say "that thing over there" is hard to figure out. You have to be able to point out what that thing is so that someone can tell you what that thing really is. If you are not able to point these things out then all of your things are going to be hard to figure out. What we need is a thing-a-saurus instead of thesaurus. Just type in thing and it gives you a list of what things you're talking about. Tell you what... let's just take care of this thing right now. Lets look it up...

Ah ha... looks like I was right on the money. Check it out-http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/thing



Well, until someone decides to publish something like this, I guess we'll have to just keep trying to explain these things the best we can.