Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s that magical time of year again. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This year I’m doing a different take on the turkey – I had the butcher butterfly the bird and I’m following Cook’s Illustrated recipe for a brined maple cayenne turkey. Wish me Luck. Here’s what it should look like done:

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Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy your families and friends.

Cheers,

Jianne

Mother’s Day Flowers!

Though my boys brought me flowers and gifts, the best gift of all was having them all there together yesterday. The ‘wayward one’, who works for Google and lives on the west coast, made the  four day trip just to be here with all of us.

 

Love you guys. Here are some pics of all the Moms’ Day Flowers from family and friends.

 

 

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Have a wonderful day after Mother’s Day!

 

Happy Birthday Mom!

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Mom in Monaco

Today is my mother’s eightieth birthday. What’s more amazing than the sheer number of years she’s lived are the drastic events my mom’s lived through—World War II for instance. When she speaks of the black bread and food rationing during those years, I am astounded.

My mother’s an incredible woman. She was born of Portuguese parents in Georgetown, Guyana and grew up in that city. She knew tragedy early in life. At the age of nine, her two eldest brothers drowned on the same day. Her parents were poor immigrants and struggled to keep her in school, yet she graduated high school. She met my father at the tender age of eighteen, and they were married less than a year later.

That doesn’t sound significant, but my mother married a mixed-race man in 1955 (against her parent’s wishes). In those days, the population of the Caribbean, Guyana included, was strictly segregated—albeit voluntarily.

She went on to give birth to one girl (me) and three sons. Today she is chairwoman of a Caribbean conglomerate, and, at the age of eighty, still goes to work each and every single day. She has eight grandchildren (who she totally dotes on), three nieces, and one nephew.

When my father died 23 years ago, my mom was the glue that held the family together. In the Caribbean, it was unheard of for a ‘woman’ to take the reins of a large company, and many expected that the business my parents founded would fall into bankruptcy. No way. My mother refused to let that happen. She’s stubborn like bull and told the bankers holding our loans to go where the sun don’t shine.

You may have gathered that I’m proud of her. You bet.

Mom and I didn’t have much of a relationship until after my dad died (I was daddy’s little girl—totally). But, then my mother and I did a twenty-eight day road trip through Monaco, France, and Spain, and we bonded. I love you mom and wish you many, many more birthdays.

All my love always,

Jianne

Turkey and Thanksgiving!

My Maple-Cayenne Glazed Bird

My Maple-Cayenne Glazed Bird

Today is Thanksgiving Thursday and we’re doing a joint dinner with my good friend, Tamarind, whose mother passed peacefully in her sleep on Monday. She was 93. For the first time in my life, I attended a memorial service yesterday that was a celebration of a life. The  ceremony was beautiful and perfect. We left feeling revitalized. That’s the kind of service I want. No tears, no grief, just the joy of being able to have shared time with the people I love. Kudos to Tamarind  for doing her mom proud!

So, today I am grateful for my family and friends, for all of you who’ve touched my life and made it better.

Happy Turkey Day!

Cheers,

Jianne

Brunch in Los Altos

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Los Altos, Rick’s Cafe

Traveling has to be one of my  favorite hobbies, topped only by spending time with family and friends, and having great meals. The wonderful thing about traveling is that I can combine three of my faves into one.

The Viking and I spent three wonderful days with my wayward son, his amazing and gorgeous girlfriend, and some of his roommates,  co-workers, and friends. Last night our son and his girl took us out for dinner to a fantastic Jordanian restaurant located on historic Murphy Street in Sunnyvale (their new home as of next week). What a wonderful evening! Our son’s new ‘babe’ totally won us over. Smart as whip, pretty, diligent, ambitious, and she adores my wayward one. The latter’s all that’s important to me, but the rest—the equivalent of a kazillion dollar signing bonus! (sheesh, you have to forgive me—my son’s a recruiter, and I’m starting to think in his lingo).

Yesterday, we said farewell to our son and his girl, and I did not tear up in front of him-an accomplishment I’m entirely proud of even if it means I’m a total suck. We had brunch in Los Altos at Rick’s Cafe, and then headed down to Santa Cruz. Here are some photos:

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Have a marvelous Monday!

Cheers,

Jianne