Ousting Black Friday & a WiP

I haven’t celebrated Thanksgiving in the US for quite a number of years now (I think it’s about 17 years) but have kept up most of the traditions.  I did try a couple of years in the beginning to celebrate in the usual fashion, on the Thursday, but since it is a holiday not celebrated here in Switzerland, it essentially became a glorified dinner party that took all day to prepare, two hours to

Caramel Walnut Tart - My traditional Thanksgiving dessert
Caramel Walnut Tart – My traditional Thanksgiving dessert

eat, and then everyone had to go home early because  they had to 1)go to work on Friday and/or 2) had to get little people to bed because they had school too. This was NOT my idea of Thanksgiving so I took to hosting it on the Saturday afterwards. This would allow me to have people around for a late lunch which would inevitably spread to dinner as it got dark and everyone was having such a good time hanging around with each other, playing games or chatting. Not to mention that I usually had enough turkey to feed everyone for the next three days. The first time I asked for a turkey at the butcher, I said I needed a 10 kilo turkey.  He raised his eyebrows and asked if I wanted it for a pet. I clarified that it was for a party and then he understood but still shook his head. Hey, what did I know? I was used to getting a 22 pound turkey for 12 people. I had an oven so small that the turkey was pretty much the only thing that would fit in it. I’ve refined my methods so now I know I don’t really need a 10 kilo turkey. Usually a 4-5 kilo one is plenty. And then I don’t have leftovers to last until Christmas. Which, by the way, is probably why I prefer ham for Christmas. In the past, I’ve eaten turkey for weeks after Thanksgiving so come Christmas,  I don’t want anything that even looks like poultry.

Anyway, one of the traditions I’m not sorry to miss is Black Friday. This is widely known as the biggest shopping day of the year in the US.  It pains me to see the ever increasingly madcap frenzies of one upmanship in the effort to part people with their money in the quest to have the latest whatever. I am fed up with these frenzies, now beginning as early as Thanksgiving Day.  Some websites even have a countdown to Black Friday WEEK.  I understand that being here, I have less to worry about being subjected to all the craziness that has developed on a up close & personal basis. And I also recognise that there are some crazies here too. But I want no part of it, online or in person, and I’m going to make an conscious effort to persuade others to do the same.

 

Japanese bag bits
Japanese bag bits in progress
Instructions not in one of my known languages
Instructions not in one of my known languages

In addition to the ever ongoing projects of hexies, at the moment I’m working on a little bag kit that my sweet friend JJ brought back from Tokyo for me. Nevermind that I can’t read Japanese. 🙂 Luckily the diagrams were easy enough to follow. I’m going to modify it slightly because I want more of a little purse than a whatsit bag.

In what I consider typical Japanese fashion, the details are quite intricate. I’m happy to say that the fabrics included in the kit were already of an embroidered nature, along with the lacy centrepiece. Thankfully as my embroidery skills vary from the rusty to the non-existent and I don’t know how to make lace. However, each of the 8 fabric petals around the outside edge of the design had to be cut as a half circle, edges turned under, inserted in the seam of the outside border,  and appliquéd down with a feather-stitch. Most everything came with the kit, though I did need a bit of my lovely Aurifil 50wt (N° 1140) to do the extra quilting & assembly. It’s going to be lovely when finished and I expect to carry it daily.

Close-up of the front of the bag
Close-up of the front of the bag

 

In the consumeristic world we live in these days, thankfulness & gratitude are not so evident.  I want to make a conscious effort to keep these attributes close at hand, through the holiday season and beyond.  With that in mind,  I’ll not spend the day after Thanksgiving searching for the best deal on anything. I’ll be blessed to enjoy the delightfully funny company of my beautiful daughter. And maybe get her interested in hexies. 🙂 How are you going to spend the day?

14 thoughts on “Ousting Black Friday & a WiP

  1. Anonymous says:

    And now, so you’ll know, from this side of the pond it appears that Black Friday is about to be (or already has been) eclipsed by Cyber-Monday. Your bag is lovely, those taupes are oh-so-soothing in their calmness… l just love it; and all the intricate handwork only adds to its appeal! Sending you hugs and best wishes for a peaceful, meaningful, Advent season.

  2. Paula@TheSassyQuilter says:

    Lovely bag! You are brave to use instructions you can’t read:) must be good ones. I go out on Friday but only to fabric shops!…and not till after9:00.

  3. Sara says:

    We always get a large turkey and it’s only for 3 of us. My 5yr old son being one of them:) this year hubby bought a 19 lbder. He LOVES it!! Very picky eater! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Cute bag:)

  4. Ms JJ says:

    Simply beautful, my dear, and so very clever of you to make sense the impossible instructions. It will be lovely. I’m totally in tune with your idea of not going crazy — and I try to apply similar ethos to Christmas. But this usually tranforms into an insane list of gifts I would like to make for people instead of buying them, and that hardly fits into the exhaustion that I usually suffer from at the end of term. So I end up stressed, for the wrong reason, and that is hardly good either! So here’s to jollying each other into being rested, yet creative, and who cares if people get their gifts… several months later! xx JJ

    • Elita says:

      Hear, Hear! Let’s all toast to taking it easy for a change & taking advantage of the moment! I’ll vote for Xmas in July & give myself a Peaceful Holiday!

  5. Keitha says:

    Happy-no Blk Friday-Thanksgiving! I literally LOL’d when your butcher asked if you wanted a “small pet?” Loooooovvee the little Japanese purse!! I wouldn’t have the guts to attack it! But I adore all their cute things!!! Cannot wait to see the finished product! A good read as always!

  6. Shannon C. says:

    I love the calm colors in the Japanese project you’re working on, so lovely and soothing. So fun that you’ve developed your Thanksgiving tradition even if you aren’t in the US anymore. It’s probably closer in spirit to what Thanksgiving should be than a lot of what happens over here (e.g. the black friday nonsense). Enjoy your celebration!

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