2018 November - Thankful

Of all the Halloween thingsI saw this year, I think this one takes the prize.

I know, since it's November, we're expected to be talking turkey, or tofurkey if you're avoiding meat to save the planet.  There will be plenty of time for remembering the Pilgrims' first dinner with their reluctant Indian neighbors.  But first, if you live in my town, there's the Eastham turnip to celebrate with it's own annual festival.  Everybody's good at something, and we just happen to grow wicked awesome turnips and find interesting ways to eat, and yes even celebrate them.  

Local restaurants will vie for top turnip honors in the Turnip Cook-Off, with the public sampling creative turnip dishes and casting votes for the People’s Choice Award. The Higher Ground String Band will entertain with lively blue grass music ~ and even a turnip tune or two! Turnip-themed competitions such as the Turnip Shuck-Off (who can peel a turnip the fastest?) and the Enormous Turnip Weight Guessing Contest will amuse even the stodgiest of vegetable eaters! A lively Turn Up for Fun Kids Zone will entice young ones with turnip-themed games, activities, crafts as well as a juggler, balloon artist, face painter, temporary tattoos and more! The young at heart will go turn-nuts for Cape Cod Henna’s turnip body art. Come for lunch ~ turnip taste buds will be tantalized with pulled pork & turnip slaw ~ or try crepes (both sweet and savory varieties), gluten free and vegan offerings, or pizza. Shop early for the holidays. This is the largest gathering of LOCAL vendors on the Outer Cape ~ artisan wares, handcrafts, LOCAL produce and food stuffs ~ and of course, Eastham Turnips will be on sale here!

The winds have returned to us for the winter. They range anywhere from soothing us to sleep to giving the trees a good "pruning" of dead branches.  It's also the time of year when in between the slate gray, stormy skies come days when the sun bathes what leaves are still holding on tight above deep multicolor piles beneath them with such golden light that it beckons you to take a day off from chores and revel in the beauty.  We know this seasonal treat will be fleeting before winter paints a different picture, so that's just what we did, letting the house fend for itself while we took a drive to Provincetown, literally the end of our world at the northernmost tip of the Cape.  We combined a couple of errands with one of the suggestions on our "10 Favorite Things We Like To Do" list in the B&B suites.  Across from the Town Hall, a very nondescript place called George's has been there since P'town was mostly a Portuguese fishing town.  From all appearances, there is nothing to draw your attention to it other than a sign's promise of food and drink inside.

Upon entering, one finds a rather dark, narrow building with booths on one side and a bar on the other.  Nothing fancy, however, keep walking and you'll come to the takeout area where, among other mouthwatering temptations, you can order lamb gyros, a favorite of ours. 

Now, remember what it looks like from the street?  Well, keep walking towards the back and go outside and you will find a beautiful deck that overlooks Cape Cod Bay.  In the summer, one can sit at the tables and enjoy the breeze and stunning million dollar view of the water and you'd never suspect from the modest outside front what a treat awaits you.  That's the kind of insider info that guests appreciate being in on.  We took our gyros home for a delicious dinner treat. 

And, nothing is ever too corny to do in P'town, We like to let our inner-tourist out.

And, finally, some "new-to-me" information from the historic trip that brought the Mayflower Pilgrims to our town, which prompted this whole annual Thanksgiving holiday ritual that Native Americans refer to as a Day of Mourning.  A guest commentary appeared in our Cape Codder weekly by Jack Sheedy, a resident of the Cape Cod town of Dennis, in which he reminded us that the Pilgrims stopped in our town of Eastham first in November of 1620 before high-tailing it to Plymouth in December.  In 17th century manuscripts, they refer to finding three sea creatures on the beach that they called grampuses, "about 5-6 paces long, about 2 inches thick of fat, and fleshed like a swine."  These were likely whales that were harvested of their blubber.  As they made their way around what is Cape Cod Bay, which is still a favorite gathering place of these creatures, they decided to name it Grampus Bay.  Imagine what that would have done to the classic song 'Olde Cape Cod' if it had stuck.

If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air
Quaint little villages here and there
You're sure to fall in love with Old Cape Grampus

If you like the taste of a lobster stew
Served by a window with an ocean view
You're sure to fall in love with Old Cape Grampus

Winding roads that seem to beckon you
Miles of green beneath the skies of blue
Church bell chiming on a Sunday morn
Remind you of the town where you were born

If you spend an evening you'd want to stay
Watching the moonlight on Cape Cod Grampus

You're sure to fall in love with Old Cape Grampus 

I don't think so...

First 2019 snowflake alert:  November 14th

resulting in this:

Cooler weather indicators - our heat-seeking cat-thermostats