Thankful Thursday

 This certainly was a Thanksgiving unlike any other. 

It is annoying that I always have homework looming over me. My Tuesday class proceeded as normal, though we ended a little early. My Wednesday class was cancelled, at the request of my classmates. 

On Wednesday afternoon, I decided to go up North Canyon again. Earlier this month, I read that they were creating a single-track trail next to the dirt road in North Canyon. (I read about it in the Davis County Clipper, which sadly is ending its publication this week.) I was surprised to see that it was already finished! So I ran on it. It was bumpier than I expected. At one point, a truck called out to me, "There's some bikers coming down! Just so you're prepared!" That's weird, because I'm used to getting out of the way for bikers. As I got to the end of this new trail (which ends where the main trail begins), a man informed me that it was a downhill bike trail. He did it nicely, so I didn't feel bad. They didn't have the signs up yet; he told me he was part of the team creating the trail. He also told me they are working on another single-track trail for everyone. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't like sharing the road with cars, but I think it might be unsightly to have a road and two trails. Even worse, I love North Canyon because it's not very busy, and these changes might bring more traffic. I don't want it to become like Mueller Park. And I can't help but wonder why they built the downhill bike trail first.

As I got up to the bridges that cross small streams, there was lots of snow. I thought about turning around, since ice is my mortal enemy.

But instead, I kept going up, because the trail wasn't really icy, just packed snow. And parts of it were clear. But the snow kept getting deeper, and I knew it would just get worse. So instead of going to Rudy's Flat, the usual destination, I took the side ridge trail I took last month. 

When I was back on the dirt road, I saw the second counselor from my old YSA bishopric biking up with his family. It's been almost a year since I've seen him.

Thanksgiving Day itself was low key. My sister and niece came over, which I suppose is breaking the rules, since they don't live in our house. But there were just five of us for Thanksgiving dinner. Nevertheless, we still prepared a full meal. My mom cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, onions, apple pie (using apples from our neighbor's tree), pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and mincemeat pie (using our own green tomatoes and our neighbor apples again). On Thanksgiving morning, I made candied sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, spiced apple cider, and cranberry sauce. I seriously don't get why canned cranberry sauce is a thing, when homemade cranberry sauce is so much better, and it is literally the easiest part of Thanksgiving dinner. I did all of this while playing my Thanksgiving playlist, which I have become quite satisfied with. I don't think I have ever heard a curated playlist on Spotify, Amazon, or Pandora that is as good as my own holiday playlists.

My final project for one of my classes is about Thanksgiving, so I did some of that on the holiday. But I wish I had had more time this Thanksgiving season to make more progress on it.

While my family was putting up Christmas decorations on Black Friday, I was doing homework. But I did put up most of the lights on Saturday. I still buy music, and I have five new Christmas albums I've been listening to: Carrie Underwood's My Gift, Ben Rector's A Ben Rector Christmas, Matt Nathanson's Farewell December, Tori Kelly's A Tori Kelly Christmas, and the Bird and the Bee's Put Up the Lights. That last one is my favorite of 2020's offerings. 

 

My final classes are this week, and I have two weeks to finish the projects. I must admit I'm feeling nervous about them. But I'm really looking forward to two weeks from now, when I won't have homework nagging me all the time, and I'll have all the free time that I had during the summer.

***

Now that the fall holidays are over, it's the final installment of pumpkinundation roundup!

Last year, I complained on Crumbl's Facebook page that they didn't have any Thanksgiving flavors. So this year, they introduced this Crumbl Pumpkin Pie Cookie. Isn't it adorable? This is a fascinating cookie. The base is like a combination of pie crust and sugar cookie. The topping is like a combination of pumpkin pie filling and frosting. Unfortunately, the taste isn't as good as the look, but it was still good. 7/10.

I think 7-Select Pecan Pie Crème Sandwich Cookies are meant for Christmas, but I consider pecan pie a Thanksgiving flavor. All of these cookies have those cheap vanilla cookies with flavored crème. If you hadn't told me, I would have thought these were maple. 5/10.

The 7-Select Candy Corn Sandwich Cookies are just generically sweet. After all, what does candy corn even taste like? 5/10.

In years past, Nabisco made Pumpkin Spice Oreos, which were one of their best flavors. Unfortunately, the 7-Select Pumpkin Spice Sandwich Cookies are nothing like the Oreos. They have a super weird flavor. Not only does it not taste like pumpkin spice, it's actually gross! 3/10.

The Kneaders Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake is lazy. It's just plain cheesecake with a thin layer of pumpkin chocolate chip cake on top and then a layer of frosting. Who puts frosting on cheesecake?! In years past, they actually had pumpkin cheesecake that had pumpkin in the cheesecake itself. I don't know why they changed it to this. 6/10.

The Kneaders Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake has a nice, rich flavor—but again, it's inferior to what they had in the past. They used to have large cake slices that were easier to eat. This cake is just hard to eat without it falling over. 8/10.

I bought this R.W. Knudsen Pumpkin Spice Sparkling Cider for Thanksgiving, and it has apple juice and pumpkin juice with other flavorings. I don't know that it tastes like pumpkin, but I really enjoyed drinking it, even more than I liked my own home-spiced cider. 7/10.

See you next year, pumpkin!

A new arch

Whew! It has been a very busy time of the semester. I only have two more weeks of classes, and then I'll have a week of finalizing all my papers and projects. I'm feeling good about two of my classes. Another one I'm not feeling great about. But things will work out; they always do.

Lately, I've been having a hard time sleeping. Before the time change, I would go to bed at 11 and wake up at 8. To maintain that schedule, I've been trying to go to bed at 10. But it still takes me until 11 to fall asleep, even though I was maintaining the old schedule. And this week, sometimes it has taken almost two hours to fall asleep! I really don't know what variable has changed!

It's especially bad when I have those times when I wake up in the middle of the night and am awake for two hours. That's been a common occurrence for me for years, but usually I don't have trouble falling asleep when I go to bed. It's frustrating. I put a lamp by my bed so I can now read when I'm awake without getting up.

Anyway, I was really happy that all the snow melted this week so I was able to get back on the trails. 

On Wednesday, I wanted to go, but I had lots of homework I had to get done during the day. So after class, I decided to put fresh batteries in my headlamp for a short run on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. That trail is always busy, and there's always people taking wedding photos near the trailhead. I thought I wouldn't have to worry about people taking pictures in the dark.

But I was wrong! I think they were filming a movie! There were all these tents and lights and people wearing scriptural costumes! But once I got past them, I had the usually busy trail all to myself. 

It is fun to go in the dark, but I don't know if it's safe enough to go on a super long run. For one thing, it affects your depth perception—the shadows make the world look like a 3D movie. And spiders' eyes shine like glitter, so you see all of them.

I go on that trail pretty frequently, but only this week did I learn that there's an arch in the area! When I read descriptions of where it was, I knew that I had passed by it before, but I either didn't notice or didn't pay attention. So I decided to go check out the arch for myself. You take a little side trail that takes you down below the main trail with its overlooks. 

And I could see the arch from a distance. Before I knew it, I was right below it.

Then I had to climb up the hill to get to it. There was no trail, just steeping on the native grasses on the steep slope. 

I inched my way over to the arch and delicately perched myself on the conglomerate outcropping. But I didn't sit next to the arch itself, because I am terrified of climbing. But rock climbers would have no problem.

Now, this was one of those terrains where going up is easier than going down, so I continued going up the hill to get back to the main trail. And I found it a little scary. Regular hikers and climbers would probably have no problem with it, but I had to go up on all fours so I wouldn't slip. At one point I stopped for a long time and said a prayer because I didn't know where to step. But I got the courage to keep going and eventually made it up. How satisfying! It was fun to see someplace new. But getting there was tricky, so I don't know if I'll go again.

The whole mountain is conglomerate and looks the same, but I enjoyed seeing some more sandy layers in the Wasatch Formation. My vague understanding is that these mountains were formed from rivers off the Uinta Mountains around 50 million years ago. 

Once I made it back to the main trail, I heard a big boom from the gravel pits beneath the shoreline. And as I rounded the curve, I saw an enormous cloud of dust. Once I passed it, the rest of my run looked hazy.

In other news, I must say I have appreciated all of the gratitude posts. I just love seeing all the positivity. Isn't Thanksgiving a wonderful time?

Yesterday I was able to make sauerkraut soup using our own apples. (I made it with cherries this summer.) It's a simple soup with an enjoyable texture, and it's not nearly as weird as it sounds.

Back in the spring, our elders quorum president asked me to teach an elders quorum lesson in April, before COVID shut everything down. But then they asked me to teach today's lesson on Zoom. My last calling in the YSA ward was EQ teacher, so it wasn't really new. I feel like my ending was awkward, but I'm probably overthinking it. And now I've been called to teach the 15/16-year-old Sunday School. I'm nervous about that, especially since school is taking up so much of my mental energy. We'll see how it goes.

***

Pumpkinundation roundup is a little sparse this week, since I didn't have as much time to go get things this week.

The Maverik Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie is pretty typical for this kind of cookie. 7/10.

Even though they sell this year round, I still got this JJ's Bakery Apple Pie for Thanksgiving. It seems so cheap and fake and trashy. But I still love these! It might just be nostalgia. 7/10.

Talenti Gelato Layers Pumpkin Pie consists of pumpkin gelato, pie pieces, and brown sugar sauce. The pumpkin gelato is fine itself, but the pie pieces and brown sugar sauce really provide delightful textural and flavor contrasts. 8/10.

The Banquet Turkey Meal was better than I remembered. The potatoes aren't great, but the turkey is decent. Sadly, the best part might be the peas. 6/10.

And my parents bought this mix for Krusteaz Pumpkin Spice Pancakes. The mix can also be made for breads and cookies, which means it isn't great as pancake batter. They don't cook as nicely as other pancake batters. I really like the flavor, but it's loaded with sugar. 7/10.

Thanksgiving Snow

 As most of you probably know, I am pretty staunch when it comes to "No Christmas before Thanksgiving." Thanksgiving is a wonderful time in its own right, and I like to live in the moment. Plus, it makes Christmas all that much more special when it actually is Christmastime!

(I do have a caveat, though. I am always on the lookout for new holiday music, Christmas or otherwise, so I'm listening to holiday albums all year round to decide if I should add them to my collection. [For example, right now I'm listening to Halloween songs from my Discover Weekly on Spotify.] And then I only listen to my official playlists when it's the designated season. [As an aside, I must say, this is the biggest year I can ever remember for new Christmas music! Carrie Underwood, Tori Kelly, Matt Nathanson, Goo Goo Dolls, the Bird and the Bee, Ben Rector, and more! But Meghan Trainor covers "Last Christmas" on her new album, which is a deal breaker for me.])

Anyway, many people start Christmas stuff in early November, and one of the compounding factors is when it snows. People tend to equate snow with Christmastime, which has always been a bit puzzling to me. Snow is certainly part of Christmas, but it's not synonymous with it. I mean, in Utah, it always snows in November, January, February, March, and April. 

Given that it always snows in November, I think we should incorporate snow into our Thanksgiving imagery. I totally think fall leaves and harvest symbols are appropriate for Thanksgiving, but snow is also appropriate.

In fact, two hundred years ago, Thanksgiving was seen as a wintry holiday. A snowy Thanksgiving, where you could go ride on a sleigh, was the ideal. That's why "Over the River and through the Woods" is actually a Thanksgiving song, and there's a good possibility that "Jingle Bells" was also written for Thanksgiving. I decided to add "Jingle Bells" to my Thanksgiving playlist back in 2014, so now it fills me with cozy November feelings.

I love decorating for Thanksgiving, but I must confess, this year it all struck me as bizarre. The biggest symbol is the turkey, which is only a symbol because we eat them. Then we have Pilgrims and Indians, which really have nothing to do with the origins of the holiday. And then we have fall leaves and harvest symbols, even though the harvest is over and leaves hit their peak in October. If we included snow along with our pumpkins and leaves, it really wouldn't be any weirder than what we already have.

And now you have a glimpse of the things that go on in my mind.

***

Another problem with the snow is that it prevents me from hitting the trails. If I can't run on the trail, my motivation for exercise is drastically reduced, especially now that I have homework to do. But another problem is that lately I've found myself too sore or tired. The last week of October, I took a break from the trails because of snow, but I hit them again in November. On November 2, I ran to Ensign Peak, which I do a few times a year, but on the way back, I got bad side aches, so I had to walk the last two miles home. That never happens! On November 5 and 6, I wanted to do another 12.75-mile run up North Canyon, but my body told me it couldn't do that, so I only did seven and eight. And on my street runs, I've had some knee pain, so I've had to resume the knee therapy I did eight years ago. I'm hoping the snow will melt so I can get in some more trail time before winter starts in earnest.

Here is the Jordan River. I ran alongside it last night because the trail is paved, so it doesn't get muddy. What a wonderful November evening!

It's hard to tell, but there are wild turkeys in the trees. (From my Thursday run in the Summerwood neighborhood.)

***

After last week's turkey candy corn, I have actual turkey in pumpkinundation roundup this week. And apparently Blogger decided to add all the pictures in reverse order.

 Cutler's pumpkin cookie is just an ordinary pumpkin cookie. Good and satisfying, but nothing new. 8/10.

Cutler's Holiday Sandwich has turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. It's delightful! 8/10.

I only buy frozen meals at this time of year, because they're wasteful, and even though they're cooked in the microwave, they still take a good amount of time to cook. The Hungry-Man Roasted Carved White Meat Turkey has turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and apple cranberry compote. This is probably the best of the turkey frozen dinners, and it's more filling than most. The dessert is OK, but most don't even have dessert. 7/10.

Marie Callender's Honey Roasted Turkey Breast might win for quality of turkey, though the other components are average and workable. 7/10.

This was the first time I'd had this Reser's Pumpkin Mousse. It's like pumpkin pie without the crust, but it's not even as good as regular pumpkin pie filling. 5/10.

I thought they had quit making Pecan Pie Larabars, because I haven't seen them in a few years. They are only dates, almonds, and pecans. I think it's oilier than most Larabars. It's functional, but I don't think they should call it pecan pie. It's really just pecans. 6/10.

I was expecting a sandwich, but since I wasn't specific when I ordered, I got this Arby's Cranberry Deep-Fried Turkey Wrap. The turkey and cranberry are great, but there's some other kind of sauce in there that detracts from the classic flavors. 6/10.

Arby's Sweet Potato Waffle Fries are new. They are just a little sweet, and waffle is the best texture for fries. 8/10.

I feel guilty buying the Maverik Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin, because convenience stores aren't struggling during the pandemic, and it really isn't good for you. But it's really yummy and satisfying! 8/10.

Here's the Leger's Deli Turkey Stuffing Sandwich. I think they sell it year round, but only on Tuesdays. (Why not Thursdays?) Now, Leger's Deli is a little deli in the industrial area of North Salt Lake, and its Facebook page has more than a thousand likes. But I don't get why; the sandwiches are mediocre and way overpriced. This was ten dollars! But it was the best sandwich I've had there. The stuffing really brought it up a notch. 8/10. 

The Maverik Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa wasn't as good as I remembered it being. 6/10.

Trader Joe's Apple Cider Fruit Spread is good, but there's a reason that apple isn't as popular for jam as berry flavors are. 7/10.

Nature's Path Organic Pumpkin Spice (Waffles) don't specify that they're waffles. It says "6 Waffles" on the bottom of the box, but the product itself doesn't have "waffle" in the name. Weird. Naming convention aside, these might be the best frozen waffles that currently exist, and they're vegan! 8/10.

Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Soup has tomatoes, squash, and pumpkin. It's a tasty savory soup. 7/10.

Trader Joe's Pepita Salsa is made with pepitas, which are pumpkin seeds. But I don't notice them. It's just salsa. 7/10.

Penguin Bros. is a cute little ice cream shop in Sugar House (I think there's one in Provo too) where you get ice cream sandwiches on their own cookies. I got Penguin Bros. Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream on snickerdoodles. It was as good as any pumpkin ice cream, but the snickerdoodles, which are not seasonal, stole the show. 8/10.

Yay election!

 It is a great day for America!

I have kept my disdain for Donald Trump no secret. It's not that I'm a flaming liberal. I'm neither Republican nor Democrat. True, at this moment in time, I lean left—but that's mostly because of Trump! I think the Republican party has totally lost their minds by electing and supporting a bully who had never been a politician. I can kind of understand if they said, "I don't like him, but he supports the policies I agree with, so I'll vote for him." But people actively like him and defend him! It baffles me! My respect for those people plummets.

Trump is the first incumbent president to lose re-election since 1992. I hope you all have learned your lesson. The next time you elect a reality TV star, make sure he has at least a little bit of moral character!

I don't understand how Republicans saw Trump as the godly candidate. Joe Biden literally went to church on Election Day morning—a Tuesday! And on the other hand, Trump's favorite Bible verse is "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," which entirely misses the point.

I also don't understand how people dislike Biden as much as they do. They don't articulate real reasons for disliking him. I mean, my first choice was Amy Klobuchar, but I don't see anything really bad about him. I'm not comfortable with his touchy-feely nature or that he forgot Mitt Romney's name, but those are nowhere near as concerning as a president who doesn't concede elections or who brags about groping women.

On Friday night, Biden said he will work as hard for people who voted against him as he did for people who voted for him. I can't ever imagine Trump saying anything like that. Oh, and can we talk about how exciting it is to have our first woman vice president?

On Wednesday, I went into a convenience store wearing my Biden/Harris t-shirt, and one man complimented me. But there were also two men without masks (of course 🙄), and the cashier (who was wearing her mask below her nose) complained about her mask. She said, "And now that we have Biden, we'll be wearing them. And he'll shut things down. I'm just so sad that Trump won't be president. And now there will be civil wars." And one of the anti-maskers said, "And there should be! I'll join!" Really? You think there should be civil wars just because your preferred candidate didn't win? What a moron! Trump refusing to concede is reason enough that he shouldn't be president, all by itself.

Really, you Republicans should be glad in a way that Trump lost. This way, I'm hoping that once again I can like the Republican Party someday. But as long as Trump is in power, I can't take them seriously. 

I lean left because the environment and gun safety are important to me, and Republicans don't seem to care about them. But I lean right when it comes to police and states' rights. (Truthfully, though, I don't think Republicans care about states' rights. They only support states' rights when it benefits their agenda.) 

I am thrilled with the result of the presidential election. And fortunately, I don't think we had a bad choice when it came to Utah's governor. Back in 2016, lots of Republicans wanted to be president, and they picked the worst one. But this summer, in Utah, we had four Republicans who wanted to be governor, and they picked the best one! I even bought a Spencer Cox yard sign.

I ended up not voting for Cox, for a few reasons. But I'm not sad he won. I have mostly appreciated Gary Herbert, and I think Cox will likewise be a good governor. I think he has a moral conscience (unlike many other Republicans right now, *cough* Mike Lee *cough*), and he will work across the aisle.

I don't understand how the US House District 4 race is so tight. I don't live in that district, but I feel like it affects me because of all the attack ads we've been enduring. Ben McAdams seems like such an obvious choice! I mean, when he was mayor, he pretended to be homeless so he could see what the homeless shelter was like. And this year, he told Nancy Pelosi that it was inappropriate to tear up the State of the Union speech. Burgess Owens, on the other hand, is a football player who moved to Utah in 2012. I don't like any attack ads, but I must say, the anti-Owens ads are more intelligent than the anti-McAdams ads. I hope Ben wins.

I am optimistic about our country now. 

***

Pumpkinundation roundup has entered the Thanksgiving season! That means I now include some savory items, because turkey is a savory Thanksgiving food. 

But apparently turkey is also a sweet food, at least in Brach's Turkey Dinner Candy Corn. This might well be the weirdest candy I have ever eaten. It has six flavors. Sweet potato pie is generically sweet, and it has more of a marshmallow flavor, which makes me wonder if it's actually sweet potato casserole. Cranberry sauce tastes like those strawberry hard candies with the soft center that come in those red and green foil wrappers; it's fine, but it doesn't really taste like cranberry. Green beans is gross, and it doesn't even taste like green beans, so what's the point? Ginger-glazed carrots is the truest to its name. It has a noticeable ginger flavor, with carrot as backup. I would love to see these at Easter. Stuffing actually tastes like stuffing! But it's super weird to have it in candy corn. Same can be said for roasted turkey. When I was eating those flavors, I almost got lightheaded, because my brain was like, "What is going on!?" I have four and a half categories of seasonal candies. Technically these are a category 2a, because they are a candy with a seasonal flavor. But I wonder if I should create a fifth category for candies that are an experience. These are clearly an experience rather than just a flavor (similar to Pop Rocks or Zombie Skittles). I still have the bag in my junk-food drawer, and I don't really look forward to eating it. I like regular candy corn better. But it truly was a fun experience! I just wish the bag were smaller. 4/10 for the candy. 7/10 for the experience.

Trader Joe's Turkey Jerky is sold all year, but I eat more turkey in November. As my body was craving protein, this hit the spot! But I never realized before how expensive jerky is. This package has about 240 calories and cost six dollars! 7/10.

Trader Joe's Thanksgiving Stuffing Kettle Chips have a new name (they used to be Turkey and Stuffing) but the same flavor. I don't really think it tastes like stuffing. If I were choosing from a selection of flavors, it wouldn't be the first I would pick. But I still enjoy eating them, especially because they're seasonal. 7/10.

Apple Pie Kit Kat has a nice spice flavor mixed in the white coating. 7/10.

Turkey & Pumpkin Mole Burrito has turkey, sweet potatoes, and a spicy mole sauce made with pumpkin. I don't think the seasonal flavors are very noticeable, but it was still a fine burrito. 7/10.

Archer Farms Apple Cinnamon Pecan Trail Mix has lots of apple chips, and I'm not really a fan of apple chips—but I still finished the bag in a few days. 7/10.

I thought the kale and butternut squash were a little odd in the Trader Joe's Gobbler Quesadilla. But you can't go wrong with a quesadilla! 7/10.

It's been a few years since I've had a Dunford Bakers Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie; they often sell them in vending machines, and I haven't had a job with a vending machine since 2017. It's fine, but it's a little dry. 6/10.

They sell Apple Pie Larabars all year, but apple pie is a Thanksgiving flavor. It's OK. 6/10.

Kneaders Turkey Cranberry Croissant might well be the best lunch item on the Kneaders menu. All the ingredients work well together—even the cheese, and I have a strained relationship with cheese! 9/10.

I asked for a pumpkin chocolate chip cake, but instead I got the Kneaders Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie. It's basic, but it's a satisfying formula, with spices in the batter. 7/10.

I think the Good & Gather Apple Pie Date & Nut Bar is slightly better than the Larabar. 7/10.

Dannon Light + Fit Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt is the best pumpkin Greek yogurt. It's not sour like the others. 7/10.

Trader Joe's Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli was better than I expected. It had a nice fragrance of pumpkin, and it was just a little sweet. It's also very pretty. I had it with my homemade tomato sauce (seen on the right), but I thought it clashed a little, so honestly I liked it better plain. 7/10. (We seriously need a Trader Joe's in Davis County! There's only three in the entire state, and the one on 400 South is always busy and crowded, no matter when you go.)