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10 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | NOVEMBER 2018 By Dick Roppé, Resident Let's start this month's hodgepodge and meandering with some ponderables… The other day I heard the Beatles 1965 hit, Eight Days a Week, playing on Pandora. That got me thinking. If there were eight days a week, that would mean a little more than 45 weeks in a year. We could still have 12 months with about 3.8 weeks per month… What does it mean to win a ton of money? Well, that would equal $908,000 in $1 bills. Where is all this going you ask? Absolutely nowhere! Now that fall has arrived and winter is fast approaching, it's time to take a look at the four seasons (no, not Frankie Valli.) We all know summer and winter, but I found it interesting that autumn is not really an official name for this season. It is British in its origin. It is used when referencing the autumnal equinox; vernal (spring) being the other equinox. Here at Solera we are familiar with vernal - as in pools. That's where our protected resident fairy shrimp hang out. Spring is when leaves spring from the plants and fall is when the leaves fall from the trees. Now, let's take a look at the month of November. February has Valentine's Day and President's Day; May has Mother's Day and Memorial Day; September has Labor Day and Grandparent's Day. November? I found a calendar that was called "November 2018 Observances for Your Senior Activity Calendar." In addition to the more recognizable - Marine Corps Birthday (10th), Veterans Day (11th) and Thanksgiving (22nd), there are 126 other "days" listed on the aforementioned Senior Activity Calendar. I'm going to toss out some of the more interesting ones with the November date so you can make plans: National Men Make Dinner Day (1), National Bison Day (3), Spicy Guacamole Day (14), Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day (15), National Play Monopoly Day (19), and National Mason Jar Day (30). In closing, and as a public service, it's also time for the ladies to exchange the spring/summer purse for the fall/winter carryall. A November Corny-copia of Hodgepodge & Meandering Nov. 1 Nov. 3 By Theresa Rossetti, Resident It's holiday prep time! With Thanksgiving fast approaching, let's take a look at some facts and silly trivia about this holiday. History tells us the first Thanksgiving was in 1621 with 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wamponoag Indians in attendance. Of all participating, only five were women. Wondering who did the cooking? So am I. There was no turkey or pumpkin pie, but there was venison, duck, geese and seafood. It became a holiday 200 years later, due to the activism of Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of Mary Had a Little Lamb. By this time, forks had been invented, so that's a good thing. We can thank (or blame) Thanksgiving for TV dinners. In 1953, the Swanson company had so much extra turkey that a salesman suggested putting it into aluminum trays with side dishes. In 1947, President Truman began the tradition of pardoning a turkey. One spared fowl was even the Grand Marshal of the Disneyland Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924. As a transplanted New Yorker, this is a mandatory TV event for me. (Yes, I have seen it in person. It was freezing, and my kids complained. I loved it, the sense of fun and the kindness of strangers making sure the kids could see made up for the cold.) The "food coma" is not all the turkey's fault. We can blame that on the high caloric count, the relaxation afterwards, and perhaps that extra glass of wine. The football game tradition started in 1920 and nowadays the Lions and the Cowboys always play. If you come across a wild turkey, they can run away at 20 mph but domesticated turkeys, heavier and slower, can't compete. Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird. The eagle won. Americans eat 46 million turkeys every Thanksgiving, Californians eat the most, Armstrong and Aldrin had turkey in foil dinner after walking on the moon, female hen turkeys can't gobble, and Campbell's Soup dreamed up the green bean casserole 50 years ago for a cookbook. They sell 20 million dollars worth of cream of mushroom soup yearly. Feel free to use some of these facts and legends to dazzle and delight the family and friends this year. No discussion of Thanksgiving can be complete without mentioning the food. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to this, sticking to my childhood memories of the dinner. Turkey roasted in the oven, stuffing (not dressing), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (with the mini-marshmallows), corn, broccoli with cheese sauce and pumpkin pie, but no green bean casserole for me! Grandma didn't make it, Mom didn't, so I don't either! After all these years with my husband's family, I'm now used to the wine, the lasagna, the chicken or shrimp parm, the antipasto and the cannoli. Whatever your traditions, enjoy the holiday season, it's going to be busy! THANKSGIVING FACTS & FOIBLES

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