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* Keep it Illinois-centric and polite, please. Also, how was your Thanksgiving?

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 8:37 am

Comments

Good. Just the wife and I due to trying to keep our parents safe this year. Though we missed seeing them in person (zoom calls are nice but not the same), it was nice not to be able to relax and not rush from household to household.

Relaxed so much I forgot the Bears were playing. From what I read, the Bears forgot too.

Comment by DuPage Guy Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 8:41 am
Thanksgiving will be remembered for being a small group that lived in one house. We are thankful for all we have but it was strange to wake up Thanksgivng morning and not due routines we had done for years like bringing meals to those in need.

Normally the house is filled the sound of around 30 relatives laughing and talking about the Holiday season. This year it was more of sober event taking special time to recognize what the last year has brought and how we have much to be thankful for.

Comment by Give Me A Break Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 8:47 am
I ate fried chicken for Thanksgiving. It was good!

Comment by Tuba Noise Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 8:50 am
We have a lot more leftovers this year. Especially desserts! I’m getting ready to hibernate. Pretty much sums up last night”s Bears game too.

Comment by Rural Survivor Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 8:55 am
I am seeking clarification on a point of order. If the point was made on this blog last week, I missed it.

Question: If the House is unable to elect a Speaker at the start of the 102nd General Assembly next month, does the Secretary of State become the de facto Speaker? Can he appoint committees? Assign bills? Schedule regular floor action? Or does the House effectively shut down until a Speaker is chosen?

My hunch is that the Sec. of State only has the power to call the vote for Speaker (possibly over and over).

Comment by Colin O'Scopy Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:00 am
Nice, easy, politics-free Thanksgiving where we stayed home instead of running around.
Think we’ve found our new tradition.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:00 am
Colin, it’s Rule 1 https://ilga.gov/house/101st_House_Rules.pdf

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:04 am
I was on my own for Thanksgiving so it was quiet. People who planned to visit my 88 y.o. mother decided at the last minute that was a bad idea, so I had something to feel grateful for.

Comment by Cheryl44 Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:10 am
Very nice Thanksgiving, small gathering and following the COVID prevention recommendations. We want to get to the next Thanksgiving, where we can gather pretty much like we used to.

Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:12 am
Foodapalooza. When in doubt….and at home….cook, bake. Thankful to have so much.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:26 am
Thanks for clarifying, Rich.

Comment by Colin O'Scopy Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:34 am
Since it was just me, all three of my dogs got their own plate (of dog safe food, of course.) So if you were to ask them, they’d say it was the best thanksgiving yet haha

Comment by Election Worker Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:43 am
I’d like to recognize the Chicago Bears for taking a principled stand, and refusing to play football during a pandemic.

Comment by Tear One Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:49 am
Thanksgiving was just me and my spouse. We puppy sat for a friend Fri-Sun and had fun. Missed Capital Fax last week.

Comment by Dog Lover Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:50 am
Thsnksging Day - Early in the day, painting on a house. Afternoon, take-out for the two of us. Later a short visit with my son & family. Evening a drive to look at Christmas lights.

Rest of the holiday weekend was similar with a few hours of work each day. Finally got the Christmas trees up late Sunday.

Comment by RNUG Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:53 am
Had dessert around a bonfire for one hour with a small family group…I did not miss the work or the dishes involved with hosting a dozen people…

Comment by Loop Lady Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:05 am
Tear One wins the day, the week and the month.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:06 am
Got the roof cap replaced on the vac house as well as the cable and basement blower fixed there. We sheltered in place in Iowa (more important than here given the rates) and curbsided our groceries from the local employee-owned grocers.

For thanksgiving, we had a stuffed turkey with low carb stuffing. We also had a veg platter, cranberry dressing made with splenda rather than sugar, mashed cauliflower, deviled eggs, and not one but two desserts, pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin pie. Both crusts were made with crushed nuts mixed with brown and white sugar swerve (erythrotol) and a smidge of splenda then toasted in the oven low temp prior to using. The crusts wound up tasting like pecan pie and held together well.

Comment by cermak_rd Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:09 am
I have an elderly immunocompromised relative that I accompanied to a mandatory doctor’s appointment, and someone in the waiting room had Covid. Substantially-sized local cluster caught it there, I guess. Anywa, got exposed to Covid, spent most of the holiday fidgeting for it to be enough days to get a test, and then fidgeting to get my test back. (It’s negative, now I’ve just got to wait out the isolation period! I mean, not that I have anywhere to go or anything.)

Comment by Suburban Mom Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:14 am
All alone, I made Oyster stuffing and apple crumble. And the most surprising of all, they turned out quite well!

So, lots to be Thankful for

Comment by Fav Human Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:19 am
Illinois making the news for all the wrong reasons. Again. This time for not reporting Covid deaths of state workers to OSHA. (Not limited to IL, but IL is the example given)

https://khn.org/news/article/osha-let-employers-decide-whether-to-report-health-care-worker-deaths-many-didnt/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/27/us-regulator-osha-covid-deaths-workers

Comment by jimbo Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:19 am
Still eating leftover pecan pie, but somebody has to make the sacrifice.

Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:27 am
Much like Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day, my family and I were in self-quarantine. I had a bad head cold that started the Tuesday before and went and got a Covid test (that was negative). My wife broke her thumb, so I was in-charge of the meal, which turned out pretty good. Mother-in-law had been in the hospital with Covid, but she is out and feeling much better now. There was a day where we were pretty worried, but she responded well to treatment. If you don’t have an Oximeter, get one, it saved her life. Mom had surgery and looks to be cancer-free. The kids are just as loud and rambunctious as ever. It’s hard for them to live within 5 minutes of both sets of grandparents and not be able to see them in person. 2020 has been a horrible year, but I am thankful for what I’ve got. Things could be so much worse.

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 11:02 am
Just warm enough to see my folks for about an hour in a parking lot halfway between our houses on Sunday.

They have begun to take this much more seriously and for that I am very thankful.

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 11:05 am
Went no place, no visitors, a couple of text messages. Well, at least my one friend didn’t try inviting me over on 2 hours notice the day of the holiday like she did for another holiday pre-Covid…MEH.

Comment by thisjustinagain Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 1:41 pm
Made a 20 pound bird, dressing, and all the usual. Sent some to daughter’s house. Son in Seattle cooked his own meal. Then did a three way Zoom while we all ate. Made a huge container of soup from the bones then froze everything not needed for next several days. Nowhere as fun a being together, but all in good health and doing OK.

Comment by zatoichi Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 1:47 pm
Stayed home…along with my sweetheart…We gave thanks for surviving this terrible pandemic…so far, so very good.

Comment by Dotnonymous Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 2:02 pm