Sunday Stealing

 Silver Thanksgiving Questions

How many Thanksgivings do you attend? Just one. I don't personally know anybody who attends more than one. Though I do enjoy that two-part episode of Will and Grace where the gang attends five. (It was on Thursday as I was getting ready to go to my own Thanksgiving.) 

 Where do you attend Thanksgiving(s)? The Weber Grill Restaurant on North State Street in Chicago.


What is your favorite dish? At the time, it was the pumpkin pie. Though now I am reliving the sweet potatoes. I remember them with great affection.
 

What is your least favorite dish at Thanksgiving? This year it was the turkey. I wanted to try an oven grilled bird and I'm glad I have. But I thought it was a little salty.

What, if any, are your Thanksgiving traditions? For the past four years I have joined John and Gregory, every year at a different restaurant. I enjoy it because it's both delicious and chill. When I celebrated with my family, the tradition was stress and hostility.

Name your FAV thing about Thanksgiving. It kicks off the most wonderful time of the year.
 



Do you make anything for Thanksgiving? If yes, share what and why. Just the reservation. (Yuck, yuck.) Except I truly did choose the restaurant and make the reservation.

Out of everything you eat at Thanksgiving, what can YOU cook the best? All of it is well beyond my culinary skill set.

What do you drink with your Thanksgiving feast? This year I had a flirtini (vodka, champagne and pineapple juice).

Has there ever been a feud during your Thanksgiving? My family Thanksgivings were always tense affairs. When I was in a relationship, I always tried to convince my boyfriend we should celebrate with his family.

Do you have appetizers before your Thanksgiving meal? This year I had butternut squash soup. It was yummy.

How many people attend your Thanksgiving(s)? If yes, who? Just we three.

Have you ever missed a Thanksgiving? Not that I can recall.
 

What kind of pie/cake/dessert do you eat for dessert? Pumpkin pie.

Do you ever play games at Thanksgiving? Not that I recall.

Name 3 things you are Thankful for: 1) THE CUBS! 2) My cats are healthy and happy 3) I kept my job.

Is there anyone who has normally attended Thanksgiving, that will not be there this year?  Nope.

Name the funniest person at your Thanksgiving this year and tell us more. Me. I'm adorable.

Which person eats the MOST? Me. At least at the table I'm the one who ate the most. John and Gregory both got their pie to go.

Which person eats the LEAST? Didn't notice.

Do any animals attend Thanksgiving dinner? Nope.

If so, do they get Thanksgiving scraps? 

Who carves the turkey? The chef in the kitchen.

Have you ever had to make Thanksgiving all on YOUR OWN? If I did, it would look like this:

Do you get along with the people you have thanksgiving with? Indeed.

Is your Thanksgiving formal, or do you just do whatever? I was a bit more formally attired than usual.

 

I don't like her and you can't make me

Movie stars are funny creatures. Their charisma often overwhelms their performances, but if you like them, you don't care.

Katharine Hepburn is the most Oscared Best Actress in history, so of course she can act. But her acting isn't why I love her. It's her voice, the way she moves, the way she lived her life. There's a moment at the end of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a two shot, where old and angry Matt Drayton tells his dinner guests that he vividly remembers being swept away by romance. His wife Christina tears up. And so does this old Gal, because I'm watching Katharine Hepburn listen to her dying partner, Spencer Tracy, say he loves her. Judged by Meryl-Streep-standards (she's never a star and always an impeccable actress), this is a false moment. But I love The Great Kate and so I love this moment.



Elizabeth Taylor ... Barbra Streisand ... Robert Redford ... Cary Grant ... Marilyn Monroe ... Sandy and Jen ... the galaxy of my heart is filled with major stars who I will watch do anything and will forgive anything because I like them.

And then there's Ida Lupino. I know I should like her. She was daring in her choices both as an actress and a director. The latter is especially important because she chose to direct back in the days when women simply didn't. And the model she used -- appear before the cameras in popular entertainment to finance her riskier independent projects -- is the one one Redford adopted.

But I don't like her. She's brittle and harsh. I adore one of the movies she directed -- The Trouble with Angels -- but I avoid her in front of the camera.

Which is why I'd never seen last night's movie group film, Road House. Everyone seemed to love it, and I like to be an active participant in the after-movie discussion, so I only voiced what I liked about it and kept my reservations to myself. But here's the thing: so much of the plot depends on two men falling head-over-heels for this chanteuse. And I just didn't buy it. Ida Lupino is just so ... icky.