Counting My Blessings #30: Sibling Assignments

This week marks the 83rd Sibling Assignment I have created . My sister Silver Valley Girl came up with the idea right after our brother had started his blog October of 2006. At that time we wrote them and sent them to each other. Now we all have blogs. Another reason it began was to get different points of view of stories of our childhood. A few years ago I started a collection of recipes with memoir pieces attached. It has been put on hold a bit as I have done more writing on my blog, but some stories were left unwritten because I was concerned I wouldn't get them right. Three points of view always add to the depth of a memoir piece.

It has been meaningful for me to reflect on my blessings this month as I wind down my "Counting My Blessings" series. I am thankful for the sibling assignments because it has opened my eyes to events I don't remember, it has given us many opportunities to share our stories with our mother, and it has kept me writing consistently.

For Sibling Assignment #83 Silver Valley Girl asked each of us to depict Thanksgiving Day through our own eyes. You can see a photo series of events on SVG's blog here and Raymond Pert will share his when he returns home.

It was harder for me to capture great photos because I was in the thick of the Thanksgiving preparations. Awhile back I learned that my brother-in-law and turkey didn't get along. At that point I planned a Pacific Northwest Native American Feast . JEJ helped out by bringing home a deer which was made into smoked venison. Indian Fry bread is a staple food at school and on the reservation, so it was fun to serve it for the first time. We added huckleberry honey on the side for added richness. I also gathered recipes for other traditional native foods such as salmon, cranberries, squash, root vegetables, nuts, fruit, and greens. I will post some recipes later.

I am a traditionalist at heart, but it was interesting to create a whole new menu for Thanksgiving. Learning about rituals of the native people was part of the fun. Between colleagues at work, some research, and browsing recipes I was able to identify and present many native foods.
Having a snowfall reminded all of us of many Thanksgivings in the past when we attempted to go "over the river and through the woods of north Idaho to a grandmother's house" or navigated the slick roads of Kellogg after a gathering with friends uptown. This year everyone arrived here and arrived home safely and for that I count my blessings.