Thanksgiving Turkey woodcut by Harry Cimino

If you obey all the rules, you miss all of the fun. (Katharine Hepburn)

DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. 
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First up this week: Feast … 
"Feast: an elaborate meal often accompanied by a ceremony or entertainment: banquet" (Merriam-Webster). In the USA our holiday feasting season begins with Thanksgiving. American Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year. From that date through New Year's Day there's always some sort of feast on offer. Holiday parties, and the temptation to revel in fancy holiday fare, can seldom be entirely avoided. And why should they be? It's time to celebrate and feast, isn't it? We're busily planning holiday treats, of course. The Great British Bake Off got me eager for sausage rolls, mince pies, and homemade Christmas cake. 

Second up this week, Fizz … 
"Fizz: to make a hissing or sputtering sound (as of a freshly poured effervescent beverage or a burning fuse): effervesce" (Merriam-Webster). Growing up I found fizzy drinks rather special. In England, holidaying with family, I was taken aback by their offering of room temperature "minerals" … flavored mineral waters that were blended down with regular water for us young ones to drink. Soda pop, in cans and bottles, quickly became standard fare. But as the years went on, I was less and less interested in fizzy drinks. I don't know what happened to my palate. I do know that bubbles no longer charm me as they once did. Oh, I'll occasionally pop for pop or Prosecco or a beer, but I'll usually be seeking for it to be low in fizz (so, warmed to room temperature to tame the bubbles). How my tastes have changed!

Third up this week, Frisky … 
"Frisky: inclined to frisk: frolicsome, playful" (Merriam-Webster). It's been some time since I've felt frisky. Indeed, too long. I do have some slow-motion frisk, but even that's rare. I'm making an early resolution for the new year: more friskiness. Mental and physical. Frolic and play sounds so appealing. Now I just need to make them manifest in my life. Help me out. If you notice hints of frisk in me, say something. Let's get DAH frisky in 2024. We'll all be happier if I am. 

A holiday beverage book …   
Let's Get Fizzical: More than 50 Bubbly Cocktail Recipes,
by Pippa Guy
Time for Holiday Fizz! Yes, I still acknowledge the celebrateriness of fizz, even though I prefer more modest CO2. Classic cocktail recipes like bellinis and mimosas, alongside exciting variations and twists, offering tips, tricks, presentation ideas, and technical know-how to make your cocktails as sensational for the eye as they are for the palate. Includes a Beginner’s Guide to Bubbles chapter  which offers useful know-how and fun facts about how sparkling drinks are created and how they differ from one another. "Lose the booze" panels for many recipes, offering non-alcoholic options.


And a bit more … 

"Crazy About Her Shrimp"
by Charles Simic

We don't even take time
To come up for air.
We keep our mouths full and busy
Eating bread and cheese
And smooching in between.
 
No sooner have we made love
Than we are back in the kitchen.
While I chop the hot peppers,
She grins at me
And stirs the shrimp on the stove.
 
How good the wine tastes
That has run red
Out of a laughing mouth!
Down her chin
And on to her naked tits.
 
"I'm getting fat," she says,
Turning this way and that way
Before the mirror.
"I'm crazy about her shrimp!"
I shout to the gods above.


And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's "Sometimes"

Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.