I’m afraid this is another late Hump Day Zentangle Challenge. For my non-United Stateser readers, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. I’ve had my post Thanksgiving dinner nap (also a national tradition), and am therefore once again feeling sufficiently compos mentis to write.
Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November ever since it was proclaimed a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 during our bloody and brutal Civil War. That war did not end until 1865, so that seems an unlikely time to have been particularly thankful, but it stuck and is one of our most revered holidays.
Although not made an official American holiday until 1863, it is generally considered that the the first celebration of thanksgiving for a good harvest occurred in 1621 in Plimouth (Plymouth) in today’s Massachusetts. It was a feast shared by Pilgrims and the local Native Americans who taught them how to survive in their new home. (Painting by Jennie Brownscombe, 1925, Public Domain).
I’m always particularly thankful on Thanksgiving because Mr. Excitement proposed on Thanksgiving day in 1981, thus coming in just under the wire of my secret deadline for this momentous confirmation of commitment. Had he not suggested our relationship should be for the long haul by that day, we would have had to have a very serious talk. But he did, and I’ve been thankful for that for 38 years.
As many Americans as possible make the Thanksgiving holiday a long weekend by also taking off from work the Friday after Thanksgiving, so they can travel to celebrate Thanksgiving with relatives and friends. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year in the United States, and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the second busiest travel day.
For many years, our home was Thanksgiving central. In addition to family, we would invite the international physician-scientists training in Mr./Dr. Excitement’s lab at the University of Pennsylvania. This produced one of my favorite essays about Thanksgiving.
I’ve never conquered my turkey cooking phobia.
For some reason, I never quite got over my fear of being in charge of the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Each year, I fearfully approached the raw turkey, hoping I could get it on the table at the appointed time, fully, but not too fully (dried out), cooked. Then, there was the hope I could synchronize the time of an optimally cooked turkey with all the side dishes that are also expected at an American Thanksgiving dinner: mashed potatoes; some version of sweet potatoes; stuffing; and, some token string beans, traditionally gooped up into a casserole with cream of mushroom soup and topped with friend onion rings. Many people accompany this repast with a homemade cranberry sauce (relish), but my family always insisted on canned (tinned), jellied cranberry sauce. If anyone asked if they could bring anything, I would pawn off dessert since my baking skills are slim to nonexistent and pumpkin pie is de rigueur at an American Thanksgiving dinner.
This year, I was thankful our son and daughter-in-law volunteered to host Thanksgiving dinner, a small gathering for only six. I don’t eat turkey every day (thank G-d), but I am grateful every day.
Hump Day Zentangle® Challenge #21 – Borders (Ribbons) and Gratitude
(If Zentangle is a new concept for you, you can read more about it here.)
This week’s Hump Day Zentangle Challenge is to concentrate on border (ribbon) tangles in your composition. My first one is a mandala which I’ve filled with border and ribbon tangles. (That checkered thing in the middle is supposed to be some version of Knightstar by Daniel Lemothe, CZT that was introduced in a Diva Challenge. It didn’t quite work out, but it made me decide I needed some other checkered thing; hence, the tangle Knightsbridge (by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas) in the corners.)
Starting from the first outer ring, the first tangle is Phirst by moi. I don’t know the name of the next one. Please leave a comment below if you recognize it. I can’t imagine that someone hasn’t yet deconstructed it, but if no one has, I will. Next is a “skinny” Sand Swirl by Karry Heun. I usually use this one as a filler, but when “skinnified” it works as a border or ribbon. Next, is the elegant Akoya by Sandy Hunter, CZT, and finally, Coil by Sue Jacobs, CZT.
If you want to search for your own “ribbon” tangles, Ina Sonnenmoser’s Tangle-Collections.com is a good source.
One common use of ribbon or border tangles is to frame text in a tile. I chose a saying that reminds me to stay positive and, for me, that typically leads to gratitude (thankfulness). I’m not a naturally positive person, so saying is a good reminder for me.
This saying is attributed to Janice Thompson. The border is a tangleation of my much used Aloha tangle. The organic tangles include: Pokeleaf and Pokeroot (original Zentangle tangles) and Debbie News’ Inaflux, which was a featured Hump Day Zentangle Challenge tangle a few week’s ago. I’m sure some of the others have “tangle” names. I just don’t know (i.e. forgot) what they are.
Please Share Your Hump Day Zentangle® Challenge Creations!
Please share your responses to this week’s challenge with us in the Hump Day Zentangle Challenge Facebook Group and/or on your Instagram, Twitter or Flickr feeds. Use the hashtag #hdchallenge21. If you’re not a member of the FB group, ask to join and I’ll be happy to add you. The more the merrier.
There are other ways to share your work: We also have a Pinterest group board to share our Hump Day Challenge responses. Email me at suzanne@boomeresque.com if you’d like me to add you as a contributor to the Pinterest board or you can mention that in a comment with your Pinterest name below.
If you have your own blog and are posting your challenge responses there, leave the URL to your blog in a comment below so people can paste it into their browser and find your post. (PS: The first 2 times you comment, I will have to moderate the comment. After your first two comments on Boomeresque, your comments will appear without moderation.)
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Happy thanksgiving to you and yours, S. Love and warm hugs from Singapore!
Thank you, Debbie. As I recall from our visit to Singapore, all Singaporean hugs delivered outside would be warm. 🙂
I love that tile. I am new to Zentangle and looking for structured ways of learning. I found this page and I will definitely be doing some of these challenges. I really like the border tangles, but struggle fining a place to use them. I think I”m still in the fill in the section mindset.
Not the point, but a little known fact about Thanksgiving is that Lincoln set the date as the last Thursday, but in 1939 Roosevelt wanted a longer retail season, so he moved it to the next to last Thursday. This caused a lot more contention than you would think and for the next two years, part of the country celebrated on the last Thursday and the other a week before. Congress solved this in 1941 with a resolution setting the day on the fourth Thursday of November. Check out https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/thanksgiving if you want to know more.
Unfortunately I don’t know the name of the tangle in the second ring although I have seen it also before. You have drawn the tangle and the other ones in a wonderful way and I like your tile. In Belgium we don’t have a thanksgiving day but I red about it and the tradition is really very nice!
Too funny – someone beat me to the correction about the 4th Thursday for Thanksgiving! Just one of those weird quirky things buried in my brain – smile.
I am so blessed Alpha Hubby is responsible for the turkey (I hated being responsible for it) – ever since we discovered deep fried we had amazing turkey – then he began cutting in in half and grilling it. It’s ugly for it’s amazingly delicious. I sometimes sneak in a Turduken but he’d rather grill. Leaves the oven free for cornbread dressing and other wonder sides.