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Zentangle Diva Challenge #245 – Happy Thanksgiving United Statesers Edition

by Suzanne Fluhr on November 23, 2015 · 26 comments

Thanksgiving turkey

[If you’re wondering what this Zentangle thing is, start HERE.]

This week, the Zentangle Diva challenged us to use the tangle Hollibaugh in our tile. Hollibaugh, first deconstructed by a Zentangle Mother Ship son-in-law, is an important part of the Zentangle repertoire because it epitomizes the concept of “drawing behind”. It is also very versatile and finds its way into many of my compositions. Here, I surrounded it with some N’zepple and added some pearls for added depth:

Zentangle tangle hollibaugh

This Thursday, in the United States, we will be gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving. This is my favorite holiday. While many give thanks in a religious manner, it is not a holiday “owned” by any particular religion and interfaith/secular Thanksgiving celebrations are common. This year, they seem especially important.

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel weeks in the United States as anyone who can do so, travels to be with family and friends. One of our family traditions is to invite people new to the United States to share our Thanksgiving dinner. This year, a young Greek scientist will be joining us.

Thanksgiving turkeyIn the United States, the traditional Thanksgiving meal is headlined by roast turkey accompanied by bread stuffing, mashed white and/or sweet potatoes, a token green vegetable and cranberry sauce. The de riguere  dessert is pumpkin pie. As much as I love Thanksgiving, it has always been a little fraught for me as I am afflicted by an irrational turkey cooking phobia. I have solved that issue this year by passing the Thanksgiving dinner hosting responsibilities to our oldest son and daughter-in-law.  I’m bringing the token green vegetable. Instead of the usual string beans, I may go out on a limb and do something wild and crazy like bring brussel sprouts.

So, to my fellow United Statesers, Happy Thanksgiving. To everyone else, happy end of November. Next Monday, Mr. Excitement and I will be preparing for our evening flight to Madrid, Spain where I hope to meet up with Alicia Gutierrez Rey, a Spaniard I met at CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher) training #18 in Providence, Rhode Island. Maybe I’ll fit in the Zentangle Diva’s challenge while I’m waiting at the airport.

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving this year? Even if you’re not from the United States, do you have a secret for cooking turkey so that none of your guests succumb to salmonella poisoning or are secretly feeding the too dry turkey you’ve served them to the dog under the table?

{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }

Jean Chaney November 23, 2015 at 2:05 pm

Brussel sprouts???? You just can’t mess with tradition you know LOL! Smart of you to pass along the turkey mess to someone else too! I like your Hollibaugh with the surrounding ‘Nzepple and the pearls are always a nice addition. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Suzanne Fluhr November 23, 2015 at 2:51 pm

I know. Do you think I’m being too iconoclastic?

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Melena November 23, 2015 at 8:43 pm

Oh, yes! brussel sprouts for sure! Cut them in half, lay them on a cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil, then spray the top with a bit of olive oil and put them in the oven until soft and you have roasted brussel sprouts. The outer leaves can get a bit crispy, which makes them even better!! 😀 And you can put some almonds in with them to roast too. Yummy!

But this is supposed to be about the Diva Challenge of Hollibaugh. I love your tile with the pearls in among the layers and the N’zepple around the edges. Now I just have to let my mind go and see what I come up with. Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Cari Sultanik November 23, 2015 at 2:05 pm

Suzanne, I love your tile 🙂 I like the shaded swath, especially. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

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Yorkshire Tortoise November 23, 2015 at 2:54 pm

Great tile, two favourite tangles which seem to go well with everything, good choice.

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, but I am afraid it is too late to take Brussel Sprouts. They need putting on to boil in March in order that they will be edible by November (or December here in Ireland).

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Suzanne Fluhr November 23, 2015 at 3:28 pm

Hmmm. I’m not getting a lot of enthusiasm for the brussel sprouts. Maybe I better run this idea past the hostess and not just show up with them.

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Leslie in Oregon November 24, 2015 at 6:43 pm

We are serving brussels sprouts as the green vegetable too. I’m not sure if we’ll roast them (with shredded Parmesan added at the end) or shred them and then saute the shreds in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Either way, they are family’s favorite on Thanksgiving ever since we first served them. Happy Thanksgiving!

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1 Art Lady Kate Tangles November 23, 2015 at 3:27 pm

You are being brave not bringing the Green bean casserole! (I would have to bring both or the family might have a melt down!) Nice tile also!

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Pat November 23, 2015 at 3:33 pm

Great tile! I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving also Suzanne. I also gave up the Thanksgiving (and all holiday) preparation to daughter-in-law. And Brussel Sprouts has become a staple of our dinner for the past 3 years. Love it! And Spain – how wonderful. You and Mr. Excitement will have a great travel time.

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Anja November 23, 2015 at 4:13 pm

Wonderful tile!

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Maggibee November 23, 2015 at 7:03 pm

Well, it’s Brussels sprouts on Christmas day at our house. I insist on serving some onto every plate and they all tip them onto my plate when I go back into the kitchen to bring extra gravy. It’s become a tradition all of its own. I like your tile, by the way, especially the beads, very nicely drawn. We travel to the Canary Islands a week after you go to Spain – so near and yet so far. In your honour, my calendar has been left free for May next year, though.

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Suzanne Fluhr November 23, 2015 at 8:06 pm

I’ll let you know our May travel itinerary as soon as I know. 🙂

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Laurel Regan November 23, 2015 at 9:20 pm

I love the addition of the pearls in your Hollibaugh tile – nice touch! Our Thanksgiving is long over here in Canada, so I’m envious of your turkey dinner… hope you enjoy the holiday. 🙂

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Annemarie November 24, 2015 at 2:33 am

I like Hollibaugh with the pearls in it! Hope your trip to Spain will be excellent.

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Mike November 24, 2015 at 5:52 am

Hi there, I will be home hanging out with myself again this year. No turkey…I don’t feel like it. But, when I have in the past…a nice slow roasting, covering the breasts early on. LOTS of basting in periods but not keeping the oven door open too long as to lower the heat which really messes up the whole end game. Anyhoo, you got me thinking when my best buddy/soul mate and I used to have our annual fest. My second year w/o him. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Suzanne!! I’m so very, very thankful for your friendship each and every day! 🙂

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Roz Warren November 24, 2015 at 9:53 am

Brussels sprouts! Fabulous idea. I love the concept of the “token green vegetable.” I’m flying to California to celebrate the holiday with my son and DIL, who will be doing ALL of the cooking. Can’t wait.

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Suzanne Fluhr November 25, 2015 at 12:43 pm

Safe travels. May the weather gods be smiling on you and your airline.

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nan @ lbddiaries November 24, 2015 at 12:24 pm

I just found an amazing recipe for Brussel sprouts (I’ll put the link down below) – but since I started oven roasting them with all sorts of flavorings (I learned it from that guy on Diners and Dives or whatever it is) – YUM. Even people who hate BS love them this way. We used to deep fry our turkey (supernaturally moist) then Alpha Hubby switched to the electric deep fryer (yum, too) but I love the Trudukens so we do both. Last year he played around and sliced the turkey in half, tossed each half on his grill (which is more like a convection oven) and it cooked in an hour and a half and was meat fell off the bone tender. If you have an oven with convection, you can do the same. I’m breaking all tradition this year and ordered our entire meal from cajungrocer.com. NO mood to cook the CORNBREAD DRESSING (*ahem*) and other fixings. HAPPY T-DAY TO YOU AND YOURS. May your turkey be tender and sides be amazing.

http://backtoherroots.com/2011/10/13/roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-bacon-and-apples/

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Ilse Lukken November 24, 2015 at 1:16 pm

Beautiful tile!

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Jacqueline Gum November 24, 2015 at 1:46 pm

Love the tangle, even though I am totally ignorant of it’s meaning. I love that you always seem to forgive me that lack of real knowledge! But by all means, I applaud the brussel sprouts. They are much maligned, but I love them. Maybe that’s why. I always feel compelled to love the unlovable:) Happy happy Thanksgiving, friend. And safe travels please…

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Suzanne Fluhr November 24, 2015 at 6:36 pm

Thanks for the brussel sprouts endorsement. Actually, our daughter-in-law responded positively to the suggestion, but asked that I also bring some green beans for the less adventurous members of the family.

The tangle, Hollibaugh, demonstrates the technique for “drawing behind” wherein a tangler can give depth to their tile by making objects look like they are behind other ones.

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Ulrike B November 24, 2015 at 3:11 pm

beautiful tile

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Annie November 25, 2015 at 4:54 am

Lovely Hollibaugh – I agree the technique of drawing behind is great and a real eye-opener for a non-artist like myself. I had no idea how to acheive such depth in a drawing and now I can do it myself.
I drooled at the thought of your thanksgiving dinner which is so similar to the English traditional Christmas dinner. I never missed this when we first moved away but I think that this year, I shall have to impose it on my in-laws and the rest of the family regardless of Spanish traditions. I have no turkey roasting fears and we will definitely include brussel sprouts!
Axxx

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Annette P. November 25, 2015 at 9:01 am

Wonderful tile! I really like the dark and light backgrounds of Hollibaugh!

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Carmela November 25, 2015 at 11:05 am

Beautiful.

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Patti November 25, 2015 at 4:58 pm

Madrid?! Inquiring minds want to know.

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