Turkey Time, Book Recs, and a Text Convo (Patreon)

I hope everyone had a good holiday--I meant to post yesterday but kept forgetting because I was cooking all the things. Smalls really loves "chefing" as he calls it, and helped a lot in the kitchen. I was trying to get out of making a turkey this year (I don't eat it) since we wouldn't have the usual influx of family, but Smalls wanted a turkey like he saw in a cartoon. He wanted to eat the leg, like a tiny barbarian. Yesterday all his dreams came true--or at least his turkey related ones. He did get to eat a turkey leg. He also got to try the heart and liver and whatnot. I tried not to gag. He loved it and I had sweet potatoes, and so everyone was happy.

I missed seeing all my family, but it was also nice to have a big meal that was just us and not a lot of extra people and planning stress. I know this holiday is fraught for a lot of people. It's nice to stop and think about what you're grateful and gather and eat all the things. Except, not everyone has family they want to see--or even has family. Not everyone has enough food. The history of the holiday itself is messy and revisionist. I grew up on land that rested cheek and jowl with local reservations. I grew up knowing that we still have thriving indigenous communities--though not always thriving.  Even now, I sit on land that was tribal land. (There are cool websites where you can look up where you live, like this one.) My family didn't shy away from discussing uncomfortable and painful acts in our history, and I'm grateful for that. In the US a lot of indigenous nations were hit particularly hard by Covid. They don't get the same help and support that we do. So if you were thinking about places to donate to for the holidays besides local food banks, I encourage you to look up tribal nations near you and see what resources they might need. I encourage you to read books by indigenous authors. In fact, I have a few recommendations!

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (funny paranormal mystery. I've seen it listed as MG and YA.) Every children's bookseller I know has been crowing about this book and how much they love it.

Cynthia Lietich Smith--she has a lot of books, most of the recent ones contemporary. The one I read recently was Tantalize, which had vampires and weird were creatures. It's one of her older titles, but I enjoyed it and I'm putting her other books on my TBR.

Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruhac --post apocalyptic YA. I'm not big on post apocalyptic books in general--it's just not a genre I enjoy. I really liked this book, though, and recommend it for people who do love that genre. The cover is awesome.

Trickster Company has a lot of different things for sale, including picture books. My local bookstore, Third Place Books, carried The Woman Who Married the Bear and the Woman Carried Away by Killer Whales (not sure if they currently have them) but the illustrations are absolutely stunning. 

So I hope you're all safe and well fed out there and taking care of yourselves. Here's a text convo for you to enjoy featuring Ava, Ezra, and Lock. 

-Lish

PS Some of you might be giving Small's shirt some side eye right now. We bought it last year--and though I support any fandom that brings you joy, I also want to state very clearly that I am a supporter of trans rights. You can still love Harry Potter if it's brought you joy, of course. I don't want to take away anyone's happiness right now because *waves at 2020*. But I have friends and family that are trans, and I just wanted to make sure it's clear that I hold their lives and their rights dearly.