Sarah here! Happy Thanksgiving to all our USA readers. I hope your day was full of good people and good food. In today’s wrap-up, I wanted to take you behind the scenes of the Fernandezlopez Thanksgiving.
First, the company.
Recently, Hannah told me about several common phrases that she learned have meanings that are actually opposite of the original full quote. One of those is “blood is thicker than water.” We usually take that to mean that family ties outweigh everything. But the fuller phrasing it’s drawn from, “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”, actually means that our chosen bonds can be stronger than the ones we’re born into. I found it fascinating to see how the meaning shifted over time.
Agility has brought us some of our closest friendships. We spent the day with the kids’ godparents, whom we met through agility years ago; another agility friend who lives just a few blocks away; and one of our college friends and her family. It was the perfect blend of family-by-choice and shared history.
Whether you spent the day with family, friends, or a mix of both, I hope it was with people you love.
Second, the food.
Everyone has their Thanksgiving favorites, and for me, it’s always been the dressing and stuffing I’ve known since childhood, dishes that have been part of my family’s holiday table for as long as I can remember. As soon as I became the Thanksgiving host, these were the recipes I carried forward. We always make them in a dish, never inside the turkey.
Our chorizo dressing starts with a full pan of baked cornbread, which becomes the base of the dish. The harvest stuffing begins with homemade croutons that get folded into a sweet-and-savory mix of apples, sausage, herbs, and vegetables. I love the contrast: the sweetness of the harvest stuffing balances the spice of the chorizo, and together they always make the house smell like the holidays.
The turkey plays a supporting role. I make it every year for the sake of tradition (and because others love it!), but my heart (okay, really my stomach) belongs to the casseroles. Our Thanksgiving tradition is that everyone should get their favorite dish. Our friend Brittany (the kids’ godmother) said the only thing she absolutely needed was her husband’s homemade Parker House rolls. They were delicious, and it was great having another chef in the kitchen!
If you decide to make them yourself, we usually add 2 cups or so of additional chicken broth to each recipe since we’re making it in a dish and not inside the turkey.
Third, the pies.
Our family is known far and wide for our extensive pie selection. Every Thanksgiving Eve, I get up early and drive to House of Pies to pick up our order, carefully chosen to make sure we have every guest’s favorite flavor represented. It’s a tradition at this point, and one we fully embrace.
This year’s lineup included: Dutch apple, pecan (I ordered pumpkin but received pecan, surprise!), banana cream, fresh strawberry, strawberry cream cheese, French silk, and French blackbottom. It was a display worthy of its own table and definitely lived up to our pie reputation.
Fourth, the bake sale madness.
And as if the usual Thanksgiving kitchen chaos wasn’t enough, we added a whole new layer this year: Hannah’s Thanksgiving Eve charity bake sale. She got official permission to set up in front of our local grocery store and strategically chose the day before Thanksgiving to catch the biggest crowds of the year.
This was part of her Take Action Challenge, a project she began at a women’s leadership conference this summer. She spent months meeting with mentors and shaping her impact topic, ultimately choosing to focus on eating disorders and body dysmorphia, issues that affect so many teens. The bake sale was her first big fundraiser toward that goal.
We baked all day Tuesday and Wednesday:
• Gingersnaps (a recipe I’ve been making since I was her age),
• Rice Krispie treats (a Fernandezlopez classic),
• and my great-great-grandmother’s old-fashioned fudge, which one of Hannah’s friends called “fire,” which means extremely good.
It was the perfect blend of tradition, chaos, and purpose.
If you’d like to see what Hannah is working on or cheer her on, here are her project links:
• GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/every-body-is-beautiful-support-eating-disorder-awareness
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybodyisbeautiful_TAC
As the weekend winds down, I’m feeling grateful for the people, traditions, and happy chaos that fill our home this time of year. Thank you for being part of our extended Bad Dog Agility family. I hope your holiday season is filled with good food, good company, and a few new memories you’ll carry forward.
As always, reach us at team@baddogagility.com.
Happy Training,
