I don't know if you still frequent these parts, but if you do, the very happiest of birthdays to you, cheekybaby!

(Yes, I realize he's not quite orange enough. I'll let it slide.)

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate, and happy Thursday to those who don't.
Whether you celebrate or not - be safe, be kind, and take care of one another.

Crisis averted - phpete had the recipe and was able to send it to me when I had no luck finding my written copy anywhere in the house or anywhere online. So I'm posting it here so as not to have this problem again...

Apple Pie of Awesomeness
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This is my favorite apple pie recipe, and I’ve yet to have one last 24 hours. You can use store-bought crusts, but I’ve been making my own and it’s really much easier than you might think as long as you can use a food processor.

For the crust (~5 minutes to make, chill ~10mins before you roll it out)
2 c flour
2/3 c butter CHILLED – take it straight out of the fridge
cold water
vanilla powder (optional)
Dump the flour and butter in a food processor (if you have a mini, do it in two batches.) Pulse until it looks like a bunch of little crumbs. Add just enough water to form dough. Divide in half, chill. When you roll the dough out, make sure to have a well-floured surface. Makes 2 9″ crusts.

For the filling:
Apples – enough to fill your 9″ pie. I’ve been using 3-4 good size apples, but YMMV depending on what apples you use and how you chop them.
1/2 c butter
3 T flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c water
cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F.

Peel and cut up the apples. (I’ve found smaller chunks work better.) Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir the flour into the melted butter. Add the sugars, stir well. Add the water. Heat for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is evenly colored. Make sure there are no undissolved lumps of brown sugar lurking on the bottom.

Assemble the pie- fill the bottom crust with apples, sprinkle with cinnamon if so desired. Pour the sauce over the apples. Cover with top crust, seal the crusts. Make sure there are vents!

WARNING: If you are not 100% sure you have your crusts sealed well, put a cookie sheet below the pie pan in the oven. If the sauce bubbles over, it will smoke up the oven and you’ll need to run the self-clean once you take the pie out. (Yes, I learned this the hard way.)

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350. Bake for 40-50 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. (This is the hardest part- you need it to cool so you keep the yummy sauce inside the pie instead of running all over the pie plate once you slice it.)

Best while still warm, delightful with ice cream.

I can't find the recipe for the apple pie of awesomeness.

There may be tears.

Hearing lots of stories of fracture lines in families over this election.

Also hearing a lot of presumable Trump voters insisting we need to unite, or "get over it".

Yeah, no.

We can't unite behind hate. And we're over not going to get over it. An awful lot of Trump voters are getting upset at being told they voted for a racist. It makes them feel bad. To which my answer is, "good, it bloody well should."

You see, good people, when they do something that hurts people, feel bad about it and apologize.

Endorsing racist demagogues hurts people. Especially in a country with a history of racially motivated violence.

So, Trump voters, if you are a good person, you should feel bad about that. You should be apologizing, and understanding how you hurt other people. You should be understanding how your seal of approval contributed to Muslim women wearing hijabs being threatened or assaulted. You should be understanding how your voice lifted up to enable the people who thought it was cool to add all of Penn's black freshmen to a group named for a racial insult. You should be understanding that you co-signed the nasty note left for the married gay couple. Your vote approved Hispanic children, regardless of their family's citizen status, being told by classmates that they're about to be deported. You helped unleash something very ugly in our country. You should feel bad about that.

The fact that many of you don't speaks volumes.

You're good people the same way the Germans were in the 1930s. Many of you like to look down on them. Perhaps you should take a look in a mirror.

And if you're expecting me to change my position on this... My feet are planted.

Ok, I know it's weird for this coming from me, but... ENOUGH ALREADY.
This election, I can't even. It's been going on forever, and at this point just about the entire country is sick of it. Pretty sure everyone already knows who they're voting for, so can we just press fast forward and get it over with?

Obligatory PSA, because some people figure the ends justify the means and vote suppression is a cool thing to do: YOU CANNOT VOTE ONLINE.

There are quite a few reliable polling place lookup sites, here are a few:
Rock the Vote
VotePlz
Vote.Org
If you trust none of these, Google "polling place locator" and your state - it should come up with your state's election board polling place locator. Failing that, call your local election board.

Know the Rules*!
Make sure you know your polling place hours, and don't leave it to the last minute. Be aware that many places have restrictions on what is/isn't allowed at and around polling places in terms of campaigning or political activity other than voting.

If you are voting early/absentee ballot, make sure you know how to do so properly!
In most places, absentee ballots must be returned by the close of polls on Election Day - at this point, if your ballot isn't already in the mail, you probably need to either overnight it or hand-deliver it to make sure it gets there.

Know your state's rules/requirements for voter ID. Know who can and can't ask you to produce it. Check to see if your location has challenger laws. Find out the rules about provisional ballots in case you need them.

I can't believe it's all gotten this complicated.

Vote. Vote for whoever. Write in Calvin & Hobbes if you want. But vote. Sitting it out is not protest, it's silent consent.

*Which vary by state, and even by county/locality, so check your local rules.

I just read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Meh.

Then I stumbled onto Pottermore, and read about MACUSA - the American equivalent of the Ministry of Magic.

I was already dubious about JK Rowling having done adequate research before inventing her history of wizarding North America. I now believe she didn't actually crack a book at all.

Per JKR, at the outbreak of the American Revolution, the Magical Congress of the United States of America (presumably not yet called MACUSA) relocated from Baltimore to Washington. You know, the city that didn't exist for another 15 years. Named after the guy who was at the outbreak of hostilities nothing more than a rebel officer.

THIS IS NOT AN ADVANCED TOPIC.

At some point when I get over the staggering ignorance, I may write another essay about how JKR's magical North America makes no damn sense at all.