It's become an annual tradition for the fabulous folks from Worcester Wreath Co. in Harrington, Maine to send fresh Christmas wreaths to Arlington National Cemetary in Virginia to be placed on the gravestones of American soldiers and their families who are buried there. This year, over 10,000 wreaths will be taking the long ride. It is really special to be able to catch the special parade of folks who escort the wreaths all the way from Maine to Arlington. If you are interested in seeing these folks, they are kicking off the departure this weekend. Here is the schedule of events that are planned here in Maine.

WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA ESCORT TO ARLINGTON
2008 ITINERARY

THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

December 7, 2008

6:30am Volunteers gather and decorate wreaths for Arlington

8:00 Patriot Guard Escort Staging @ Worcester Wreath Co.
All escort people should arrive to help get the vehicles lined up.

8:45 Send off ceremony

9:30 Wreaths loaded and escort departs Harrington for Bangor. Harrington to Bangor 68 miles Route 1 to Ellsworth then Route 1A to Bangor.

12:00 Wreath escort arrives in Bangor at the Bangor Auditorium

1:30 Wreath escort leaves Bangor and heads south to Augusta. Bangor to Augusta 85 miles. Route 1A south to Route 1 in Stockton Springs to Route 3 in Belfast. Follow Route 3 to Route 202 in Augusta

4:00 Wreath escort arrives at the Augusta Armory

4:45 Wreath escort leaves Augusta for Lewiston. Augusta to Lewiston 35 miles. Route 202 to Lewiston

5:30 Wreath escort arrives in Lewiston for wreath ceremony at Veterans Park on bridge between Lewiston @ Auburn

6:15 Wreath escort leaves Lewiston for Portland. Lewiston to Portland 44 miles. Route 202 to Gray. Route 26 south to Portland. Route 295 Forest Ave Exit 6A. Right onto Forest Ave then right onto State St. Turn right onto Park Ave at light and park along the side of the Expo.

7:15 Wreath escort arrives at the Portland Expo

9:00 Wreath escort leaves the Expo and heads to South Portland to the Best Western Hotel for the night.


December 8, 2008

7:00am Wreath escort staging at the Best Western Hotel in South Portland Rte 1).

8:00 Wreath escort departs Best Western Hotel (Route 1)

8:15 Escort arrives at Scarborough Veterans Home

9:30 Escort arrives in Old Orchard Beach for short ceremony

10:30 Escort arrives in Wells at Wells Jr. High for short ceremony

11:45 Escort arrives at Kittery Trading Post for short ceremony. NH PGR escort will meet here

12:30 Escort departs Kittery Trading Post

1:15 Escort arrives at Winnacunnet HS in Hampton, NH

2:00 Escort departs Winnacunnet HS

2:15 Escort arrives at Mass PGR staging staging area for Mass is the Rest area on Route 95 South on the Mass/NH border.

2:30 Escort departs Mass staging area as soon as possible

4:30 Escort arrives at Gillette Stadium for Wreath Ceremony. Trucks will be parked at the stadium overnight. Escort will be staying overnight at the Holiday Inn Express in Foxboro/Sharon

WE WILL BE RECEIVING PHONE CALL UPDATES DOING OUR MORNING SHOW FROM BUNNY O'LEARY, WHO IS ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS

NO MORE TURKEY!!

Phew! I have finished the last of the Thanksgiving turkey for this year. Every year, my mom and dad host me and my husband Dana and my brother and sister and their families for Thanksgiving, and my parents tackle the turkey. It is always wonderful, complete with my mom's great bread stuffing, squash, turnips, potatoes, peas and cranberry sauce. Of course, let's not forget PIE too! This year, there was pumpkin pie, mini pumpkin cheesecakes (my sister made) and a chocolate cream pie that I made! We always enjoy the marathon day of eating so much, and we all want some leftovers to take home. Usually, we barely have enough turkey for each of us to have a turkey sandwich. This year, my mom decided to buy an even bigger turkey than she ever purchased before, so we could all have plenty of leftovers. She got it home and almost had a tragedy when it looked like the turkey wasn't going to fit in the refrigerator! After some careful maneuvering, the bird was squeezed into the fridge! Excellent!

Come Thanksgiving Day, we attacked the bird with our usual excitement, and when looking at the mangled turkey after dinner, we realized there would definitely be good sized containers for us all to take leftovers home.

I went out the next day to purchase fresh ciabatta rolls so Dana and I could have two days worth of turkey sandwiches, complete with stuffing and cranberry sauce, and they were great!!

But, let's face it! Turkey doesn't age very well. Just yesterday, I realized I still had leftovers and wanted to do away with them once and for all. I searched on-line for some inspiration (something beyond soup or a casserole or hash of some sort.) I found my answer in a recipe for turkey nachos...simple enough and perfect enough to disguise the less-than-fresh taste of the turkey.

I hit the grocery store to pick up a few items I would need and tackled the recipe for dinner last night, plus added a side dish of Mexican rice. It was great, and it couldn't have been further away from having a Thanksgiving feel to the meal. And, with that, the leftover turkey is gone!! We can put her to bed for another year.

It is time to start getting ready for Christmas parties and more family gatherings. Bring on the finger rolls and cocktail weenies!!