Thanksgiving 2016

 

Another year has flown by and my favorite holiday is here, Thanksgiving.  As I've said before, this holiday incorporates some of my favorite things; food, family, friends, and we must not forget football (3 games!) This year has been a rough one for my family.  The year started out with a cancer diagnosis and three surgeries for me.  Thankfully, it was caught early and all will be ok.  Since August my husband has lost two brothers to lung cancer. He also has been having complications as a result of his Rheumatoid Arthritis. Our parents are aging and we're having to deal with some serious health issues with them. So it's easy to say "woe-is-me".  Yet I look around and see people who have far worse problems to deal with and it's very humbling. I am very blessed.  My Thanksgiving table will be graced by my parents, my children and grandchildren, and some close family friends.  We will have more than enough to eat and a roof over our heads to shelter us. There is plenty to be thankful for.

My tables are set, with my Transferware and Woodland Spode dinnerware. I kept with a very neutral color scheme using ivory linens and table runner. Color comes from the gourds and pumpkins as well as the flowers I splurged on.  My guests will get to take flowers home, as a gift from me!

My antique bin table is the perfect spot for a dessert station.  My son's favorite pie, apple, is in its place.  Two pumpkin, a chocolate cream, and a pecan pie are in the fridge. Fresh whipped cream (or whooped cream, as my granddaughters call it!) and vanilla ice cream will be available as toppings. There will be no shortage of calories here!

The dinner menu doesn't vary much from year to year.  This is a holiday where tradition plays a huge role and each person has their "must have" dishes. I try to make everyone happy. My husband doesn't like homemade cranberry sauce so he will get his canned, jelled variety, while the rest of us have homemade sauce. He's not a fan of my Mom's cornbread dressing so I always have to make him a box of Stove Top (that is so hard for a food snob like me!)  To go with our roast turkey will be mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato souffle, dressing, homemade yeast rolls and various vegetables. We will eat until we're stuffed and eat some more.  Later that night we'll be making turkey sandwiches.

Friday we will begin our Christmas decorating.  Until then it's all about the turkey and counting our blessings! From my home to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!