I am knee deep in Christmas prep and Thanksgiving prep this week, rather in that order because of the long shipping times to and from here. Because I can never do one thing at a time, I am trying to master digital design in my spare time, some of which is coming easily and some which is very… not. Hence I am sharing digital layouts this week.
A funny – after returning home from the grocery store with the jellied cranberry, the brown and serve rolls, and the boxed stuffing mix – as per directions – I pointed out to husband that women's magazines are brimming with Thanksgiving recipes and menu ideas. This was met with sincere consternation and a very earnest, "Why?"
You don't fool with traditional holiday food around here. They want their cranberries to slip jiggling onto the plate and to fan out with the can indentations visible on the sides of those circles of gelled tang. They want marshmallows or pecans and brown sugar on the sweet potatoes thankyouverymuch. Don't even think about lemon meringue or Tollhouse cookie pie. It will be apple, pumpkin, and pecan. With Breyer's ice cream. The only permissable vegetable for the day (aside from the potatoes) is obviously green beans. Obviously <g>
So if you were looking to me for holiday inspiration, I am sure to disappoint. : ) But it won't disappoint the people under this roof who are thoroughly unimpressed with experimentation. Perhaps it is all our moving, all the regular change of scenery in our lives. Whatever it is, they hold fast to their seasonal celebrations and they must look as much as possible like they did way back once upon a time in 1970's era Wisconsin.
Alright, off and running on that note. More from our weekend wandering:
you can see below that in the middle of the woods, and off the trail proper, we stumbled upon a crucifix in the crook of an old tree. Just like that.
Starry Sky Journal 
I think our Thanksgiving meals probably look exactly alike! LOL A couple of years ago I made the observation that now that we no longer have a house full of littles, we should maybe try a few homemade stuffing recipes or cranberry sauce that actually resembles the real thing. Everyone looked at me like I had sprouted horns and a tail. After thinking about it, I decided this is fine with me. It sure makes assembling the meal easier!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving … I am in Houston this year with Meg, Kate, Mary and Peter. Tom is stuck in Canada.. no turkey, no pumpkin pie, just him, the cats and dog watching football after half a day at the office! We had our thanksgiving in October and it just didn’t feel quite the same, though the food was.
I smiled looking at your next crew of little boys .. memories are beautifully captured. Want to do my scrapbooks???? 😉 Take care dear friends.
Haha! Carbon copy of our Thanksgiving, too. Those are the must-have essentials. Back when we were nearer lots of family, there was more experimentation and attempt to impress — because there were more cooks and more courageous eaters, I guess. But, with just the basic family — yep, canned beans, corn, and jellied cranberry sauce — plain ole stuffing and mashed potatoes, turkey and gravy. And pie, pie, pie… Why would you need or want more, right? (Oh! and the kiddos and I think the crucifix in the tree is the coolest thing EVER to find on a hike!)
Love the digital layouts!
As for Thanksgiving dinner- we are right there with you! One year, early in our marriage someone hosted a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner for us. The food was delicious but decidedly NOT Thanksgiving fare! My husband was crushed. He looks forward to Thanksgiving all year- especially the green bean casserole with the fried onions from the can. So, the next day we went and bought all the fixings and I made him his own Thanksgiving meal. A very good start to our marriage, I do believe!
Ha!! One should always look in old trees because you never know what you might find!!
Happy Thanksgiving! Asher called last night. Libby says he sounds good!
We are the same way- whenever a new experimental dish makes it to the Thanksgiving table, no one touches it. 😉 And I just recently heard that some people serve SALAD on Thanksgiving. SALAD? Oh my. Nothing green or remotely healthy here, please (except for the green beans, and those are so loaded with butter and crunch topping that their status as vegetable is sorely tested).
Happy, happy Thanksgiving, Kim.
When the boys were little and we came across the Crucifix we would leave flowers they picked, (or pretty grass) as a Gift to Jesus. If they came across the Lamb, they would put fresh grass in his bed to give him a soft fresh bed. We were told it is tradition to do this.
Sounds just like our Thanksgiving – and believe me I sometimes have to go to a lot of trouble to make sure we have all those essentials. Not much energy left over for innovation, so I’m glad that my family is quite happy with the old traditions (which go back farther than the 7o’s I think, as my mom made them too, and she was a new bride in 1950’s Cincinnati). :o)
How cool is that crucifix in the tree?! You found a treasure!