Feasts and Family
Thanksgiving was great! We had the whole gang over and enjoyed great (too much) food and each others' company. I got up at 7AM to get the 25+ pound turkey in the oven so we could eat by 1PM. I had yet to make the stuffing, hence my early rising time.
The stuffing is something that changes from year to year, depending upon my mood. For several years I made a rice stuffing, which was always a big hit, but it seemed like everyone wanted the traditional bread stuffing as well, so I often made both. I was younger then. I have spent far too many Thanksgivings cooking all day so have streamlined my efforts over the past few years. I now make just the bread stuffing. What goes into it is what differs each year. This year it was cornbread with apples, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, water chestnuts, and pecans. It was seasoned with allspice, nutmeg, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Most of it goes into the bird, but there are those family members who refuse to eat stuffing from the bird, so a separate dish of stuffing that is baked is prepared for them. It was delicious!
The only other things I make are my "famous" mashed yams with marshmallows on top and the gravy. The kids bring the mashed potatoes, vegetables, pies, fruit salad and rolls. Though we've tried to make more realistic amounts of everything, we always end up with way too much food. It's crazy. This year's turkey was picture perfect - straight out of a magazine. It was in the oven by 8:30AM and ready by 12:30PM.
Here's a great shot of three of the four grandkids enjoying their feast. They are from left to right, Alyssa (2), Tyler (3 1/2), and Olivia (6). Grandpa is behind them.
The weather was gorgeous - sunny, crisp, and clear. We have so much to be thankful for! The Lord has truly blessed us. The only thing missing was my brother and his family. He has come for Thanksgiving for almost as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, he now lives too far away to visit for the holiday. We really missed his presence. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday surrounded by those you love.
I've mentioned our cat, Ali, several times. Ali is Jonathan's cat. She adores him - and misses him horribly when he's not here. When he is home, wherever he is, she is. Case in point - he fell asleep on the couch the first day he was home for the holiday. I walked into the living room to find him dozing on the couch with Ali dozing right above him. I had to capture this moment.
Last week Jonathan gave me a pair of his jeans to mend for him. They were sitting on the couch waiting for me to get to them. I was sitting on the sofa reading when I looked up and noticed Ali snuggled up on Jonathan's jeans, as if simply being on something of his, something with his scent, made her feel close to him.
I don't know if you can see the "casts" on her legs or not. She started scratching herself silly late this summer. Apparently she has some allergy to some mites. She got several injections to kill the mites, but she kept scratching at the scabbed up wounds. Finally, as a last resort, the vet bandaged her back legs to keep her from scratching herself until the wounds heal. It has worked great and she will get the "casts" off tomorrow. If she starts scratching again, the only solution will be to declaw her back feet - something we really don't want to do. We're hoping she'll forget she ever itched on her neck!
Well, it's time to get ready for work. After a week off, it is going to be tough getting back into the groove again. At least it's sunny! :)
