 |
| Simple Abundance |
November is the pause between Autumnal color and Winter white in many parts of the country. It can look bleak and dreary oftentimes. Perhaps that's why November was chosen to celebrate Thanksgiving--to give us something to look forward to that encourages us to be grateful for what we already have. It is also a time to gather family near and far and celebrate the bond of kinship. I've hosted Thanksgiving for so long that the few times we've been invited to another's home it just did not feel like Thanksgiving to me. Tradition carries with it heart memories.
My menu is always the same except I like to try different vegetables every year. Sometimes I add soup. I also like to vary the way I make the sweet potatoes. I've not changed the Sausage Sage Dressing or Shaker Corn Pudding I've made for many years now. I've always made Heavenly Hash (also known as Ambrosia) and pumpkin pie--two things my mother always made. And of course the Turkey! But we did try Splatch-cock Turkey one year. Since this is the only time of year we have a whole turkey, it is special. I love making the table look festive and always use the tablecloth I made many years ago. Last year I added name tags with my own illustration. . . .
As a young child we always went to Mamaw's and Papaw's farm in Mississippi for Thanksgiving. I remember going along to pick out the turkey at a farm down the road. There were always lots of cousins to play with. By the time I was a teenager we'd moved north and we'd usually go to my other set of grandparents. One Thanksgiving, however, my mother hosted her parents and four siblings and their families. There were cousins galore that Thanksgiving.
This month Sarah Ban Breathnach suggests these Joyful Simplicities from "Simple Abundance". . . .
🦃 Write your own personal grace and offer it for the first time on Thanksgiving.
🦃 Fill a basket of food and take it to a shelter the day before Thanksgiving. If you have children, let them help you shop, load the basket, and deliver it with you.
🦃 Don't rush out the day after Thanksgiving to do holiday shopping with the rest of the world. Instead, make a pot of homemade turkey vegetable soup, write out a shopping list for the Christmas pudding ingredients, create an Advent wreath, and start listening to holiday music.
The Thanksgiving before my mother died I had everyone write what they were thankful for on the back of an artificial leaf. I put them in an arrangement that I bring out each year. Her leaf is always there to remind me of that Thanksgiving.
We often still have family the day after, but once they leave I will start thinking about Christmas. I'll put away my autumn decor and bring out the winter things. Then I'll start making lists of what needs to be done when for Christmas.
If you need a Turkey Soup recipe here is one I posted last year from Mary Mason Campbell's book, "The New England Butt'ry Shelf". Drag it to your computer desktop to print. . . .
What about you? Do you have Thanksgiving traditions? Would you rather host the dinner or let someone else host it? Do you have any special memories from your childhood Thanksgivings?
.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•
Take Joy!
Lovely memories of Thanksgiving pasts!
ReplyDelete❤️
DeleteThe Thanksgiving traditions in our family are pretty much limited to the menu. We generally have the same things each year, although we do change up the vegetables now as well. When my Dad was here, he wouldn't have liked any variation in the menu, but it's OK with all of us now. My apartment is too small to host the whole crowd [9 people, 2 cats & a dog] so my sisters usually take turns hosting. The hostess always does the turkey, stuffing etc, and the rest of us bring all the other items. I usually make cranberry sauce, butternut squash and I also bring a tradition my Dad added to our Thanksgiving when I was in junior high school. An appetizer of Clamato juice [tomato & clam juice mixed]. Delicious. My middle brother always makes the gravy too - he has the gift. We're a family of hearty vegetable eaters so it's always fun to see what other family members will bring to complement the traditional part of the menu. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, home-baked rolls and a relish tray are our staples. My favorite "new" veggie dish so far has been roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and caramelized onions. In a word - YUM. And my nephew ALWAYS make the coffee and has since he was about 10. He's always loved gadgets of any kind - still does - and even as a 10-yr old made incredibly-good coffee, amazingly enough. We call him our "tech staff" now because he helps the whole family with cell phones, computers etc. You name it - he knows about it. This year we'll be missing my SIL's mom who died in February, and my youngest sister's Golden Retriever, Cooper, whom she lost in July when it was discovered he had a rather advanced cancer tumor. He was the neediest dog I've ever known, but in the best way. All he EVER wanted was just to sit close & get rubbed and petted. He usually hugged right up to my legs - often sitting directly ON my feet - and would remain there as long as he was getting petted. When we had campfires in my brother's backyard this could go on for hours - LOL. He will be sorely missed this year, especially during dinner when he'd go from person to person mooching during our meal. He was able to wedge his head under your elbow, while you were sitting at the table, and get his nose very near your plate, which never failed to crack us up. My childhood Thanksgiving memories are mostly of the table and all its goodies, and of my Dad standing at the head of it to carve the turkey. Being the oldest of six, there was always at least one high chair in the scene too. I'm guessing my Mother probably didn't get a hot meal on Thanksgiving for quite a few years... LOL. 🍁
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your Thanksgiving memories, Janet. It's nice to have a holiday you can count on to bring the family together!
Delete