Thanksgiving 2022 in Oakland

Oh my! Yes, Laurel more than surprised both her brother and me. Everything was so lovely, smelled so good, and tasted so fine. I was especially pleased that I did not have to prepare anything more than a pecan pie. Adam made his famous dinner rolls while Michelle baked a pumpkin pie and bought a chocolate cream pie from the library's annual sale. 

(We were down by one as Jake has declared himself a hunter who will no longer be attending our Thanksgivings. 😢)

This was Laurel's table theme with the sweet table runner that I first saw at Betsy's right *here.* When I saw that runner, I thought it would be perfect for Laurel's riverside cabin up in the semi-north woods. I had no idea that she would be moving to a new home closer to civilization. I also purchased one for Michelle and one for my sister. Both Laurel and Kim have enjoyed theirs. 

Michelle has hers packed away because she thought it was a pillow cover. It might be especially appreciated by Jake at their home these days. 🦌 Laurel bought her table and chairs new for our holiday. It was very nice seating...no one was crowded.

Speaking of table runners, Betsy has many beautiful tablescapes from which to gather ideas. Her blog, named after her grandmother, is simply beautiful and, if you don't already, you would certainly love it there. Also, she has the best recipes. I have several on speed dial. 

Okay, back to Thanksgiving. Alas, I took hardly any photos. You know how my family is not a fan of picture taking. My grandkitty has no problems with it. He has a ghost cat visit regularly who asks the same question, "Can Charlie come out to play?" 

Here's Laurel preparing me a cup of peppermint tea. Yes, into every lovely time a clinker must fall. 😏

Don't worry, though, because when Laurel was taking me home Friday afternoon, she found a lovely lake side restaurant called Lintonia. It had the added bonus of an eagle in a tree just beside the restaurant. 

We had the best cup of coffee and delicious tacos. Laurel just found out that they closed for good the day after we were there. So sad all the businesses that are closing. It was a fabulous little restaurant. My sister and I had already made plans to visit soon.

Thank you for reading my simple Thanksgiving record. I have been enjoying reading yours.

Love,

Vee

Bigfoot?

A sigh of relief is always breathed November 1st. I am so glad that the entire end of October scene has finished for another year. I am happily moving on to the next big holiday (not Veterans Day). We'll chat about that toward the end of this post, yet let's tidy up on the big day just past—

She arrived on her grandmother's hip wide-eyed and a little breathless. "I scare-t of Bigfoot." I look at my sister questioning this comment and am told that the children saw Bigfoot at my house last week as they were leaving. What? Who knew?! For a moment I think that I have gone down the rabbit hole and landed in Brenda's world.

Big Foot Country

I say, "There is no such thing as Bigfoot." At which point, Anneke's brother, who is playing with the rotary phone, run on imagination alone, says, "Bigfoot? Is that you? Ackkkk! It's Bigfoot!" Anneke's eyes grow even wider and she clings a little tighter to Grammie. 

I may have dialed Bigfoot

So I have no idea how this story ultimately unfolded. My sister agrees with me and says that they will ask their mommy and daddy because parents tell the truth. I am hoping that mommy and daddy didn't decide instead to crank Anneke's chain. One of them can be a bit of a prankster. I just happen to know that for.a.fact. ッ

Peach and Mario

Aren't they cute? Peach and Mario...aka Anneke and Emmanuel.

Now I do have news about my own grandchildren. Sam received his driver's license last week. Doesn't he look happy? So proud of him! 

Jake got his first deer on Saturday. I'll be careful with that picture because I'd not like to offend those who might keel over. I am thrilled that there will be extra food in the freezer and that Jake is happy too.

A few weeks ago, when sickness hit, we had to postpone plans to see Laurel for her birthday. She graciously joined us a couple of weeks later at a local restaurant where my family made plans for Thanksgiving. I saw a bit of eye-rolling, heard some comments. It boils down to this: I have messed up Thanksgiving dinner one too many times. Instead, we shall celebrate at Laurel's. She's in for the roller coaster ride that is Thanksgiving preparations. Should be fun! 

To my American brethren and sistren, have your plans for Thanksgiving firmed up? 

I want a nice sweet ending so I am sharing what I am making this week. I had to check for ingredients and found that I have them all. Yippee! 

Now I found this recipe somewhere in the last week or so. I have not named that source because my mind is a sieve. If it was yours or you know whose, let me know so I can include it.

It was *here* with a nice photo of what it should look like, too. My mind really is a sieve.🤦🏻‍♀️

 

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup butter, melted

*Heat oven to 350° F. 

*Grease bottom of 9 x 13″ pan.  

*Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. 

*Pour mixture into greased pan. 

*Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture and top with pecans.

*Drizzle melted butter over pecans.

*Bake 50-55 minutes.

Source: https://www.thepickyapple.com/blog/2008/11/22/pumpkin-crunch-cake/

Thank you for reading. You're good sports. 

Love,
Vee

A Blessed Thanksgiving

 

"May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: 'Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice, and looked on their adversity...' Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good, and His mercies endure forever. Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, shew how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry, and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord His loving kindness, and His wonderful works before the sons of men. " ~William Bradford

What a heritage! And no better time to ponder it than at this moment in history. 

Though I bequeath you no estate, I leave you in the enjoyment of liberty. ~ William Bradford

Love, 

Vee 

 

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Thanksgiving Eve

Remember God’s bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!

~ Henry Ward Beecher

Are you in the thick of kitchen duties? I hope that the turkey is thawed! ッ

Although I am not hosting this year, I am indulging in a wee bit of baking. That makes the house seem properly Thanksgiving-like. I am baking Pioneer Woman's Pecan Pie and Karen's Kitchen Pumpkin Bread. If I have any extra energy, I am considering baking some of Mary MacDonald's Molasses Cookies.

Though the tree is up, I haven't been able to decorate it yet. Apparently, I have great loyalty to Thanksgiving. Friday will be time enough for that. In the meantime...

I became so charmed by a vignette seen at Susan Branch's that I tried the impossible—to copy her. 

In the end, I did something quite different, which is just what Susan suggests in the first place. 

It's a charcuterie of objects instead of meats, fruit, and nuts.

It's nowhere near as darling as Susan's...  The best that can be said is that I made it my own. I borrowed the recipe box, the cookbooks, and the wooden spoon. I tossed in a wee Christmas tree and a squash.

Source: Pixaby free images


Wishing you a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving... 

Thanksgiving Greetings and Tag Book

~Looks more like Christmas out there than Thanksgiving~

Hello again. It has been awhile or perhaps you were one of the four who saw my last post. I am sorry that I pulled it, but when people are suffering as they are in California and there is sorrow upon sorrow, I didn't feel that that post was in the best taste. It had some pretty pictures, though. Perhaps I'll recycle them one day. 

Today, I am chatting about my day yesterday when my sister and I met Abby of Little Birdie Blessings and her dear friend Judy up Augusta way. They were coming from the east and we were coming from the west, but up describes the destination well for all of us.

It is always a joy to meet again with friends. We tried to figure out when we had last seen one another, but couldn't. 

We ate a leisurely lunch at a local eatery and took no photos of our lunches because we are terrible bloggers. My sister took a photo of Judy, Abby, and me using Abby's iPhone. (I didn't even bring my camera. Bad, bad blogger.) Nope, I am  not sharing the photo, even if Abby gave me permission. I may do a cut and paste on it some day. Until then, it remains safely locked away in my files. ツ

We did exchange gifts. These are mine.

I have decided that there's something in the air down Abby's way that causes them all to be remarkably creative. This is a gift that I need as you can see by my legal pad list on the left. I used it for my grocery shopping this week and it was extremely unwieldy. Next time, I'll have this list maker, which can be tucked into my purse (if I remember where)...hope that it's not limited to counting blessings. One of my blessings is, after all, hosting Thanksgiving this year.

💛💛💛

Thank you so much, Judy! (She may not even read here, but Abby will clue her in, I hope.)

Abby made me a sweet tag book. It has a Thanksgiving, Scripture, Friendship theme. 

Oh I can do better than this...

Maybe not.

This is how I have it displayed and I will encourage people to pick it up and look at it. There are many wonderful details to enjoy and thoughts to embrace.

I also received magazines to peruse...snow days allow a great deal of perusing. And the gift came in a sweet loon bag pictured below.

It was a fun day all around. I enjoyed time with my sister and time with my sisters in The Lord. 

Now, because it is unlikely I'll return before Thanksgiving, I want to wish all my American countrymen a blessed Thanksgiving. We are blessed in spite of everything that is going on in our country and God is good. All the time. To that truth we cling.

Last Day for Leftovers

Here is our best photo of Thanksgiving. I forgot my camera so was counting on the other photographer. This is his best offering.

~Jack and Jake~

Jakob wore a tie for Thanksgiving and looked especially handsome. Alas, he had already ditched it by the time the photo was taken. Ever thoughtful, he asked how I was doing on this first Thanksgiving without John. I turned the tables on him and asked how he was doing. He shrugged. I said, "It's been a good day and we got through, right?" And so we did. I remember many Thanksgivings without John, but my grandsons were so young when I married John that they don't remember holidays without him. It makes it tough for them.

I was so excited to find that piece of pumpkin pie there...just enough to try *this.* Most of these leftovers are already long gone. I enjoyed my daughter-in-law's cooking all over again when I made a big Sunday dinner for myself, including red stuff. So all that is really left is enough turkey for my lunch today and that piece of pumpkin pie transformed for supper.
Got myself into so much trouble last week trying to multitask. I just can't function that way anymore. First I ruined pumpkin breads trying to also drag in the Christmas tree from the garage...not paying attention...didn't bake them long enough.
Then, while trying to string lights and make pecan pies, I quadrupled the butter. Not good. I am learning all over again the need to be present and focused.
Thank goodness, I was present and focused last year, which helped my harried self this.

~kiss~
I ordinarily decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. I thought, especially if I started a day or two early, that I might get it all accomplished. Nope. Not going to be any faster or done in a day or two after all. Seems as if I should keep things simpler this year. Though I seem to need Christmas light therapy, I don't need chaos and clutter. There's just too much going on here with all the sorting, etc., that is ongoing. 
Last year, there were no outside Christmas lights here at my little haven. It was a first, but we made the choice and went with it. Didn't like it at all. I think it's important to enter into the joy of the season and provide a little cheer for neighbors. Sam helped me change that. The lights were unimpressive strung simply along the top of the fence so I decided to gather branches and light them. 

That was fun. They are red, green, and white lights and, if I could, I'd take a good pic of them after dark. I can't. They shouldn't add too much to the electric bill.

Did I say that I was planning to keep things simple? Silly me!

~hot chocolate center~

Let me know how it is going at your place! Have a good week...
 

Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving week stretches before us so soon. I read recently that though Thanksgiving is official by decree, it really is a matter of the heart that should not/can not be limited to a Thursday in November. 

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. ~Edward Sandford Martin

What is it about the season (as much as I may wish that we'd be more sensible like our Canadian cousins) that evokes these powerful memories of family, hearth, and home? 

Families are more likely to travel to be together at Thanksgiving, moreso than even Christmas. Perhaps it is the memory of traveling...watching the farmhouses and all those autumnal scenes slip past mile after mile. The anticipation of being with cousins, aunts and uncles, siblings, parents, and grandparents was enough to make a child giddy for days. 
It certainly is also the memory of preparing and planning and getting the house ready for welcoming guests. And what about the smell of turkey baking for hours, fresh Parker House rolls, and all those other savory delights reserved for such holiday meals? Oh and there must definitely be red stuff on the table.

(I once made the mistake of serving John a chicken dinner without his favorite dish. He surveyed the table finally asking gently [and somewhat sadly], "What? No red stuff?" That was his term for cranberry jelly right out of the can.) 
This year, things are different. I will be joining my son and family at his home for Thanksgiving, though Wednesday, I will be doing some baking here in my little haven where it will be warm and cozy. Sometimes, I am tempted to feel bereft, but having found so many of John's messages written down in journals and Bibles, I am also rejoicing.

This week will be one of praise and thanksgiving to God for safely bringing us along. There is always so very much for which to be grateful.

Many blessings to you and those with whom you will gather this week. 

Stand-by...Technical Difficulties

Thought that I would check in while I can. I have heard from a few about how emails have been bouncing back. My main PC is on the fritz and my iPhone was too full as well as the iPad. Apparently, I am a hoarder and I have never known how to permanently delete emails on the iPhone and iPad. I do now.☺ Good thing that all my teachers were here for Thanksgiving. Oh and the DVD player kicked it, too. It's been an interesting week. Into every life some technical difficulties must fall.

These are my two photos for Thanksgiving 2015. Pretty pitiful...dishes at the ready and a highly stylized tea cup having arrived from the Homestead in the last transport. The relish tray beneath the cup has been passed on to Michelle as my son and she have inherited the vintage Fiesta ware and the tray complements it so well.
My daughter Laurel has allowed me to borrow her lap top, which is quite the learning curve. Still, I will be able to stay in touch from time to time. I will continue to visit using the iPad.
An hour later and I'm coming in for a landing...finally! 
A good weekend and Happy Christmas decorating!