The Parade Before Thanksgiving

Before Thanksgiving Day, before the turkey goes in the oven, and someone tries to do fancy napkin folds, there is another parade... and it lasts from dawn to well past bedtime! It's a favorite of mine. Yesterday was a long and full parade... we hit a favorite market for all of the how-did-we-forget-that ingredients, plus something for breakfast. Maria wanted to choose one special tomato to add to her ratatouille... she's aching to serve us her latest favorite dish. The crowds were not quite amassed, yet, and it was a fun stop to make, what with all the flowers, and happy shoppers. Later, William, Alex, and I made three more stops: Trader Joe's for this and that. We were met with the sight of more poinsettias, and loads of evergreens, and two dogs. I joked that it would be great if we could get our Christmas wreath, some garlands, and a pug! The next visit was to Michaels for snow making supplies! {More on this, soon.} Our last stop was at the building center, for canvas, because the Viking tent is going to get door flaps! That was a fun stop, too... trees are in the lot, and well, we just never get bored in a building center!

Back home there was apple peeling, coring, slicing and spicing going on. There are so many gorgeous pies, Delia, William, and Alex could open a bakery! Maria helped me with slicing oranges and limes for the cranberry relish I love so much... it's Martha's recipe. {Should I share it? Maybe no one even wants to look at another recipe for a while!} I got the turkey prepped, and a stock going for the dressing. Oh! The mac and cheese... that's the IronMan Pasta I used to make. William asked me to teach him. It's extra creamy with steamed cauliflower that we puree with Italian seasonings and fresh garlic. William topped it with the crumbs from the sourdough croutons he'd just finished baking. That's going to be delicious! By the time Geoff got home, we were ready for the Thai dinner he brought with him, then we jumped right back into cooking and preparing, including setting up the sewing machine for those tent flaps, and assembling desks for the boy's room.

I enjoyed stealing peeks at FB, seeing friends' posts, reading about their plans, and observations. Sure, it would be even nicer if we could all visit and see each other face to face, but there are limits. So, thank goodness for our phones and Internet... I was in Wisconsin, and Mexico City, I was down the street, and across town, all over California, up to Oregon! It's a good holiday, Thanksgiving. It makes me feel warm, sentimental, nostalgic. It brings fond memories, and fosters brand new ones... sharing time in the kitchen, around the home, everyone contributing, creating, learning, sharing. There is something for everyone. Thank goodness for Max being around to unload dishes, take out trash, make more orange juice. And Paul and Janece are joining us today, and I know they've been busy. Yes, it's all about food, but it isn't... The food is grand, and filling, but I think Thanksgiving is about sharing the process, being together to create special memories, having a common purpose and goal, then reflecting on our thankfulness... for each other, for comforts, for surviving, thriving, for funny videos on the Internet, for safe arrivals, and all the very many good things we are blessed to enjoy.