I love Thanksgiving. I love all the traditional foods and decorations. I don't wait until Thanksgiving, however, to express my thanks! I am grateful on a daily basis for all that I have in my life. Joe and I had a dear friend years ago who was being taken by cancer. He told us that he would not pray for himself. I understood, but I don't agree! I say prayers of thanksgiving and I also ask that I may continue to to do the things I do ... to share my skills and talents ... to create fun and excitement .. with all - and for all - who care to be a part of my life.
This year we decided to buy a pasture raised turkey from a local farmer. I name everything (yes, even things I'm going to eat), so I named this guy Bob. Turns out that Bobbette was a very tasty lady! If you've never cooked a fresh turkey, they will only take about 2/3s the amount of time frozen/thawed birds will take. They are not injected with anything, so they don't create that horrible 'turkey coma' that we laugh about! I stuffed Bobbette with apples, a lemon and lots of rosemary. I rubbed her skin with olive oil, and a pulverized powder I made with pink peppercorns, dried garlic, dried sage and more rosemary.
I added the colors of purple and yellow to our tablescape this year! I do something a little different every year and decided a pop of yellow would be nice! Some of our side dishes are very traditional. Others have a new spin! I always try to fix a couple things that I know Miss Phoebe will enjoy eating! She's almost 12, but still likes and dislikes certain foods! Something she ate a month ago might not be touched now! Kids!
I found these cute place mats at Pier 1 this fall and knew I wanted them on my Thanksgiving table. I added a little burlap ribbon to the composed centerpiece and put 'burlap' paper in the background of the menu card.
Our place setting is simple Johnson Brothers Royal Majesty with Cambridge turkey flatware. The glasses are Mikasa and Fostoria from the 1970s. Miniature salt and peppers came from Cracker Barrel this season!
The centerpiece is in the center at all, but set up on the end of the table, so there is room for all the food! We always serve Thanksgiving dinner family style!
My pilgrims are Villeroy and Boch and have been in my collection for years. The turkey and the big ceramic pumpkin are Hobby Lobby treasures, but also at least fifteen years old!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I'll be sharing my post with a couple parties, so make sure you click through to see the other posts!
