Good morning all! On this dreary day before Thanksgiving, I would like to take just a minute and say how thankful I am. For Blessing after Blessing, For my husband, home, animals, job, friends, and that includes all of you, and just waking up every morning able to live my life in freedom and safety. Jami stopped over this morning for a few minutes and just that brief visit made my day a whole lot brighter. Shes my sunshine in the clouds. Some have asked how we have managed to stay friends for 30 years, and its all about the love! Total kindred spirits. I received a beautiful card yesterday from the woman I got Cayenne from. She thanked me and called me a Blessing. That made me feel so good that I was able to make a fellow being happy. I am not really a people person, but I strive daily to be kind and give the world a reason to smile back. This little blog of mine is probably the only real reaching out I do. I keep to myself for the most part. I was told journaling is healthy and I have books and books of it. Now I share my thoughts with you and hope it makes you smile. You have shared quite a bit with me, good and bad and I am thankful for that as well. I now have 2 beautiful pumpkin pies ready to go for tomorrow, I cant wait to tuck in to all that wonderful food so lovingly prepared by my very awesome mother in law. Shes making my favorite stuffing just for me. Mable is one of the best cooks I know. Shes right up there with Grammy and dare I say, myself. I have managed to get a couple recipes from her and made them for years. Especially the stuffing. I love the corn pudding too. I have Aunt Margarets Red Velvet cake recipe too. My husbands family is Mennonite and the incredible feasts they lay out are really unbelievable. Ken grew up as 1 of 5 kids, Mable is 1 of 13. They know how to cook for a crowd. My family is from New England and the feast included turkey and mashed potato filling and sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Thats as far as the similarities go. Pennsylvania Dutch cooking is quite different. Ive adapted. I dont like dried corn, it doesnt pass the eyeball test, or chow chow, its the vinegar, or succotash, its the lima beans, thats about the only things I wont eat. All the rest, bring it on! Theres always so much variety I dont get to eat everything, but there is always so much to like, I get my fill. I like putting my cranberry sauce next to my stuffing and turkey and covering the whole thing with gravy. I am now salivating in anticipation. I am going to have to stay busy today so as not to think about the pounds I will gain tomorrow! Ill have to come home and sleep it off. Well run to WAWA to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and grab coffee first thing. We have made it a tradition to wish a happy holiday, and give a sincere thank you to the C- store employees for working on a holiday and taking time away from their families to take care of us. One girl was so surprised at being thanked she looked dumb struck. Thats actually a shame that no one else could be bothered to say two such small words. This country has forgotten how to love thy neighbor. We have become a very cynical and selfish society. If you need to stop for gas or that last minute forgotten must have, please take a second to say thank you to those who have to work. It wont hurt you, and it might make someones day a little brighter for the recognition of their sacrifice. And make no mistake, it is a sacrifice to leave your loved ones on a holiday to go deal with strangers who dont really care theyre there and take them for granted. Looking forward to the Macys parade in the morning. I love that parade and there were so many years when I wanted to sit down and watch it but was too busy with making the feast to do so. 25 years! Ive done my service to the good of my family. My family is all gone now, so Im off the hook so to speak. Now I gladly let the cooking up to someone else. It means I get to watch the parade finally! Ken and I tell each other stories about holidays when we were kids too. With his family being so large, I cant imagine that many people in one house. Its still very large today. I love the memories of holidays at Grammys. When my cousins would come down from Connecticut it was wonderful. But we were a relatively small family compared to Kens. It took me forever to remember all the names with his family in the beginning. At family reunions, forget about it, way too many people I dont know. Its a truly amazing thing that they know who I am though. I recognize faces but there are so many I get lost. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Eve, Bright Blessings!
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 15:53:07 +0000