I have so many blessings and so many things to be thankful for, like most of you that read my blog.... family, friends, good health, a nice place to live. Good food and music surround me. Life is good.
One more Hope Floats quote, "my cup runneth over"!!
Its been a very lovely Thanksgiving here in Broomeville. Gerry had a brilliant idea for us to have Thanksgiving dinner here on Wednesday. We usually host his family on Thanksgiving day, but this year his brother did the hosting and was "keeping it simple". This meant no traditional Thanksgiving foods for us, no frig stuffed with leftovers, no turkey coma, travel for four hours.....
So the Wednesday idea was perfect. I cooked all day, healthy food, used some Weight Watchers recipes, tried in vain to stick to my points (which I did until we cut the pecan pie). Wesley got home early, just in time for a few snowflakes to fall. I got out my old oil lamps and lit candles, and the world was a cozy place. The house smelled wonderful, we were warm, the lamplight was soft and glowing, and we had a long peaceful dinner, catching up with school stuff and telling stories. I was so relaxed, not stressed about having fifteen people in my house and getting it all right. Just us three, sitting in the warm glow of my great grandmother's lantern...... sigh.....
I thought about my ancestors as we ate. Did my grandmother sit by this very lamp at night doing her school work, did her mother light this lamp at night and eat by it just as we were doing? I am so thankful to have these pieces of my past to hold on to and to remember.....
I'm also so very thankful to have this sweet child in my life. She brings absolute joy with her when she walks through the door!
Here is my version of Thanksgiving turkey. Wesley has been a vegetarian since conception. As soon as I got pregnant with her, meat became a problem for me. She has never eaten meat, and going places for the holidays can be problematic since most people's meals center around some sort of meat product. This is what I brought along to the family hoedown. In my WW meeting last week, a photo of this veggie tray got passed around and we all agreed to do one. It's so funny, but healthy!
When we first found out we were doing Thanksgiving at Gerry's brother's house, I balked a bit. The main reason I do it here is because I live with the two pickiest eaters on the planet. When we do family gatherings somewhere else, I usually end up bringing a trunk full of food for them. Plus, I am doing Weight Watchers, and that can be a problem too. However, this turned out to be a really good meal. Brother and wife obviously worked very hard putting the day together. Their house was lovely, warm and festive, the food was healthy and good. There was salad and veggies and plenty for us all. The best part was I just showed up with my veggie turkey and ate, no dishes to deal with, no stress, just a nice time with family.
Wesley got out her keyboard when she got home, and music is creeping back into her busy film life. Wednesday night after a wonderful dinner, she went down to Franklin St. to jam with some of her old band mates at a local bar. I absolutely love that she did this. Reuniting with her music friends, food for the soul!
Even after going a bit overboard with food for two days, I can still fit into jeans I haven't worn in a very long time! I was very careful to eat mostly veggies that were in salad form or lightly steamed. There might have been some excess on the gravy, I love savory way more than sweets. I stuck with my WW leaders suggestion to have three bites of a dessert, one bite for taste, one bite for texture and one bite just because. It works, that's all I had and all I needed.
My brother in law always brings this hateful thing called "Cherry Yum Yum". It's basically cherry pie filling, whipped cream and graham crackers. It's really basically a diabetic coma just waiting to happen. Last year I ate one half of the serving dish, yes I did. This year I ate three spoonfuls! and I enjoyed every tiny crumb of it! It's a ridiculous dessert and thank goodness it only rolls around once a year!
We got home around 4pm, yesterday, the sky was glowing with the setting sun, and I had to get out there in it. Wesley and I bundled up and went for a long walk. We saw the neighborhood deer family, the crows called to us, and there was peace on Earth, at least here on our little patch of it.
I hope everyone had a lovely day of giving thanks. As one of Wesley's friends so wisely put it on Facebook:
We spend Thanksgiving day giving thanks and then go out the next day and trample each other and pepper spray our fellow humans all for a better price on an electronic device at Walmart. It's a sad reality isn't it?
I am most thankful for the fact that this is not my reality!