“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts

Monday, November 25, 2019

Thankful Thanksgiving

It's that time of year again. The Thanksgiving day celebration is upon us once again. Lot's of feasting and catching up with the relatives over a wonderful meal.



I came across the kids and corn postcard this year and wonder what possessed the artist to paint it. Good for a chuckle though, as corn is a big thing around these parts! 





Thanks again to all you bloggers out there that take the time to visit and comment. 
I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness! 
~ Diane ~







Friday, November 16, 2018

Thanksgiving AKA Turkey Day



Thanks a bunch my blogging friends! Nice to see you here! Here in the states we love our Thanksgiving also known as Turkey Day!


Bay and Lemon Turkey


It used to be that Turkey was served only on Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas and it was a very special occasion while growing up in the 1960's and 1970's.  As a kid seeing that huge bird was awe inspiring and drool worthy!



When I was really young we celebrated at my Grandparents and we alternated years as to which side of the family we would visit.  I do remember it was a spectacular feast. The special side dishes that went along with the turkey were also phenomenal!


The Feast

Our menu consisted of....
Roast Turkey
Stuffing or Dressing
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Sweet Potatoes with the Marshmallows on top
Green Bean casserole
Cranberry Apple Jello Salad or Cranberry Fluff or Cranberry Apple Relish Salad (below)

 

Cranberry Sauce
Dinner Rolls
Relish Plate with olives, baby pickles and carrot and celery sticks; and pickled beets if we were visiting my Dad's parents.
Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream

That was the basic menu, it was long before people started Deep Frying the turkey or brining them or doing whatever the new thing is now!

Now days though we can get turkey all year round and it has lost some of its allure.  But I still love a good roast turkey and the menu hasn't changed too much. The Green Bean casserole is now just steamed green beans (much healthier) but we've made up for that by adding a corn pudding and a scalloped oyster side dish (below) so there has been no reduction in calories!


 

I have fond memories of those olden days when all the families got together and I got to see my cousins and we ate and laughed and played! Now it's pretty much a get together for a bunch of us older folks to solve the worlds latest crisis and eat as much as we want!



How do you celebrate your Thanksgivings? What are your favorite foods? I know some of you are Canadians and have already celebrated, any juicy stories you'd like to share? Whatever you do or did I hope it was fun and that you enjoyed your time with friends or family!

Happy Thanksgiving!
See you in December!
Diane




P.S. some of these photos aren't mine. Click on the image and it should take you to the site.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

A Thankful Heart




Here we are again over half-way through November! As we age time seems to speed up and the days fly by like the leaves in the wind!  We are in a rainy spell here up north and it seems to match the mood I've been in as I reflect on some of the sad events in the past few days.  I won't go into details, you all know what I'm talking about, but let's just say the world needs a very large group hug.

As I was thinking about what I wanted to write today, I decided on finding a few things that I am thankful for and focusing on them this Thanksgiving season.  One thing I am thankful for is my family, not just my closest living relatives, but some of my ancestors from many decades ago that have somehow helped to shape my being today.

One of which is an ancestry that includes a small bit of Native American heritage.  I've never delved much into that side of the family, but there was talk about this relationship to a Native American tribe, but it was covered up for many years and unless someone has DNA testing, it will probably never be solved.  You see, back then the only living relative that knew for sure, was asked about it and did not deny the relationship, but would not give any explanations about how it came about to the relative that was doing a genealogy study.  It's possible even he did not know the full story. So the questions go unanswered.

I see the physical resemblance on my mothers side of the family though, and when I heard about this, it all made sense.  Her beautiful dark hair and somewhat darker complexion was evident, even to me as a young girl. When I started wearing makeup, I noticed that her base makeup was so much darker than mine and I thought that to be a bit curious.  The rest of my genealogy has loads of English, Scottish and a wee bit of Danish thrown in too, so I ended up with a light complexion and dish-water blond hair!  Oh how I wanted lovely wavy dark hair like my mother when I was young! She had dark eye lashes and brows and I always thought how lucky she was to have these pretty features. My mother never knew about her possible Native American connection, she passed away before my cousin started doing the genealogy study.

So, I'm thankful that I know about this bit of past history in my family and even though at this time, I don't know which Native tribe I am linked with, it has given me a different perspective of who I am. The more I've learned about the Native American tribes in this country, the more I admire and respect them for their incredible wisdom.

Here is one example...


"Warriors are not what you think of as warriors. The warrior is not someone who fights, because no one has the right to take another life. The warrior, for us, is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others. His task is to take care of the elderly, the defenseless, those who can not provide for themselves, and above all, the children, the future of humanity."                                                                                                     ~Sitting Bull







On a lighter note here are a few more things I'm Thankful for!


This just in.... Coffee Extends Your Life!!

"In our study, we found people who drank three to five cups of coffee per day had about a 15 percent lower [risk of premature] mortality compared to people who didn't drink coffee," says one of the study authors, nutrition researcher Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health. Decaf drinkers also saw benefits.  (source)



I love my coffee!






Animals, Wildlife and the Beauty of our Natural World....

I love watching the funny chipmunks!




Bees and Flowers... a perfect combination. 
It's like they were made for each other! 
Oh right, they were!










Dot... one of my goofy cats, she teaches us to relax.  While we were cleaning out our garden storage shed, she was using the ropes as a headrest whilst she took a nap!











Look Up!.....   Sugar Maple Leaves and gorgeous blue sky!


                 Look Down!....   

Duck foot prints in the soil! You never know what you may find!










Look through the leaves and see the glimmer of the shining sun!





Do you get up early and watch the sunrise? Maybe sunsets are your thing!
The photo below was taken at sunrise from my 
living room window just this week!







Most of you know I love music.....
it's playing right now... 
I'm very thankful for all of these things.



I'm especially thankful for all of you that stop in and visit! 
 I will be visiting you all very soon! 
~ Diane ~ 


What you are thankful for?



Monday, November 24, 2014

Thank You


Thank You... Two small words that can mean so much. My mother taught me to use those words ... often.  Always when receiving a gift or a compliment and in response to some sort of kindness showed to me.

Except that I'm far from perfect and so I'm sure I have forgotten to say or write it sometimes. I apologize for that, if I have ever forgotten to say thank you I am saying it now. Thank You, I'm sending it out to the universe and beyond to those that are still waiting.












It's one of my pet peeves, people that don't say thank you. I have a whole bunch of relatives that never learned to say thank you. You handed them a Christmas present and nothing. Birthday gifts and cards, graduation gifts... nada ... zip ... nothing. Years later you send them a wedding gift and nothing and then a gift for a baby and still a big old goose egg. I don't send gifts anymore to this bunch of relatives, I send my money to charities. I actually get a thank you from them.

It wasn't their fault really, they were never taught. Their mother never required them to say the phrase, because she never said it herself. I bet her mother never taught her either.






There is an old Danish Proverb that says,
"He who gives to me, teaches me to give."



I have a new proverb and it goes like this,
"She who teaches me to say Thank You, enables me to Be Thankful."






So you're thinking, "Geez, what an old grump.", contrare! It has brought me to one thing I am thankful for. I am thankful that I had a mother that cared enough to force me to do things that might have seemed uncomfortable or of little consequence at the time, but that I now know in my elderish years are vitally important.

My mother has been gone now for almost twenty years and I miss her terribly at the holidays, she truly loved this time of year and showed her love in many ways, but I especially remember the food. As a farm wife she was most skilled as a home cook and baker and her meals were legendary in their small farming community.

The last holiday meal that she prepared was Thanksgiving and I can still travel back there in my mind and see the table set with the fancy china and sterling silver.  We had all the standard foods like turkey, dressing, two kinds of potatoes, green beans, cranberry salad and scalloped oysters too. Of course the dessert  was homemade pumpkin pie! What a feast it was!

I am still Thankful even after all these years. I am Thankful for all of the wonderful memories that I have of my mother and father and my siblings when we were all together.  I celebrate now with my husbands family and it is still wonderful even though it's not the same. However I still am thankful for every moment of joy that life brings.

I hope that wherever you are this year that you are able to enjoy some bit of the holiday whether with a group or on your own, there is always something to be thankful for.

Oh, and dear readers, I want to say "Thank You" for sticking with me all these years and reading all my ramblings. You have always been kind and I really appreciate that. So "Cheers, here's to you!" And Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends here in the good old USA!








               Thankful, Joyful, Peaceful



image source

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Craving Warm



You know that I crave cute stuff, but after this week, I'm craving warm more than anything else. I'm not alone, most of the country is in the deep freeze and it's only November! Why are we having January weather so soon? Oh that's right, it's climate change. We never really thought it would happen, but voila, here it is. We're not debating that here today though, we're just here to warm our frozen fingers and toes.

Gather near my virtual fire and gaze upon these warm and cuddly images.....











Lovely!!




M O S E S - хозяин








Cozy Christmas Pictures - Cozy Decorating Ideas - Country Living











The essence of coziness...yessss!!!





Fall table decor













Cozy Christmas Pictures - Cozy Decorating Ideas - Country Living







Fall Candles





#3 How an autumn day makes me feel - ready to cozy up with a book by the fire..
#winter rachelhannah92: Happy vibes & love ✯☽ | Endless Winter 01





Fall table








November is the month of Thankfulness, and I am truly thankful for my warm friends, family, home and kitties. Thank you all for visiting me today. I hope wherever you are, you're staying warm and cozy!
~~~~ Diane ~~~~







Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The Coming of Snow

Thanksgiving is here and snow is soon to arrive just in time to throw a snag into your travel plans.  Yes, I know, it was just a few months ago that I was ranting about being sick of snow, but I am over that now. I really am thankful, for Snow!






Many of you have already had your first taste of snow and we here in Minnesota ready ourselves for the real snow storm that will inevitably occur sometime soon.

The shovels stand in the corner of the garage accessible when needed. Some sand is ready if we get a bit of ice. My husband and I handle snow the old-fashioned way, with a shovel. No power, just the quite scrape of the snow shovel on the sidewalk. 



It really isn't such a difficult job and I love shoveling at twilight when the air is getting still and the sky is turning from pink to purple. I love that time, when it is so quiet, and I often stop shoveling to rest and just listen to .... the silence.  When all is done, a cup of hot cocoa makes it all so worth it. Looking out at the backyard and seeing the soft snow while cradling a warm cup in my hand is a beautiful feeling. 







I found this lovely poem that gives a sense of this time of year, the end of autumn, right before the snow.....



Variations: II 
 
Green light, from the moon,
Pours over the dark blue trees,
Green light from the autumn moon
Pours on the grass ...
Green light falls on the goblin fountain
Where hesitant lovers meet and pass.

They laugh in the moonlight, touching hands,
They move like leaves on the wind ...
I remember an autumn night like this,
And not so long ago,
When other lovers were blown like leaves,
Before the coming of snow.
  Conrad Aiken

 

I want to say that I am thankful for many other things,
but I am especially thankful for all of the wonderful people who
visit and comment here.

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 1, 2013

The Fields of Gold

One of my favorite colors of Autumn is Gold. Brash orange and fiery red seem to outshine poor gold for most of the season. Mostly, I like the combination of all the colors, but it's the memories of golden fields that I cling to.

Gold always reminds me of my first eighteen years of life living on my parents farm.  We were in a rural area and at least an hours drive to a large city.  The fields were full of golden wheat and russet hued milo. 





The picture above is not mine, but an example of a typical wheat field.  After the wheat was harvested, my father would bale the straw and keep it to use as bedding for the cattle and pigs.  This time of year brings out my nostalgic side remembering the family gatherings at my parents and grandparents homes, now all gone.












My view has changed now and the gold I see from my window is one of the golden and russet leaves on the trees. I love this view and wouldn't trade it for the world.  The remarkable thing about us humans is that we can imagine and when I close my eyes for a moment, I can still see the golden fields of my childhood home.
















As I look towards the blue sky and heaven, I see the golden leaves of our sugar maple trees and I am thankful for the wonderful past I've had and the promise of an even better future once I reach my own "Golden" years.

Welcome November, the month of Thankfulness.  ~~ Diane