Giving Thanks II

Song - Thanksgiving Song by Adam Sandler 

 

 

Most of these last few weeks were spent on Thanksgiving preparation.  I bought all of the non-perishables last week and polished the silver.  Mr. B went shopping Tuesday for perishables while I cleaned house and began setting the table.

The silverware still needs to be added as well as a few loose ends - salt & pepper & butter!

The only thing not cooperating is our tree....

 Our October Glory was amazing about a week ago when this photo was taken but unfortunately all the leaves will be gone by Turkey Day. Our family and friends like to pose every year in front of this tree for photos.

Andy & Ashley

Farmer B.

June, Andy & Calvin

My mom and dad

Jon's dog Chewy

The whole gang!

Henry last Thanksgiving

Notice that there were very few leaves on the tree here

Mr. B photo bombing Ashley's photo

I did gather some leaves from several of our trees and ironed them with wax paper to preserve them. I then placed them inside our glass candle holders with flame-less candles. You can see them in the second photo from the top. They look beautiful as the light shines through them.

Love this quote by Gabriel Andreas

Art by Matthew Andreas

Let's Give Them Something to GOBBLE About

 Song - Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie 1967

 

 Welcome to my home for Thanksgiving through the years.....

This is me, my brothers and cousins.  We are at my Grandparents home in Oakland 

celebrating Thanksgiving 1957.

Here we are at our new home on Ponderosa Lane standing in front of the

 old walnut tree, one of many that lined the street.

Thanksgiving 1958.

This will be my first Thanksgiving with out my mom.

She taught several generations how to make her gravy.

It still amazes me how she did the whole meal by herself.  

Never asked anyone to bring anything!

 

Every year we would pose in front of this October Glory Maple tree to take our family portraits.

We will miss all of those who could not join us.

Last year we had 26 and this year we will be 7.

Glad people are taking care of themselves and us!

 

 

Same place same time next year!

Stay safe and know we are Thankful to have you in our lives!

 

 

Giving Thanks

Song - Take Me Home Country Road by Shaney-Lee (7 years old)

Falling leaves

hide the path

so quietly

--John Bailey 

Hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving Day with family and friends.

Where Have You Been?

Song - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan

Where have you been my darling young one?

I'm a bad, bad blogger.....I forgot November and December!

Well I didn't really forget them.  It was more like they bowled me over!!!

 I babysat my son's sweet pup Chewy. What a cutie!

We had 22 guests for Turkey Day!

I completed two commissions and started a new painting.

This was from our Spring trip to Scotland - a piper greeted us in the Highlands near Glencoe.

My mom and I had some downtime at Lake Tahoe.

We had a great cousin's reunion which I did a lot of family tree work for.

David, Timmy & myself

And then Christmas just blew by......

And I was sick the entire time (3 months) with some kind of 

flu-bronchitis-pneumonia-cold-cough thingy! UGGG!

And being stubborn - I never went to the doctors.

Lucky for me, my husband and my boys all cook as well do their loveys, so I had plenty of help.

I hope you will forgive my absence for the last two months.

I'm still here!

As a treat I am going to share two special yummy recipes 

Pumpkin Bread a la Monica

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

1 ½ c. flour

½ tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. pumpkin puree

½ c. vegetable oil (I sometimes use ¼ c. water and ¼ c. oil)

2 eggs, beaten

¼ c. water

¼ tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. allspice

¼ tsp. cloves

½ c. chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, salt, sugar, & baking soda together. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, eggs, water, & spices. Pour into bowl with dry ingredients & mix until all are combined. Stir in the nuts. Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3-in. loaf pan, bake 50-60 minutes until done in the middle. Remove from pan, cool on a rack.

 

Jacque's Delicious Cranberry Honey Butter

 1/4 c. honey
1 c. butter
1/4 - 1/2 c. chopped dried cranberries
& orange zest to taste

Jacque placed the butter in small canning jars with handmade labels. 

“And now let us welcome the New Year —full of things that have never been.”

—RAINER MARIA RILKE

Gobble Gobble

Song -Thanksgiving Theme by Vince Guaraldi Trio

Mr. B and I are busy in the kitchen preparing a Thanksgiving meal for our family.  Mr. B takes on the tough stuff - the turkey (or turkeys), the stuffing and gravy.  I get the side dishes and set the table.  We have guests bring appetizers or desserts.  Luckily all of our boys like to cook just like their dad!

This is a photo of me in front of our Ponderosa house.  That was when Walnut Creek had Walnut trees and California had water!

We were probably getting ready to go to my grandparents home in Oakland where Grandma Sophie cooked for her four daughters (Grandma was Italian and no one else knew how to cookjust like her!), their spouses and the twelve grandchildren - my cousins!

Just wanted to say that I am so very thankful for FAMILY....little do you realize how important it truly is when you are young!

Enjoy your day, the food on your table, the family and friends around you and the love that is there!

“Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal.  It's a way to live.”  ~Attributed to Jacqueline Winspear