Five Little Turkeys!

Tonight's blog title isn't referring to the grandchildren, but to their art picture/card that they made for their parents. There is a little saying that I printed out and then Abigail cut and glued it to the top of the picture. It says:
These aren't just any turkeys
As anyone can see.
We made them with our hands
Which are a part of us.
They come with lots of love
Especially to say,
"We hope you have a very
Happy Thanksgiving Day!"
They each drew beaks, feet, etc on their hands and then some drew clouds and flying birds and grass and then of course a couple of little girls had to add a few hearts. After they finished up their picture/card, we went downstairs and I showed them pictures that I had taken at Plimouth (correct spelling for the historical area located in Plymouth, MA) Plantation the two times that I have visited there. We talked a little about the Mayflower and also about the Plantation itself. Then I read them a story book that combines a modern Thanksgiving in Plymouth, MA with the first Thanksgiving. After that they helped me read a Thanksgiving rebus story. Then we sang a couple of Thanksgiving songs that were set to the tune of some familiar songs. When the Thanksgiving lesson was over, Abigail stayed to have her sewing lesson and Graham started on a treasure hunt that Goosey (Woody) had buried and written clues for (an idea Goosy got after Graham's sleepover last week). In the end Graham included Abigail and Joy in the hunt. They finally found it buried in the backyard...a roll of quarters. Graham took the quarters home to check to see if he needed any of them in his quarter collection. He brought the ones back to Goosey that he didn't need in his collection. I think that the plan is for Goosey to add the quarters back in to make up the $10 roll and then get another roll the next time that he goes to the Credit Union.

No walk for Woody today as he has a bit of a sore throat and congestion probably due to allergies...he often has problems at this time of year due to the leaves. I have continued to decorate and have started the cooking for our Friday family Thanksgiving meal. At the moment, I have the bread drying in the oven for our dressing. I have read recently that it is dressing if you don't stuff the turkey and stuffing if you do stuff the turkey with it. So ours is dressing since I cook mine in the crockpot. This year I am not using one of the dried bread crumb mixes as a base...attempting to do it the way my mother did...drying my own bread and making my own crumbs. In the past years I have depended on Pepperidge Farm or Stove Top! No cornbread stuffing form us...again, bread stuffing is the kind that my mother always made...so I continue that tradition. I'm just not a cornbread dressing/stuffing fan. Truthfully I don't think that I had ever heard of cornbread dressing until I moved to TN. I guess tonight I will make our Autumn Salad (a gelatin salad that has dark cherries, whole cranberry sauce, and pineapple in black cherry and raspberry jello), a major favorite of almost all in the family. Tomorrow I will make the pies (pecan and pumpkin). Now when it comes to types of pies, the pecan pie isn't a part of my growing up heritage, as Mother always made mincemeat and pumpkin for Thanksgiving. I started making pecan at Woody's request. One time during his college days, Nathan was visiting AZ at Thanksgiving and his comment to my sister was, "Ya'll don't have any pecan pie?" And, my sister told him that they didn't and that his mother (me) never had pecan pie when she was growing up either! Over the years I have blended the traditional Thanksgiving food that I grew up with (that leaned toward my mother's New England heritage) with family favorites of ours. At Thanksgiving we don't vary the recipes...all tried and true...we have been serving the same dishes made from the same recipes for over 40 years. Now I'm just hoping that our turkeys thaw before Friday! This is the first time in some years that we are using frozen birds rather than fresh ones...so have two birds thawing on the bottom shelf of our refrigerator. Woody heard a suggestion last week to cook two small birds rather than one large one...so that is this year's plan...if and when they thaw!

Christmas decorating is coming along...but still a long way from finished. I will have to get to a point that I say that "enough is enough" till after our Thanksgiving celebration.

Wishing a wonderful day with family and friends to all who read this and are celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow. Remember to count your blessings!