Today is Black Friday and typically a very slow day for browsing and reading blogs on your computer…but I hope before you dash out for your “bargains” you’ll take just a moment to check in with me…
I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving Day was as wonderful as ours was! We had Sara and her mom and dad over, along with my mom and our son, Kristoffer. I spent 11 hours in the kitchen Wednesday, making as much of the food as I could ahead of time. Then on Thanksgiving morning, I still had to peel potatoes and get my turkey in the oven. It’s funny how you spend 12+ hours preparing the food and it takes about 12 minutes to eat it all up! Well, not ALL up… we have plenty of leftovers…
Needless to say, there wasn’t a moment to step foot in my sewing room today…(or even the last few days) although I did get something in the mail from one of my subscribers… Jennifer sent me SIX yards of this tiny Christmas fabric! Thank you!!! It has gold outlined (gilded) sections on part of the poinsettia flowers.
So I did have to go put it in my sewing room… Patsy scurried off the dolly shelf and snuggled herself inside the Christmas fabric. I had to remind her that she’s already had her Christmas dress and she’ll have to wait until next year!
As I went in my sewing room, I saw Nyssa, laying down in her silver and turquoise dress…I think she’s given up on me and thinks she gets to keep this dress, Eden is still standing in her plaid dress, waiting for her hat and socks, and Ten Ping finally sat down waiting for me to finish her dress set. I’m hoping to stay home on Black Friday and call it Sew Friday! Rebecca is still gone, George has to work, I have dinner in the frig!, the house is cleaned up, the dishes are all done, so I can SEW as much as I want… I hope!!!
I just wanted to share a few pictures of our Thanksgiving Day with you… We had Sara and her mom and dad over last year and it’s amazing how much more Edgar was able to understand this year. Last year he barely knew any English and I’m sure it was hard… but this Thanksgiving he was chiming right in with his talking…
Yes, this is my table…pretty but not too fancy… don’t look at my floors… we are still on plywood floors…maybe someday I’ll have flooring…
I put all our dishes on a table in the kitchen… we had everything imaginable…
Here was a typical plate… if you are someone who doesn’t like their foods touching each other, you’d have been out of luck today!
Here’s one picture of Sara and her mom and dad and my son, Kristoffer and my mom.
…and another group picture… not the greatest…but we were ready to eat not pose for pictures…
When Sara first came into our house, she handed me this envelope and said she’d made something for us…
Inside we found 2 bookmarks…
…a sewing picture for me…I mean… a “stand up” sewing picture… it had a little leg on the back to hold it up like a picture frame has.
…a picture for George…
…and something else… this card…
…and when opened up… look at this little beak on her turkey… it’s the cutest thing…
I’m not sure you can tell, but it’s 3-D!
I gave them 3 pie plates and told them to pick out what they liked the best to take home… they did…Sara made a beeline for the corn casserole…but I told her I had already made one just for them!
We had lots of hugs and Spanish smooches and joked about next year…same time, same place, same people, same food! Our day was lovely and I hope yours was too!
Okay, now you can go shopping!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, Jeanne, what in interesting blog today, and I’m not talking about dolls! So sweet of Jennifer to send you that darling fabric! If anyone can decide what to do with it, it’s you!
I loved seeing the table, how lovely the set-up was, but most of all, the happy faces gathered around it! It’s nice to be able to match faces with names! My jaw almost dropped to the floor when I saw that jar of the pickle relish from the recipe I gave you this summer! Well, I’m glad you liked it enough to include it with your Thanksgiving meal!
Our Thanksgiving meal was just the two of us, but not without a surprise—a big one too! When we got to Jennifer’s house, who was there, but our son and oldest grandson, Jonathan, all the way from Colorado! They had to go through some nasty weather too, but got here safe and sound. We had a ball, and made—-apple turkeys! He will be here a few days before making the trip back but we were so happy and thankful we got to see them.
HI Linda,
I wish we had gotten some better pictures, but they were all sort of fuzzy and some didn’t have “good” faces on everyone… the one picture of my hubby looks like he’s in a daze… just a bad shot of him….
Yes, I had to make those pickles… they are so good and SO easy!
It was very nice sharing our Thanksgiving with Sara’s family. We had so much fun visiting with them and sharing stories with one another…
What a really nice surprise you and your hubby got from your son and Jonathan. Make the most of your time together while they are here!
Have a wonderful day today, Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, I forgot to mention about that darling card Sara gave you! As a former art teacher, that was an A++!!!
HI again Linda,
Yes, it was adorable… and her mom said as soon as she got home last night, she started working on another “thank you” project…
Blessings, Jeanne
Sounds like you had a busy, but wonderful day. It was nice to see what Sara’s parents look like. What wonderful gifts she brought you. She is such a special little girl. 🙂
HI Christine,
We did have a wonderful day and I hope yours was wonderful too! We didn’t do anything special but just sat around telling stories and learning more about their lives back in Columbia, South America.
Sara is a very special little girl and now she’s learning how to play the saxophone…
Thanks so much Christine,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
What a wonderful day you had with family and your guests. Your food table looked scrumptious and your table very nice. Sara’s card’s are just too sweet. What a thoughtful little girl she is.
We had a great time too. We didn’t play one game because of visiting, the guys watching some football games, we girls gabbing and talking ideas for gifts for others.
Our “bean feast” , taco’s with every fixin’ you could imagine went over real well. I cooked a huge amount of taco hamburger, Mexican rice and chopped lots of fixin’s till my hands hurt. My husband is a good chopper and helped. Everyone enjoyed picking and choosing how they wanted their taco’s. We had too many desserts and still have some for the weekend. The meat was done long before Thanksgiving so the buffet was easy and the clean up even easier. So I’ve exposed my meal, definitely not traditional as many have been in the past. Nearly cried as family talked about what they were thankful for.
Have a great sewing day!!! Can’t wait to see Eden’s dress!
HI Paula,
I was just telling my hubby about your Taco Thanksgiving lunch and he said he could go for that… that it would be a lot less work… I say go for whatever works for you!
I’m glad you had a wonderful day with your family…that’s what counts the most!
Blessings, Jeanne
Ok, guess I’m not the only one who likes canned cranberries! Someone is always making the relish kind (don’t like it)! Lovely food, table, friends and family. Sara is so thoughtful and artistic. And the new fabric is lovely. You might have to make twin or triplet outfits with all of that fabric.
We had fun at our table too. I got to eat one handed. Holding our new little sleeping grandson. Remember those days?
And thanks to Paula, tacos for Christmas!
HI Joy,
I LOVE jellied cranberry sauce… just slice it right out of the can and I’m happy… I have a few cranberry salad recipes, but it’s just perfect out of the can as far as I’m concerned.
I DO have plenty of that fabric to make plenty of doll dresses for many years to come!
Awwww…how sweet that you got to hold a new grandson as you ate… ENJOY him while he’s little…as they grow up SO fast!
I liked Paula’s idea too… I might try that for a couples Christmas party… it would be something new and I think everyone would love it!
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
The post and photos made me feel a part of your family celebration as we have come to know you,family and friends over the months of your blog, This brought back memories of dinners years ago,I have a daughter with no food touching needs. Thanksgiving is hard for those with this food restriction.. Divided nice plates are hard to find. You are building wonderful memories for Sara and her family as well as your children. Wonderful you have your mom with you.
HI Jan,
I only wish our pictures had turned out better. If I’m going to share people pictures, they at least should be clear and nice for everyone to see…I’ll have to work on that…
We had lots of chatter at our table and enjoyed having Sara’s family over again this year. We told them if they get a better offer next year, they are free to accept it, but they said they wouldn’t even think of doing that… So we’ll meet again at our table next year I’m sure!
Thanks Jan,
Blessings, Jeanne
Looks like a yummy and traditional Thanksgiving. I love it that you are sharing some of our traditions with Sarah’s family. What do they think of Turkey and stuffing?
My DIL took over Thanksgiving and she set a table that looked like the White House. For a Girl who grew up with a mom who served lunch meat in the deli wrapper and a loaf of bread on the counter for her HS Graduation party…. I am amazed at how wonderful her house and her cooking is….passed me up by far! Beautiful casseroles, dressing, salad in stemmed glasses…it was heavenly. We know exactly what we are thankful for…a wonderful wife for our son !
Hope your sew Friday goes well…I must do that too!
HI Kathie,
They LOVE turkey and they really like Kristoffer’s stuffing too! They brought Columbian style potatoes…
It sounds like your table and all the decorations were just gorgeous… did you take any pictures? (I want to see them…)
Blessings, Jeanne
Not too late to share my Thanksgiving story? When we lived in Japan years ago, I had had a complicated appendectomy the week before Thanksgiving, but I wanted to fix the whole nine yards anyway. Why else would I have brought my china and silver all that way? We sat down to dinner and my 14-year-old son said, “Where are the deviled eggs?” For four years we had shared holiday dinners with the family of my son’s best friend whose mother always fixed deviled eggs for hors d’oeuvres. So the eggs boiled while we ate dinner. Of course, he was too full to enjoy them after dinner, but he ate one anyway. I found out what’s most important on holidays: Tradition!
Love putting faces to your family and Sara’s. Wonderful to share our traditions with friends. Thanks for the pictures. The material Jennifer sent is wonderful, too. How kind of her to share. Didn’t see anything remotely like it this year. Thanks again for sharing your Blog with all of us. As one of the readers mentioned, we do feel like we “know” you!
HI Susette,
What a cute story about the deviled eggs. It was missing from our table as our hens have been sort of on strike… and I only had enough for what I needed in my dishes I was preparing… You are right…don’t skip the traditions!
I just wish we had gotten some better pictures around the table… but like I said…we just wanted to eat our food.
I’m glad you shared your Thanksgiving story, Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
I made your corn casserole and it was a hit…thanks for sharing. That recipe turned up on my FB page also, so it’s pretty popular it seems. My son-in-law deep fried our turkey in the yard. Boy was it good. I usually go for the dark meat, but the white meat was my fave this year! My usually delicious gravy was bland this year because there were no pan drippings. Any ideas on that Jeannie? I had to use butter instead. My beloved son is home from the Navy; so my heart was full with daughter Amy, son Brad, and son-in-law Chey…and a few others! I love your blogs…you share so much of your nice family and that is nice. I still look at your “messy” sewing room, and the after decluttering pics. Mine is looking a little better. I’ve sold some doll dresses and am busily sewing snaps on them so they can be shipped. I had to wait a long time for “Gracie” to come, so made lots of dresses and dollies but wanted to hold off on the snaps. I can’t seem to find any larger ones at Joanne’s or Walmart for some reason so I am using smaller ones…will order some larger ones on line. Only thing I don’t like doing is sewing the darn things on! Enjoyed your blog today…and I know your dolls are happy about their new frocks!
Hi Suzanne,
So glad the corn casserole was liked at your dinner table. We just had some for leftovers tonight.
I don’t know anything about deep fried turkeys and only make my gravy from drippings…so I’m no help…
Have you seen my tutorial on sewing on snaps? It might help you out…
I am still working on my other half of my sewing room but need to sew Christmas dresses worse than having a straightened up sewing room…I will get it done eventually.
Thanks Suzanne,
Blessings, Jeanne