Cooking! I am having either 10 or 12 people, not sure as of this minute. This is my favorite holiday!

May your stuffing be tasty. May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious. May your pies take the prize.
May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs.

MAY YOU ALL HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

We are just about to hit the road to sunny Gulf Coast Florida....we live in a non coastal part of the state....to be with family. We usually go to the beach, have a family outing and generally have a relaxed time. Florida is all about chilling out and being laid back which we usually are!! I will write more about Christmas but the beach is calling my name and I have to run.....High of 82 today!!!! But we will be glued to as much of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as the kids will tolerate (I think they will be yelling.....beach, Mommy, beach!) ...Blessings to all on this board,
may your holidays be joyful and full of family and friends,
K

-- Edited by koko3 at 17:29, 2007-11-21

-- Edited by koko3 at 17:30, 2007-11-21

Usually we make a decision between having Thanksgiving here with just the five of us (sometimes with an extra person) or trekking down to Maryland to have Thanksgiving with my late father's family. This year we're staying in NJ. My younger brother will be having Thanksgiving with his girlfriend's family so it'll be a quieter day since he's the comedian of the family. I think my mom is inviting this guy she's been seeing but I haven't heard a final yes or no on if he's coming.  We're also waiting for a yes or no from my brother on whether his ex gf will be joining us.  The strike has put her out of work for the time being so my mom asked if he wanted to bring her.

I just finished setting the table and when I went back into the dining room I found this.  I wonder if she's ready for some Turkey.



-- Edited by Eris at 22:07, 2007-11-21

It's gonna be a very different Thanksgiving for my family this year, following the death of my paternal grandfather 2 weeks ago today.

Like every year, my father and I will be attending the parade (a tradition we started longer ago than my memory holds out). We've have a nice little spot for ourselves - inside the bay window of a Citibank in the upper '50s. Everyone looks at us like we're crazy - until they realize they can come in, as well. It's an incredibly funy experience.

After that, it's off to my mother's mother - for our delictable Boston Market Thanksgiving (nobody felt like cooking!!), though I doubt my father will be joining us, since it's the beginning of what an acquaintance of mine calls "The Year of Firsts." Still too raw to attend a family function.


Jane - that's exactly what I'd expect my Christmas gathering would be like had I not been born Jewish! The moment you said "player piano" I immediately thought of A Charlie Brown Christmas. It sounds like such a fun and delightful gathering you have each year.

By the way - my Christmastime tradition is just walking around and looking in the store windows, at the various skating rinks, and watching my favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story, on continuous loop on TBS.

That and listening to the endless Christmas music on the local radio stations. My holiday season isn't complete without that great instrumental version of "Sleigh Ride."

Sunshine, sunbathing, swimming, golf, turkey breast!

MrE, sorry about your grandather. That's nice that they did a tribute to him on TV! Was he famous??

Sorry Mr. E to hear about your grandfather but glad that you also got to pay tribute to him today.

SingingDoc- you mentioned Charleston. We were there this summer and spent a week in Edisto Beach. We had a really nice time there, just relaxing and beaching it every day. It's a nice place for a vacation.

Eris, love the cat! Mine thought the table was her bed until I finally put an end to it. Now she sleeps on the couch behind my head!

Thanksgiving on the west coast was beautiful, in the 60's and sunny. We watched the Macy's parade and then joined the family for dinner. I have five siblings and families so it makes for a fun time. Tonight is cold, even though it doesn't snow you can still feel the winter coming.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and good thoughts that our favorite actors will be back to work next week!

liz,
Glad you enjoyed the Charleston area. We've lived here now for the last 15 years and have grown to love it (that's something for a "Damn Yankee" like myself). Not only is it a great summer resort destination but it has wonderful history, culture and architecture. For you broadway fans (and who on this board isn't), Charleston has its famous rainbow row, supposedly where "Porgy and Bess" takes place. Finally, Conde Neste has judged Charleston to be one of the five best cities for restaurants in the country (yes, I have to admit New York is #1).
Despite all its pluses, I'm envious of the Christmas settings described by Jane up in Minnesota. We lived 14 years in the Midwest and some of our fondest memories involve Christmases spent there (very Currier and Ives-like). Christmas just doesn't seem the same in Charleston. To be honest, I've seen one 1-Inch snow storm since we've moved here. Hot apple cider just doesn't seem to cut it when the temperature is in the 60's. Oh well, I guess you can't have everything. I'll just have to vicariously experience the old-fahion Christmases descibed by many of you on this board.

 Mr. E I want to extend my sincere condolences on the death of your grandfather. Losing a loved one during a holiday can make it a very difficult time.
I haven't been on these boards for a few days because I was with my family for Thanksgiving. But we have a few traditions. I go the day before to help my mom prepare the meal. Then the next morning she gets up early to put in the turkey so the house is filled with wonderful smells when I get up. She puts the finishing touches on the meal while I peel potatoes for of course mashed potatoes. Then we kind of watch the Macy's parade while we wait for everyone to arrive. My mom stands in the kitchen fretting over whether or not she's made enough food after preparing roast turkey, mashed and sweet potatoes,green bean cassarole,apple salad, cranberry salad, homemade yeast rolls, veggie tray, homemade noodles and pumpkin pie. We sit down and eat and chat and sometimes if we haven't overindulged too much we play some games. Then we sit and chat some more, it's a time to catch up on what we've all been doing. Then before everyone leaves we eat a second time and my mom tries to pack up food to send home. Oh and I forgot to mention that my niece who is ten, my nephew who is twelve and my six year old nephew decorated the Christmas tree and my mom snapped pictures of them doing it. My brother got out a camera and was going around the room taking pictures of everyone saying "Give me love." My oldest niece and her husband stopped by to visit for awhile and we enjoyed going to her apartment to see pictures from their wedding. All in all it was a wonderful day. It didn't end so well for my brother though. He fell down the back outside stairs at his house and broke three vertebrae. But thank the Lord there is no paralysis and he did not have to have surgery. He is coming home today. The doctor actually said he didn't want him sitting a lot he wants him moving around. I guess though the vertebrae are broken they are not out of place. I am grateful that it wasn't any worse than that! That's my thanksgiving in a nutshell.

With the death of my father-in-law last Monday and service on Wednesday, this is the first I've seen this thread. What a fine idea, MrE...especially amidst your own grief. My 86-year-old father-in-law died nine months and two days after my 85-year-old mother-in-law. They'd been married 63 years...and flirted with one another until the end. Certainly one of the blessings of my life is to be married to a man who grew up with that model of a marriage. This is my second marriage, and we're celebrating our fifth anniversay on Nov. 30.
We were barely home from the service (an hour's drive away) last Wednesday when my four adult kids began arriving from various Ohio cities. It felt so good to have the house filled with love and laughter.