Thanksgiving Eve

Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone. 

I have been so busy today preparing for Thanksgiving that I have not had time to sit down at the computer once until now, and it is almost 8 pm! I did scan over the my blog reading list, and noticed that quite a few of you have posted a Wednesday Hodgepodge that talks about Thanksgiving. I don't usually do the "Hodgepodge Meme",  but I look forward to reading your posts as soon as I can.  Right now I want to try to write a short post, first of all to thank you all for your kind words of sympathy regarding the loss of my dear friend Evelyn. (You can read that post HERE, in case you missed it. )  I truly appreciate all of your comments...you are each a blessing to me.  I honestly was so taken by surprise by the sudden passing of my friend that it literally knocked the wind out of my sails a bit.  However, since this week being Thanksgiving week, I've had plenty to keep me busy and that has been good for me to just stay very active and not sit and feel sad.  I know Evelyn is in heaven, and she is celebrating the best Thanksgiving ever, with the One who has given us all so much for which to be thankful!  

So with that in mind, just what have I been doing the last couple of days?  Well, probably a lot like many of you, especially if you are hosting the Thanksgiving dinner at your house!  Our group will be small in comparison to many that we've had in the past...just our immediate family here and possibly two guests.  I say "possibly", because this is the couple that the wife is going through continued chemotherapy, and she really isn't sure how she will feel tomorrow morning.  I've told them to just let us know in the morning if they are able to come or not...either way is fine and we understand.  Of course I am hoping she will feel good enough to come, but if not that's okay too.  

I finished setting out the Thanksgiving decorations...the "lil' Pilgrim" Salt and Pepper shakers

The guest book is open and ready to be signed...I used to be very diligent about that and made sure our guests always signed the book when they came to our home.  However, over the past couple of years I've been quite negligent about it and so we've missed a few names. I've always enjoyed looking back through the years at those who have visited. It's really special to see their signatures and sometimes even a little personal note saying something sweet. I have saved the guest books from over the years, and I especially loved it when our little grandson signed his name for the first time.  Sweet memories.

The table is set and ready, except for the glasses. You'll notice that I have some different chairs.  I already had the three black chairs, and then our son Benton acquired these other chairs that are the same style but not painted black. There are actually four of them, but he still has one to make some minor repairs on it.  I am trying to decide if I want to paint these black as well so they will match the others. It would be a lot of work to try and strip the paint off of the black chairs. I don't really have any other black furniture, but I had gotten these at a yard sale a few years ago and I liked the chairs. I've always had odd ball chairs and never a full set of matching chairs. But now I'm kind of thinking I like the wood toned chairs better than the black...what do you think? Whatever I decide, it won't be done right away, I can assure you of that. LOL.

The pumpkin pies are baked and waiting to be devoured. Hubby wanted a piece tonight, but I had to tell him "no".  It wouldn't be "proper" to serve a pie on Thanksgiving that already had a piece taken out of it, now would it?  He was just kidding anyway. He already KNEW what the answer would be. LOL.

The sweet potatoes are cooked and tomorrow they will be made into a sweet potato casserole. YUM. Do you like the kind with the streusel/nut topping, or do you prefer marshmallows? I like either one, and sometimes do both. 

That's all for now. Oh, I did make a congealed salad...it's the one my hubby requested with the lime jello, crushed pineapple mixed with cottage cheese, evaporated milk and mayonnaise and chopped nuts, topped with maraschino cherries.  It tastes better than it sounds. My Aunt Marion used to always make this salad for holidays. The lime jello salad is usually for Christmas, but this is what hubby wants, so this is what he gets.   I will also be making a squash casserole in the morning, unless I get too busy and then it will just be plain old squash! LOL. (yellow summer squash).  I may be doing mashed potatoes too, but we'll see. If Scott gets here early enough to peel the potatoes for me, then we will have them. If not, well, gravy goes over the dressing, right? Isn't that enough???  Oh, and of course there will be cranberry sauce and Hawaiian Rolls.  There may be other things too...just depends on my energy level by the time I do all of that.

My sweet DIL  Rose is cooking the turkey and they will bring it over tomorrow. I am making the dressing. Do you call it dressing or stuffing? Probably depends on where you are from. I think it is dressing if cooked outside of the bird, and stuffing if it is cooked inside the bird.  What do you say?

Oh, and Rose is also bringing an apple pie and I think she said deviled eggs if she has time. She had to work all day today, so I'm not sure what she'll feel up to doing tomorrow morning besides the turkey.

The whole point is not the food, even though that is important for the Thanksgiving meal to have certain traditional foods...but the whole point is being Thankful. And to Whom are we thankful?  Some may say they are thankful for the good cooks that prepare the food. Others may be thankful for the family that is gathered around. But the question is, "to WHOM are we thankful?"  Yes, we always thank the cooks and we always are thankful to have our loved ones and friends together, but ultimately it is God Who has provided all of what we have.  None of us are smart enough to create the turkey that becomes the main course of our meal. None of us are creative enough to create the seeds that produce the crops that yield their bounty for our tables. We may be able to grow vegetables and raise turkeys, etc., but it was God who provided these blessings for us.  It is God Who has brought us safely through another year so that we can gather and be together to give thanks.

Maybe we should sing this hymn together that I am sure is familiar to most of us:

1 Come, ye thankful people, come,

raise the song of harvest home;

all is safely gathered in,

ere the winter storms begin.

God our Maker doth provide

for our wants to be supplied;

come to God's own temple, come,

raise the song of harvest home.

2 All the world is God's own field,

fruit as praise to God we yield;

wheat and tares together sown

are to joy or sorrow grown;

first the blade and then the ear,

then the full corn shall appear;

Lord of harvest, grant that we

wholesome grain and pure may be.

3 For the Lord our God shall come,

and shall take the harvest home;

from the field shall in that day

all offenses purge away,

giving angels charge at last

in the fire the tares to cast;

but the fruitful ears to store

in the garner evermore.

4 Even so, Lord, quickly come,

bring thy final harvest home;

gather thou thy people in,

free from sorrow, free from sin,

there, forever purified,

in thy presence to abide;

come, with all thine angels, come,

raise the glorious harvest home.

The main thing is, whatever you do tomorrow, wherever you may be, guest or hostess, or even all alone, let us take some time to express our thanks to God for ALL that He has done for us.  We are truly blessed...even with frailties and sorrows and disappointments, we are still truly blessed if we know we are a child of God. That is the biggest blessing of all.