Happy Thanksgiving!

This gorgeous, meaningful graphic is by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

From Mr. T and myself, Thanksgiving wishes go out to all of my readers and friends.  May this be a precious day of counting our blessings.  Whether you're part of a family group sitting around a festive, laden table, or if it's just you at a table for one or two in a restaurant, even if you are sitting in a hospital waiting room -- wherever your circumstances find you today, may you find much to thank God for today and every day.  Truly, His mercies are new every morning, and His faithfulness is great!

Thanksgiving Day always seems to bring memories of past Thanksgivings, and along with the memories comes gratitude for the blessings God has showered on us in the past. So to that end I am re-posting memories of my childhood Thanksgivings (and, if you scroll on down, a few memories of more recent ones).

THANKSGIVING AT GRAM’S

It wasn’t a large group that gathered at the farm for Thanksgiving, although ours was a big family. All of Gram’s six children were married, with families of their own, so it was understandable that not everyone could manage to come at the same time. Usually, about eight or ten adults and teenagers were seated around the dining room table, while five or six younger children ate in the kitchen. It was a very big deal when one was considered old enough to eat in the dining room.

Gram’s dining room was a magical place, even on ordinary days. Creamy-smooth painted wainscoting ran halfway up the walls, where it met a pale wallpaper patterned in clear, bright colors. At the far end of the room were dark built-in cupboards that held plates and serving dishes, and a maple sideboard containing the good silver and the table linens. In one wall were two large sunny windows; in the other, one small window which opened -- amazingly! -- into the pantry. No simple pass-through, this was a real window, with glass in it. As a child, I found that window endlessly fascinating, and I always wanted to see it actually being used.

But the most enchanting thing about the dining room was the corner cupboard that held Gram’s pitcher collection. I could stand in front of that glassed-in cupboard for hours and still not see everything. There were animal-shaped pitchers, like an orange-and-black striped tiger and a lifelike moose head. There were brightly painted Toby jugs and other pitchers made to look like people. There were small, shiny copper pitchers. In fact, her collection included almost every kind of pitcher imaginable. The ones that delighted me most were the miniatures. Some were no bigger than my fingernail, and they were beautifully detailed, painted with tiny flowers, rimmed with gold.

On Thanksgiving Day, the dining room assumed an even greater splendor. The table was extended to its full length and spread with a snowy linen cloth. It was set with Gram’s best dishes -- white with a graceful design of trailing green ivy and a crimped "pie crust" rim. The serving dishes were of the same pattern. At each end of the table stood a butter dish and salt and pepper shakers, all of clear glass in a bumpy hobnail design.

(The above is a bread-and-butter plate like those in my grandmother's set.  It is "Ivy" by Harker Pottery Company.  I inherited my grandmother's dishes, but I have so many dishes already that, much as I loved these, I wanted them to go to someone who would appreciate them more.  I knew that my mother had had it in mind to offer these to a niece [my cousin] and so one day I made a tentative phone call.  My cousin was beyond thrilled to have these dishes and I'm sure she is using them for her family's special dinners.  I had no idea how much she loved the ivy dishes, and I am so happy to have them in good hands.)

And the food! Even before the meal was ready, nibbling was encouraged. The sideboard was covered with a tempting array of pretty little dishes, filled with mixed nuts, chocolates, homemade fudge and divinity, and Grammie Wallace’s famous stuffed dates. For those not inclined to nibble on sweets, cheese and crackers were available. My favorite was sage cheese -- an extra sharp Vermont cheddar, with aromatic sage marbled throughout it.

Even with all the snacking, everyone managed to do the Thanksgiving dinner full justice. In fact, the only sounds during the meal were the clink of forks against china, and the occasional murmur of conversation. Gram prepared and served all the food herself, and never sat down until everything was on the table.

There was turkey, of course, with mounds of moist bread stuffing, redolent of Bell’s Seasoning, and Gram’s incomparable dark brown gravy. There were vegetables -- white, fluffy mashed potatoes, well-peppered golden winter squash, boiled onions, and tender green peas. There was cranberry sauce, both the jellied and the whole-berry types, both referred to by Gram as “cranberry jelly”, and often there was cranberry-orange relish as well. Always, there was a huge tossed salad with Gram’s favorite, Wish-Bone Italian dressing. There were home-baked rolls that exuded a marvelous, yeasty aroma. And sometimes, in keeping with Gram’s love affair with convenience foods (understand this is a lady who once cooked in lumber camps, and you’ll know why!) there were Pillsbury butterflake rolls! What fun it was to pull them apart and eat them layer by layer -- at least, it was fun unless my dad happened to notice, at which time I would be scolded for playing with my food. (There were some benefits to being relegated to the little kids’ table in the kitchen!)

After all this, the desserts were a bit of an anticlimax: apple, custard, and pumpkin pies, and hot, sweet Indian pudding that never tasted quite as wonderful as it smelled.

Even after consuming all that food, most of us were not uncomfortably full. (My cousin Kevin was the exception. He invariably ended up on the living room couch clutching his stomach.) And, as everyone rallied around to clear the table and help with the dishes, there seemed to be a spirit of family closeness and good will that was rarely felt at any other time. Maybe -- just maybe -- the magic of Thanksgiving at Gram’s worked on grownups just as well as it did on children! 

Memories of past Thanksgivings always include thoughts of the days when we hosted Mr. T's large family here, with 20 to 30 people attending.  We borrowed folding chairs and tables from our church and set them up in the living room, and served the food buffet-style in the dining room.  People were quite literally everywhere, and there was so much food that we had to keep the pies on the porch until dessert time.  After the main meal was finished, we packaged up the leftovers, washed the dishes,  and cleared off the table neatly and then, weather permitting, we all took a walk, usually a couple of miles.  (This always reminded Mr. T and his siblings of their childhood Thanksgivings, when they would run laps around the house [outdoors] and jump in the haymow to make room for pie.)

After we got back from our walk, we would reload the table with desserts so people could help themselves.  Someone always brought games along, and some folks would play games while waiting for dessert.  Jenga was always a favorite!  After dessert, usually more games before folks packed up to head home.

Then the real damage control would begin as we cleaned and folded up the tables and chairs, gathered cups from window sills and other horizontal surfaces, and vacuumed the floors, which had taken a beating.  Many years, our own family would then head over to our friends' home for an evening of pie and games.  It was a relaxing time after the busyness of the day!

I could go on and on with nostalgia -- the Thanksgiving break when my daughter's dear friend Emily was with us; the time when we all tramped through our back woods to collect greenery for Christmas wreaths, the year we made the gingerbread house -- but I will stop for now.  Maybe next year!