Anyways, just a quick post today about our Thanksgiving.

I perused the web for a few ideas for a tablescape and it all came together quite effortlessly. I had this beautiful bouquet as my centerpiece and I took it, along with the vase it came in, and set it directly in my vintage kettle, which incidentally I use at our hunting camp each year.

And the rest were things I had on hand. The only thing I purchased this year were the 3 pie pumpkins.

My turkey plates I bought from World Market so many years ago at 80% off. I make sure I use them every year. I love the colors on it.

All in readiness…

It was a smaller gathering this year – only 15 of us but it was still very special. In the past we’ve had activities, dressed as pilgrims and Indians, read poems, sang songs etc. This year we sang a few songs around the table and then we had each one say something they appreciated about the person seated on their left as well as on their right. It was a sweet time.

I am very thankful for our forefathers who first came and settled in America…

…and grateful to live in this wonderful country.

It is so sad to see our country destroying itself but I am still glad that it is my homeland.

We have many things to be thankful for. God has been very good to our family and I’m so glad we were blessed with the opportunity to have both my mom and dad seated around our table this Thanksgiving. They are both 80 years young! Don’t they look so good?

Thanksgiving 2017

I cut a long piece of butcher paper (you can buy a large roll at one of the bulk warehouses) and just painted red x’s and o’s all over it.

A tribute to India at Serenity’s place. (carved elephant she brought home as a souvenir)

For the first time in 27 years of marriage we had rib-eye steak. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ve ever bought any kind of steak before. Ninety-nine per cent of our meat consumption is elk that we have hunted. It was a big treat and as one of the kids said, our meal was cheaper (even with it being an expensive meat) than our family of 7 going to any type of restaurant.

Since I’m not familiar with how to grill meat, I asked my son to do the grilling. His experience? Pretty much nil. He’s has one grilling experience to his credit, but that one time was excellent.

Believe or not the meat was great! lol

Daddy with two of his sweethearts.

Fresh squeezed lemonade with sliced strawberries. Yum!

And these chocolate covered strawberries hand-dipped by Serenity were just the right finishing touch to our meal.

We’ve said goodbye to our oldest son till next week when we arrive in Canada for the wedding. He surprised his valentine, Jessica and flew to Canada this morning. Was she ever surprised to see him when she walked around the corner in her house. It was all caught on video, so I can’t wait to see that!

I won’t say who but several of us, (sniff, sniff) were crying as we said our goodbyes to him. Change can be hard even when it’s a good change.

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We had an amazing holiday with family. Twenty-nine of us were gathered here at the ranch for 5 days. No, my house isn’t a mansion but when you have people willing to be stuck into every nook and cranny, it works. Russell and I spent our time in the laundry room and I had a sister and her husband stay in our new pantry. Headspace at night for them was a little low (they were partially under the bottom shelves) but they had a little heater in there along with a small lamp and it actually looked pretty cozy in there.

The festivities started on the evening of Christmas Eve. We had a soup supper with cheese, crackers, bread and salad.

For my backdrop, I took a large piece of cardboard and covered it with wrapping paper, strung some lights up, and placed some pine branches around on the table.

The ironic thing was… my entire side of the family was there….

…except for 2 of my sons.

Zachary was in the Philippines on a mission trip and my other son had been in Canada doing some commercial ice fishing and stayed over to attend a funeral.

Things certainly change as the children get older and spread their wings.

But my daughter-in-law and my granddaughter, Shalom were here and that was really nice.

Christmas morning’s breakfast was simple fare. I like to keep it that way since it’s going to be a busy day with a big mid afternoon feast. Instead of always serving off the kitchen counter or table, I like to mix up where I serve things.

I have a little table that was handed down from Russell’s grandmother to us and I squeeze everything on there. Our morning spread was from 8:30 – 10:00 and everyone ate at their leisure when they wanted.

Serenity gave me the little chalkboard for Christmas from Hobby Lobby. I just love it!

The family cookbook arrived that I put together and for the 5 days that everyone was here, different ones made some of the recipes they had shared in the book. So for our Christmas breakfast we had two different muffins from the book as well as some delicious granola.

My parents had 3 great-grandchildren born this year so this was the first Christmas for all of them.

My Christmas centerpieces were very simple. Glass containers partially filled with cranberries and sprigs of rosemary. I had 11 of these and set them on a burlap runner, interspersed with small candles down the table. The containers were a little short once the food was placed on the table, so next time I would plan for them to be set on something so they would stand up a little higher.

The place cards were a lot of fun. We strung 3 cranberries together using dental floss (Martha Stewart tip),used a sprig of rosemary, and tied the name card on with a little golden bow.

It was a lovely day. Games, singing and testimonies of God’s faithfulness and care were part of it.

So thankful for family.

One other Christmas post to come this week.

This year (like last year), our oldest won’t be here.

My oldest that has been spending half the year (it feels like) in the Great White North has once again left for a second year with helping some friends in their commercial ice fishing operation. (Click on the links to see some of his past trips – it’s pretty interesting)

Zachary, who was married this past May won’t be with us on Thanksgiving either.

 I may have to adopt the Canadian Thanksgiving just to have my whole family here.  Thanksgiving in October? – that would be a real mental switch.  

So, minus Seth, we had our little Thanksgiving dinner yesterday (Sunday).

The appetizer table before we left for church… later we added

Hot apple cider, crackers and cheese to help stave off the hunger pains.

We celebrated our Thanksgiving with a seafood theme…

on turkey plates no less.

Favor boxes made with my Silhouette Cameo (love that machine!) filled with the tiniest amount of popcorn and a few pieces of candy.  Made by Serenity and crew.

I have so much to be thankful for.

 The song “Great is thy Faithfulness” went on one side of the plate and on the other side was a card that read, “I am thankful for you because” and they were to write about the person sitting next to them, on their right.

Before dinner we sang, “Great is thy Faithfulness”. That song is a favorite with my family.

Our thankful tree right in the middle of our table reminding us to be thankful for the everyday things.

It was a delicious meal.

Our menu…

Baby Spinach Salad – Nourishing Tradition pg. 178

Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze – allrecipes.com

Shrimp Scampi – allrecipes.com

Short Grain Brown Rice, fried

Green Beans with Bacon (loved these. made by my daughter-in-law)

Rolls (delicious! made by my daughter-in-law)

My family, along with my parents and Russell’s parents.

Thursday will be another Thanksgiving celebration with extended family.

It was also Serenity’s 16th birthday!  Our sweet and gentle sweet pea who touches all of our lives with her kindness.

Happy Birthday, my darling!

My thoughtful niece gave me this yellow pitcher at Christmas time.  It’s perfect for my home.

Next to it is the little salt and pepper shaker that my son gave me years ago.

 I had Russell cut me a few branches from a bush that grows near our house for my centerpiece.  Very frugal, eh?

Have a happy week!

Linking up with:

Between Naps on the Porch

Romance on a Dime

Since I didn’t have any Christmassy dishes, I decided to go with a tablescape that had more of a nature look.

I decided to use a toolbox my boys had made when they were little as my centerpiece.  I filled the toolbox with some juniper branches, poked some red material around the base of the branches, added a poinsettia and a bit of cranberry garland.

 I loved how it turned out.

For our Christmas Dinner we had:

Grilled Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary – Delicious!

Spinach Salad w/ Bleu Cheese, Oranges & Nuts – (Nourishing Traditions) This was the same salad we had at Thanksgiving.  I liked it so much that I decided to have it for Christmas, too.

Garlicky Mashed Potato Cakes

Roasted Asparagus

Whole Wheat Rolls

For Dessert:

Pear Cranberry Crumble

Vanilla Ice Cream

and a couple of other pies my dad purchased

How many people were at your Christmas dinner?

I got my Christmas tea set out that my mother gave me several years ago.  She purchased it from Spiegal.  (Are they still around?)

They’re so delicate and have such a bright crisp pattern that I love.

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Tea Time! Hot tea, shortbread, cucumber sandwiches… Mmmm… sounds warming!  The temperature outside right now is 29°F.

Sending you some warm Christmas Cheer.

Linking up with:

Romance on a Dime 

The centerpiece was some dried flowers I had bought for a craft project which has not been completed!

My Scottish plate showing the national flower for Scotland – the thistle.

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you enjoyed your visit!  Visit Between Naps on the Porch for more tablescape inspiration.

The pictures appear to be a little distorted.

Tip:  Always be sure your tablecloth is smoothed out and doesn’t have wrinkles like mine is showing.

 If you have actual wrinkles, take a spray bottle filled with water and spray the wrinkle generously.  It’s a quick little fix that can really help if you’re in a hurry.

To see many other beautiful tablescapes visit Between Naps on the Porch.

Looking for a simple breakfast tablescape?  Then you’re at the right place.  I don’t have a vast collection of dishes to change my table around every week so I like to use what I do have and try to think of new and pleasing ways to present it.

Thanks, Susan for letting me participate even though I don’t have a super fancy table and a huge variety of plates, etc.  I do get inspiration seeing what everyone else is doing.

This particular spring morning, when I set my table, we had a few famlies stop by for a breakfast as they were travelling through. 

One of my favorite tablecloths is one that I made.  I love the colors because it looks so cheerful to me.  Uhhh hmmm, I noticed the spoon is on the wrong side of the plate.  I’ll have to talk to my table setter about that.

Tulips that were brought to a church cook-out and left behind. I was the lucky recipient of these beautiful bulbs.

And a final table shot.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to visit the many beautiful tablescapes you can find at Between Naps on the Porch.