Thanksgiving Aftermath

Mmmmmm...leftovers. This is all that I have left to show for my efforts. As you can see I don't like to invest in glamorous storage containers for food. Two bags of turkey bits, a half-pan of dressing, small bowls of both mashed and sweet
potatoes, one sorry slice of chocolate pie and most of the second pumpkin pie (YES). The first pumpkin pie and the pecan were obliterated pretty much immediately, as were the gravy and Brussels sprouts, go figure.

Well, we've enjoyed the feast, braved the crowds, hit a few Holiday sales and now we've settled down into our traditional Thanksgiving weekend stupor. We've rented dvds, slept late each morning, played lots of computer games, eaten what we want when we want, left dishes waiting to be put away (some are still in the dishwasher),


and let the children leave their stuff all over the dining room table (among other places).



There is, of course, much more evidence I could show you, but I don't think any of us have the time or courage for that. Suffice it to say those pics were the only ones I felt I could share without irreversibly incriminating myself.

Thanksgiving itself was very much a success. No one misbehaved, nothing got burned, dropped or splattered, conversation was easy and laughter was abundant. It was all good. But I think my favorite part was the making of the Appetizer. I decided it would be a character-building experience for the children to be forced to prepare at least one dish for the Thanksgiving feast. They weren't crazy about the idea, but I think they will look back on it someday and be grateful. And as far as slave labor goes, it wasn't bad. They were given everything they needed, all the ingredients, explicit, easy-to-follow instructions, and the careful supervision of a benevolent parent and guide (that would be me, breathing down their necks the entire time).

Here they are, assembling the Orange-Almond Bites appetizer out of Triscuits, Brie, orange marmalade and sliced almonds.


Man-Cub, who is nobody's fool, remained resentful to the end, but Red Headed Snippet decided to go with the flow and enjoy herself.


She even went as far as to sprinkle leftover almonds all over the plate for presentation. Ta-da!

Those bites were yummy.

My contribution to the group effort was taste-testing the Brie.



And The Viking? Well, in between helping me in the kitchen, blowing the leaves down the driveway and running to the store for last-minute items, he managed to accomplish this:



That's right! The coat cupboard is in! It still needs doors and a few finishing touches, but our stuff is contained and corralled! It felt so good to be able to tell the kids, "Hang up your coats," when we came home last night. I told you my husband is a marvel, right? Didn't I tell you?

So, I know that's a lot of pictures to take in at once, but before I go, I'll leave you with one more. I didn't get any pics of the actual feast or the motley crew assembled to partake of it, but I did get this one that I think captures the essence of Thanksgiving just about perfectly:

Little Cindy Lou Who, who is no more than two, sucking down a plate of homemade whipped cream.

Hope your Thanksgiving was just as yummy.