"....There has been a lot of blogging and commenting concerning Thanksgiving Day, and how we in the USA celebrate it. If you missed all that, a brief recap is this:
"1) Most people who know anything about the USA seem to believe that each family gathers all of the generations together for a huge turkey/dressing (stuffing)/gravy/sweet potato/green bean casserole/hot rolls/cranberry sauce/pumpkin pie feast. The table groans, the people join hands and expound upon the things for which each is thankful, say a prayer of thanksgiving, and dig in while the table groans under the weight. Then, the men stagger (under the heavy load in their stomachs) to the 69" TV to watch 4 football games, simultaneously, while the little ladies clean up and fetch beers.
"2) My family wasn't like that. While growing up, I do not recall ever having a huge Thanksgiving Day feast. I do not recall ever, in those days, eating turkey at a relative's house (including ours). No one in our family had TV, let alone cared about football (now, baseball was another thing!) No one in our family drank beer--at least, not as long as the kids were around. My dad washed a lot more dishes than mom did. He said it got his hands clean--hands that got grimy in his work as a journeyman electrician.
"3) Our elder daughter, Dudette, is the "traditionalist" in our family. She does, indeed, put on a turkey feast--at some time during the Thanksgiving weekend. Her menu is, generally, turkey/dressing/gravy/crescent rolls (from a recipe developed by Hunky Husband's mother and given to me as a gift) and butter/canned, jelled cranberry sauce (Hunky Husband's preference)/green bean casserole (she's way ahead of me on this one as I don't know of anyone else in the family who has made this--perhaps it comes from Wichi Dude's family?)/olives/pecan pie/chocolate mousse pie.
"Having the history out of the way, now, I can tell you that we performed 3) last Saturday. As always, we had a grand time. No one ate huge quantities, so there was no staggering. The TV set wasn't turned on during the 4 or 5 hours that we were there. Everyone took part in the conversations that wound around about 372 topics.
....
Except that we were able to observe Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day, this year, the above write-up from What's Keeping Us Busy? on 28 Nov 2006 applies to 2008, as well; although, I should insert a couple of omissions. Dudette always has a wonderful plate of fresh veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, green pepper, carrots, grape tomatoes) and dips to keep our stomachs quiet while we inhale the fragrances of the meal acooking, and she always has black olives at table with the meal. This year, she added snack crackers to the preprandial goodies. We had a lovely time, as always, and HH and I are ever-so thankful for our family. Present for the festivities were the hosting couple, Dudette & WichiDude, of course, Wonderful GrandDaughter & Chew, and Hunky Husband & me. (It is difficult to stretch a table clear up into New Hampshire, enabling the inclusion of Bogie & her Wonderful Spouse, sad to say.)
I hope that each of you had/is having an equally pleasant time--or as pleasant as is possible, under your circumstances.
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