LIVING LIFE

I have been hosting Thanksgiving dinners for about three decades. The past few years we have relied on various restaurants to cook the turkey and a few standard side dishes. It was definitely easier, but I missed the familiar taste of homemade traditional food.

This year I made the decision to do a “real” Thanksgiving dinner. I slowly eased into this idea several weeks ago with the purchase of one giant aluminum roasting pan and a package of bright orange decorative leaves. Candles for the table sounded appealing until I remembered that the last time I used them, one fell over and burned a hole in the tablecloth. Not exactly a Martha Stewart moment. After searching online, I found some wax candles which contain LED lights that flicker like the real thing – minus the smell of burning polyester.

As I write this, a turkey which weighs almost twice as much as our dog is residing in the freezer. Just the sight of this huge bird will probably give our puppy nightmares and keep her away from the kitchen for weeks.

Hopefully, my Thanksgiving cooking skills will be revitalized next week. If not, we will make new memories filled with lumpy mashed potatoes, crumbly cornbread, and lots of love and laughter.

Wishing you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!