Thursday, November 26, 2020

Our sad, pathetic, joyous, grateful Thanksgiving

We had a very quiet Thanksgiving here in our temporary rental house. Very quiet. In fact, I hardly had to do a thing beyond making a blueberry pie.

 
Our formal dining room room was a card table with three folding chairs. Older Daughter joined us.
 

And oh, someone was SO SO SO glad to see Older Daughter!

The reason I didn't have to do any cooking was because Older Daughter brought us our feast: sushi. Yes, really.

That is, Older Daughter and Don enjoyed sushi. Me, I had a delicious chicken katsu.

Who says Thanksgiving must be a turkey with all the trimmings? Right now we're "camping" in this charming little rental house, and somehow sushi/chicken katsu worked out just fine. We had our dear daughter with us, we chatted with Younger Daughter and later my parents via phone, and altogether we have a tremendous amount to be grateful for.

Bonus photo: The paperwork at the title company as we closed on our old home. New adventures await!

How was your Thanksgiving?

19 comments:

  1. I miss the old ways and old times, but it pays to be flexible. I'm glad you had a good day.

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  2. Had a great Thanksgiving. Everybody on the same page, same paragraph, same sentence, same WORD. Gave many Thanks to The BIG GUY upstairs for all we have and for whole family being together.

    m

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  3. Somehow the description of your Thanksgiving is so very 2020. I think many of us are feeling the same as you - this year is different, whether lonely, somber, anxious, or a combination of it all. It is my prayer that what really matters becomes clear and like going through a refining fire, we will come through strong and beautiful with a testimony of God's goodness and faithfulness on our lips.

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  4. Holidays like yours become the stuff of family legends!

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  5. We had a houseful of friends and family who enjoyed Chinese food AND a Traditional Thanksgiving feast! It's more important to have the people you care about around you then what you are eating

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  6. We celebrated a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixin's at my wife's sister's place. This coming Monday we sign the paperwork at a title company, selling our house of 32 years in Albuquerque. A week from today we sign more paperwork at another title company, buying our new home in Edmond, Oklahoma. ('Cause grandkids, don'tcha know.)

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  7. Thank you for your report on Thanksgiving. I am very pleased that your downsize is going well and that older daughter is able to visit. Her apartment looks very nice. We once had thanksgiving in our present house with plywood nailed over the empty windows to block the wind, no drywall, and a card table much like yours. It was one that I will always remember!

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  8. We took dinner to two elderly, infirm couples, then came home and had ours with only two of our five children. Definitely different, but so satisfying to have been of service to others. In the early years of our marriage, before I had confidence in my cooking skills we didn't have turkey with all the trimmings. But gratitude for blessings doesn't require a traditional meal, it is a matter of heartfelt expressions and togetherness.

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  9. We too had a quiet Thanksgiving. MY daughter brought over her lasagna and garlic bread. My wife made several of her Vietnamese finger foods and later we had Dutch apple pie with vanilla ice cream. This year we didn't have turkey and all the fixings because my son and family were away and, besides them, I'm the only one who likes turkey. It wasn't our usual Thanksgiving feast, but it went well, was quiet, peaceful and we were able to share some quality time with my daughter and her husband. After dinner we read from the Bible and shared what we have to be thankful for this year. It was a shorter list than usual, but once we got started it went along pretty well as we each were reminded that the year wasn't a total waste and we did have things we were thankful for.

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  10. Thanksgiving is not about a turkey but a moment in our hectic lives to give thanks to God for all that we have. Our Thanksgiving is not yet here due to younger son's work schedule, so we will have a feast on Sunday along with a few friends.

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  11. I bought a rotisserie chicken at a local grocery store and convinced it that it was a turkey. Worked out well with some mashed potatoes, gravy, and a couple of veggies! Very thankful, indeed!

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  12. I had Thanksgiving dinner with my mother and stepfather. It was a relaxing day after a rather stressful 2 weeks.

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  13. Im so glad you had a Thanksgiving to remember with those you love and cherish, whether in person or by phone! I spent most of T day alone..I made myself some fall treats, had some rented library movies on hand, enjoyed the peace and comfort of my little home in the country.....called others (friends and family) also alone, to laugh and give them tips for enjoying the day...in the afternoon, took some treats to a neighbor and had a great time visiting with her and son who had arrived from many miles away! The NEXT day, I visited my former charge, an 87 yr old lady who has been on "Lockdown" in Assisted Living, since March..she was sprung for a short visit and dinner with family..we 'reunited' after all these months, shared love and laughs, brought her favorite ice cream and cookies, then convinced her family to let me walk with her down to a neighbor who recently had a heart attack.. (BFF friends for decades). What joy to see these two together (no masks, no social distancing, just real faces, hand-holding and hugs) The family was happy I had come along to help and it was a great day for prayer and giving thanks!!

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  14. We did it a bit differently this year too. Daughter(who is due in a month with our first grandbaby!!!) and her husband came over for brunch. We had venison tenderloins, egg bake, fruit and lemon poppy seed muffins. It was quite a change from our usual turkey dinner and we were quite happy with it. Think we might do the same next year.

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  15. Patrice, for many years now we have had a very small Thanksgiving as both of our families are several states away. We have a non-traditional meal as well (we figured out none of us liked turkey all that much): salmon, sweet potato casserole, asparagus, and orzo. The quiet and relative laid back nature of the day is now some thing I will very sad to surrender.

    Grateful you have a break in your hectic lives to take stock - hopefully just in time for a new place to call your own.

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  16. 25 years alone on thanksgiving surrounded by hoa enemys. Frauds theives looters,extortionists embezzlers, that demanded the house title be taken out of trust thereby costing 37% of its value plus the 50% inheiritance tax and 2 commissioned sales= 99% value retention , as they say in selling and paperwork..!!!

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  17. And every monday morning first thing they use blowers to leave a mess inside the front hallway and charge me to have it done..

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  18. We did the typical Thanksgiving this year. We used to wander around with our culinary choices. However, with my mother gone and my father aging, I have planted a flag - Thanksgiving is our stick to traditions holiday. It gives us comfort in knowing what to expect. Not a do or die thing but a matter of predictability and stability. We thought we didn't like turkey either but I discovered what we don't like is the whole darn bird. I have switched us over to turkey breast in the crock pot. Less work, less timing issues and just enough juicy meat to tick the turkey box. I make it a point to cook everyone's favorite dish so it becomes quite the feast. It was a joy to gather our small family around the table for a meal to focus on food and loving family. For us this year needed the rhythms of traditional.

    Congratulations on moving forward in your adventures. Hopefully the next closing goes as well as the first.

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  19. New reader here. I am also looking for a new homestead with like minds, a place to dig in. Been working on these skills right here on my small 1 acre plot in a small Florida town. I will enjoy learning from you

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