Happy Thanksgiving....despite the wallpaper.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your day was just as enjoyable and relaxing as ours was. All three of us started out the day in relaxation mode because we all slept in a little bit. After a light cereal breakfast, Papa and Madeline watched the Thanksgiving Day parade while Mama got busy in the kitchen. No lie, I spent *all day* in the kitchen and produced 3 dishwasher loads of dishes plus a load of hand-washable items too! Lucky for me, I enjoy cooking. David helped tremendously by keeping Madeline occupied. Yet, we laughed that he can claim he helped me in the kitchen because he opened a can of corn for me. Instead of lunch, we ate appetizers that tided us over until dinner time.

Before dinner, David, Madeline and I went on a little walk through the neighborhood. The house smelled soooooo good when we got home. After a few last minute preparations, we were ready to dig in. I must admit, my turkey was pretty darn good this year. I didn't even have to set knives if I didn't want to because you could cut the turkey with your fork. Also, I tried a new concoction for the stuffing this year, which David said was "a keeper". I made a corn bread stuffing and added sauteed onions and celery along with chirizo sausage, the turkey giblets, diced chilies, and chopped cilantro. I was afraid that the flavors would be too overpowering but they were not.

As this was the first Thanksgiving in our new home, David insisted that we eat our dinner in the dining room. The only reason that I was a little hesitant was because I started the project of stripping the wallpaper in that room and have not finished the project. The room looked like a construction zone. But, after a little tidying up, the room was somewhat passable. I spruced up the room a little more by pulling out the China that was passed down to me by my mom. And since this was our first Thanksgiving dinner at the table that used to be my mom's (and thus in my childhood home) along with the buffet piece and China, I oddly felt like I was at home....I mean, my childhood home (despite the fact that I was in my own home, in a room that was a "work in progress") Yet, all the "decor" pieces offered me a very comforting feeling. Although this was a very positive, warm/fuzzy feeling, it also made me miss my mom bunches today. Yet, despite having that empty feeling as a result of missing my mom, I do know and try very hard to appreciate *every day*, not just Thanksgiving, all the gifts that I have been blessed with. I am very fortunate to have the best hubby, a wonderful daughter, great friends and family. Although these blessings are, by far, the most important, they are only some of what I have to be thankful for. What else can I say except, "Thank you, God!"!