Be Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Pumpkin and Then Some
Pastel 11 x 14 inches

This is my favorite holiday. My memories are wonderful. My Mom and Dad always cooked together. They always invited anyone they could that didn't have a place to go on that day. We always ended up with a wonderful day, food, family and visitors. It was traditional with turkey, dressing, yams, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, homemade rolls, and always chile for my Dad. Plenty of drinking. My Dad would make "Salty Dogs" for my Mom and I. He drank bourbon and beer mostly. We usually had wine, but in Magdalena it was Mogen David. It was sweet and the color of grapes. About all the bars had to offer back in the old days.

Mom always made pumpkin pies with wonderful crust and real whipped cream. I never thought to ask her for the recipe until one time she was ill and I had to cook. "Oh, I just use those pie crust sticks from the store." I couldn't believe it! She had been a ranch cook and made everything from scratch. Oh my! I have been making my own crusts from scratch, but decided a couple of years ago to go for the pie crust "sticks" in a box. I didn't find any. Now the only ones I could find are frozen. Didn't quite seem the same somehow.

We have continued the old traditions as much as possible. I rarely have the Salty Dogs, once in a while I break down and have one. We always have wine, of course. I have added pecan pie and green bean casserole, now with jalepeños. When we were overseas, we always invited anyone around that didn't have a place to go. We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving in October with the priests next door, our wonderful friends, Father Jim and Father Nino. We went to their house in October and ours in November. Two wonderful days! I suppose, that because our children are grown and we are retired we don't find many stray folks to invite over. We still eat too much and have a great time.

Jennie's birthday is on November 24, so we nearly always celebrate her birthday on Thanksgiving when we are all together. This year we celebrated on the 24th with Joanna and Jennie and will have the presents and time with Larry, today on Thanksgiving. (I didn't do a birthday post for Jennie .... hmmm. Happy Birthday, Jennie!)

Jennie, February 1981
She hasn't changed a bit!

This is the first time in a few years we will be together here on Thanksgiving Day. Larry or Jennie worked so we celebrated on the weekend and we went to New Mexico to be with Gene's mother a few years ago and a couple of years ago we went to Kentucky to David's. So today is special to be at "home". We will miss David and family, but I'm sure we will iChat with them and "see and hear" what is up in Kentucky. Texas Longhorn football will be on in the evening to watch while we wind down.

Hope your turkey day is filled with wonderful times and food as well. We have much to be thankful for, don't we?? Thanks to all our military that are away from home taking care of our freedom. We wish them well.