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We are Thankful for Thanksgiving

It is starting to become a tradition for us to host Thanksgiving dinner at our home. When it comes to prep: Hubby handles the cooking, while I handle the decor. He doesn’t get stressed out at all by having people over or cooking a big meal. In fact, he loves it! So we are especially enjoying this element of having moved into a house three years ago that can handle a large dinner gathering.

One thing we didn’t count on was our oven dying.

Actually, it had been on a rapid decline for a few months. But during the summer, it was easy to make do without an oven because we BBQ a lot. With the colder weather and the prospect of hosting Thanksgiving upon us, we knew we’d have to find a solution sooner than later. Because of its age, we couldn’t locate the parts anywhere in our city or online to do a band-aid fix. So, we looked at buying a second-hand model. No such luck because of the sizing for the built-in being so specific and not a common width these days.

We bit the bullet and bought a replacement. Hubby installed it the weekend before Thanksgiving and then excitedly tested a bunch of recipes. Apparently this oven has convection, where our other did not. And apparently it is fabulous. (I wouldn’t know, being as clueless as I am in the kitchen.)

Hooray for saving Thanksgiving!

Whirlpool built-in oven

My daughter Stella was enjoying some time with a friend, so it was just my five-year-old son Max and I at home to do the house preparation. We had a grand ol’ time using $15 dollars worth of pumpkins, found pine cones, fall leaves from the yard, and construction paper.

Hooray for decorating on a dime!

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But really, who is even going to notice what oven was used or what decorations are on the table when such delicious food it set in front of you! (Oh, actually this is just the dessert! Chocolate birthday cake and traditional pumpkin pie … mmmm ….)

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Thanksgiving is my absolute favourite holiday of the year. I love the weather, the colours, the crunch of leaves! I love the richness of the warmer weather foods and the tasty legumes! And I love getting to have my family around me. (This year was smaller than usual: my mother, father, and my 89-year-old grandmother joined our family of four.)

We are very thankful for our food, shelter, health, and family. And we’re thankful that Thanksgiving gives us a chance to enjoy them all!

P.S. The weather here in Ottawa was phenomenal (warm and sunny)! I hope the weather was kind to you in your hometown too!

Comments

  1. all awesome, but what I really want to say is how lucky you are to still have your Grandmother…such a blessing!

  2. Mmmmm…that pumpkin pie looks delicious! We were so lucky to have such a nice Thanksgiving weekend! Thanks for following me on Twitter btw :)

    Joy
    http://www.allsheneedstoknow.blogspot.com

  3. We celebrate two birthdays of the Thanksgiving weekend – mine and Sonja’s. But of course for the now 6 year old, the celebrations occur every time we see another part of the family, making Thanksgiving weekend all about presents, food, and more food. :) It’s been glorious, weather-wise, and family-gathering-wise. Happy belated Thanksgiving to you! :)

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