Every year, at the holidays, comes the opportunity for tension in families unless there is a clear plan for who is going where and when. I find this *choosing* to be uncomfortable and unnecessary, so I’ve decided to alter when we have our family get-together. Yesterday was our version of Thanksgiving, which I’ve called the Harvest Dinner.
Our tradition starts with a trip to the farm to pick some Granny Smith apples and then over to the pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin.
Number 4 with her beau. Her smile is so beautiful when she’s relaxed and happy.
Beautiful day, picking fruit and happy people…
Number 2 and his girl…they are geek, jr and his geek girl. So familiar, yet so different!
This year, the pumpkin patch wasn’t as prolific or as good as last year, but we still found some great pumpkins.
And then we proceeded to gut the gourds! (Hubby calls this punkin’ guttin’ cam view)
While the kids carve their pumpkins, I finished up our dinner. I’d made some stuffed turkey tenderloins, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans with yellow peppers and pine nuts, cranberry chutney, bread, butter, gingerbread, cupcakes and pumpkin wontons with apricot glaze. (Somehow, I’m told this might have been too much, but I like to think that it just means that all have enough and I don’t have to cook for the rest of the week!)
Number 3 brought home a new friend as well and he looks very pleased with himself.
And then we all played what we call “The Screamie Game”, which is actually called Catch Phrase. We had a great time.
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Snippets and Tidbits 