The Stock Pot Is Simmering

The feast is over.

Stephanie and Eric were here after all. Eric's dad wasn't up to making the trip to Wahnapitae. They came down instead. Cheyenne and Abigail had great fun with Aunt Stephanie and packages of the feast went north with Stephanie and Eric today and to several other destinations.

Patrick took what remained of the meat balls and other goodies home to Ottawa with him.

Myles phoned from Ottawa. He and Melissa are expecting their first child in Spring , Thanksgiving was the right occasion to proclaim the news to the family.

Keenan and Aaron and Kari got in touch. They had just finished a Vespa tour of Tuscany. It ended in a winery where they had an Italian lunch with fresh baked bread with olive oil poured over. They are eating things they've never known before and enjoying them. They are on their way to Florence,Vienna and Prague. They are meeting young people from the world over who are sharing their best experiences.

But they were thinking of Mum's and Grannie's Thanksgiving Feast and the family coming together without them.

We were thinking of them.

It is the first Thanksgiving Feast,they have not celebrated with the family.

Robyn and Heather baked pumpkin pie and tarts and a huge tray of milk chocolate brownies dusted with icing sugar. Heather brought a huge basket of her small sweet golden rolls.

Aunt Marnie baked two trays of dark chocolate brownies, one with walnuts and one without, with dark smooth swirling chocolate icing on top.

Stephen and Mary brought one of those large luscious pecan tarts from Costco that are too big to buy for a family of one or two and so rich,only a small slice can be eaten at a time.

Uncle Frank brought a variety of small crisp crackers,three different cheeses and a pot of chutney Lorna's sister Jill made while she was here on a visit from Scotland.

The feast was prepared and shared....with love.

Barrie Will Be Here

Heather brought fresh sage from her garden early this morning. Lots of it.

The bread has been pulled to pieces in the big bowl. Onions cooked to a golden hue.Sausage into crispy crumbs and the pan emptied over the bowl with the bread.

I'm separating sage leaves from stems ...wondering if I should use the big ones with perfectly circular holes chomped out by insects, or just the small ones.

Maybe there's a place I can use the big ones; I love the smell of sage.

I 'll spend the day in the kitchen, on a stool at the counter my son made for me.

I used the magic bullet for chopping a batch of sage. I think I'll do the rest with a sharp knife.

It occurs to me the sausage stuffing for the turkey is how it's been done down through centuries.

When the turkey comes out of the oven, stuffing has to be sampled all around while the bird is being carved. .

The gravy has to be sipped from a spoon and suitable sounds of appreciation are appreciated.

But the turkey is being cooked today. It's not enormous. . Roast beef has been added to the menu of late.I will cook that tomorrow with roast potatoes.

Patrick is coming home from Ottawa . It's not Thanksgiving at Grannie's unless there are meatballs and special sauce. I made it the first time I cooked barbecued ribs in Canada.

Rhonda really likes ham so I have a honey cured Pilsner Black Forest Ham as well. I will bake that with brown sugar, mustard, pineapple and cloves.

I know I can buy everything already made. It's done on television all the time. But I don't want to.

A feast must be prepared with everything the way it always has been.

And shared.


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Thanksgiving Feast

Vanessa ,James and the twins live in Tacoma Washington .Too far to come for dinner.

Lizzie, at Trent in Peterborough, has to work and won't be home.

Myles and Melissa will be in Ottawa.

Keenan , Kari Chung and Aaron were in Monte Carlo, gambled at the Casino and won. Keenan and Kari kept their winnings.Aaron couldn't stop and lost his. They walked the Monte Carlo Car Rally route .Now they are on their way to Tuscany where they will rent Vespas .

Theresa and Rory will be in Peterborough for a car race.

Stephanie will be in Sudbury. Eric's Dad wants to spend Thanksgiving by the Red Deer Lake in Wanapitae. He doesn't have long.

Andrew and Rhonda and Meghan and Haley will be at a family farm in Palmerston.

Lindsay, Cheyenne and Abigail will be here for a little while.

Stephen, Mary and Patrick and Heather, Andy, Robyn and Adam and Cyril will be here.

We have not yet heard from Keswick , Hockley Valley or Barrie.

So, ten will be here for dinner for sure with maybe ten more and three for a short visit.

High Notes

On Thursday night Kari, Keenan and Aaron phoned home from a Guinness House on a high point in the City of Dublin, Ireland. The view, they said, was awesome.

They have been welcomed with warmth and open arms by cousins and friends of cousins. The family ties have been renewed.

Earlier in the week ,they took a twelve hour tour of the Highlands from Edinburgh. They passed by Loch Ness .They found the majesty of the mountains completely amazing.

They visited the room in Edinburgh Castle, where great long red bound ledgers bear the names, handwritten. complete with rank and number , of every Scot who fell in World War One and Two. They found my brother's name . They weren't sure of my mother's brother's name so they had no success there. .

On Saturday night, they called from the top of the Eiffel Tower where they were looking down and all around, at the City of Paris. They were suitable impressed with Paris.

From there they were off to three days relaxing on the beach of the French Riviera.This is the start of their fourth week.

They met a couple of Australian girls at a hostel in Ireland. Australian and New Zealand women are extraordinary world travellers. They told the kids is cheaper to fly and of course it's obviously faster. So, they did, from Dublin to Paris.

They won't be home for Thanksgiving.

They will be missed.