Ok, so I’m a day late and everyone else in the world is out shopping, but better late than never! We hosted Thanksgiving for the first time since moving back east 2 years ago. The last time we hosted for the family (which primarily means my husband’s paternal side of the family) was back in 2001, when circumstances allowed everyone to come to us in Chicago. Nevertheless, I prepared a full Thanksgiving feast for just the 5 of us each year we were in the midwest.
Yesterday, there were 12 of us in total and even with delegating a bunch of the obligatory Thanksgiving dishes and tasks, it was still a lot of work. So, today, I’m resting (at least this morning.) Of course, it probably didn’t help that on Monday, I was still finishing up the last of the painting of the kitchen/family room and on Tuesday I spent all day “finding” the dining room again after using it for family room storage for the nearly three weeks of painting. (No more 25 year old Band-Aid colored walls – yeah!)
It’s so easy to get caught up in all the “doings” to not actually enjoy the holiday. I was determined to finish my tasks in time to spend a few hours with the boys making turkey napkin rings/place-cards. I enjoyed my time with them and and it gave them an opportunity to contribute to the preparations. I think they came out really cute.
To accomodate us all, my husband made a table extension for the dining room table using the legs and basic idea from an extension his grandfather had made many years ago. In true Cheney fashion, he made the extension so long that we actually had to take the leaves out of the table because the combination was too long! (At least we know we’re still good when the family grows!) The extension was actually longer than the table! Once the tablecloths were on and the table was set, you couldn’t even tell itwasn’t one long table.
To stay with tradition, he insisted we sit on the ends. I felt like we were on opposite ends of the world! Reminded me of one of those movies where the ultra rich aristocracy sits worlds apart at ultra long table – only difference was that we didn’t have the luxury of a butler to pour the wine and do the dishes – bummer!
We had lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We had a bounty of food on the table, everyone is in relatively good health, those working are still gainfully employed, Greg’s sister and aunt are new homeowners this month, both boys got very good report cards, and Helle-May Designs is about to start a new chapter. (More on that last one in the next post!)
Hope your Thanksgiving was filled with good food, family and friends!
Helle-May