Now Look Who's Stuffed

Now look who’s stuffed--it sure ain’t the turkey!

Finished my cooking this morning.  The cranberry salad was a hit and really very easy to make.  I used one can of whole berry cranberry sauce and added one small can of crushed pineapple, one finely  chopped apple, and one cup of chopped pecans.  I dissolved one large box of red jello in three fourths cup of boiling water and stirred it in with the fruit along with three-fourths cup of orange juice.  For the creamy part in the middle--that's just a cup of whipping cream whipped with an 8 oz package of softened cream cheese blended until smooth.

Everybody stood around the kitchen while the last minute preparations were made.

As usual, there was plenty of food

And an ample selection of desserts

Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving day.  We certainly did with lots of family, feasting, fellowship, and football.  Us ladies also had plenty cooking, cleaning, and chatting going on in the kitchen before and after the big meal.

Almost time to eat.

Pretty sad looking bird by the end of the meal.

Added to all our other many blessings, the sun finally came out (first time since last Friday) and we had a gorgeous fall day.

There was football to watch

We wanted a picture of the siblings, but they were a hard group to control.

Took several tries to get this photo of Carl, Vera, Betty, and Edd.

Don't worry about the Peanut.  He had his turkey, too.

And his nap after the big meal.

The photos tell the story of today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, this holiday is upon us and I’m in the thick of things in the kitchen.  First a few words about the RV issues we were dealing with yesterday.

We trotted on over to Camping World bright and early this morning with our broken Even Brake.  For $69 they ran a diagnostic and told us it was broken.  They recommended we send it back to Roadmaster.  They’d be happy to do for $400 plus shipping.  We figured we could do it ourselves, so we drove on over to the UPS Store and, hopefully, this afternoon it’s on its way to the West coast.

Since we’re not the original owners we had wondered how old that Even Brake was.  When Gene called Roadmaster this afternoon to get the shipping instructions, they asked for a serial number.  That’s when we got an idea about the age of the Even Brake.  The representative said they started serial numbers with 6000 and now they are up to 26000.  Our serial number is somewhere in the 8000 group.  Getting pretty old, I’d say.  Anyway, for $300 they will replace all the components and send it back to us like new.  Sure beats buying a new one.

There were a couple comments about exercising the motorhome engine.  Bob mentioned the use of Sta-bil.  This is a fuel additive that works some sort of magic in the fuel tank and is very helpful if the motorhome (or any vehicle) is sitting for a long period of time.  Sta-bil is for gasoline, but there is an equivalent product for diesel.  I’m really not a mechanic, so this stuff is way out of my league.  However, I do know this.  Whenever there was a conversation about exercising the engine to keep the seals lubricated, somehow the conversation always came around to a discussion about gasoline stabilizers.  I stayed confused for two weeks thinking they were somehow related.

By the time we got finished at Camping World and the UPS Store and got back home it was mid-afternoon.  I hadn’t even started my cooking for tomorrow, but we were having dinner with Jack, Ansley, and Kayley, so didn’t really have time to do much this afternoon.  I did get my eggs boiled and peeled for deviled eggs.

The other thing I’ve been assigned is cranberry salad.  I found a recipe which sounded yummy, but is a little involved.  After we got back home this evening, I got started with that.  It’s basically red jello with cranberries, apples, pineapple, and pecans.  The recipe calls for part orange juice instead of all water to make the jello.  I got that part done.  Tomorrow morning I’ll finish up with the cream cheese and whipped cream.

The last thing on my list to bring is sweet potato casserole.  That’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning.  The worst part about that is cooking the sweet potatoes.  Since I mash them anyway, I’ll probably just “bake” them in the microwave.  That’ll be a lot easier than peeling, chopping and boiling potatoes.

On this Thanksgiving Eve we want to give a great big welcome to our latest followers, Karen and Al at Rv Travels with Karen and Al.  Glad to have you tagging along.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone and thanks for tagging along.

Thanksgiving Traditions

Each year for the past several years we have had our Thanksgiving Day Dinner at the home of my uncle.  Every year it is a feast and we eat far too much.  But that is the tradition and I expect it is true of most families.

My brother makes the dressing

My uncle carving the turkey and pork tenderloin

Ovens full of food

Rolls in the giant economy size bag

We laugh, we eat, and we enjoy our family time together.  That’s Thanksgiving in our family.

Thanksgiving Traditions

We are creatures of habit and those habits have, at least in our family, over the years become traditions.  You see it most often at holidays or other special events which occur on an annual basis.  Thanksgiving is no exception and every year this day is played out as it has been for decades.

Each year, for as long as I can remember, all the Nashville members of our family have gathered together for turkey day dinner.  When I was a child, it was at my grandparents’ home in Hickman County.  For a number of years, my parents and my uncle Edd shared the hosting.  For the past several years, we have gathered at Edd’s home.  Only the place of the gathering has changed; everything else has remained the same over a half century of turkey day dinners.  Everybody brings a dish or two or three.  We eat until we are about to pop and while the ladies clean up the mess and divide the leftovers the men do what men do best following a big meal.

Happy Thanksgiving!