Moving Into The Christmas Holiday….

          

   Thanksgiving is over and we have had our first snow fall of the season. We got about 4 and a half inches, but whose counting!? Would you believe that just a few days before our snowfall, it was a record breaking 68 degrees here in Maine! That must be why they say “If you don’t like the weather in Maine, just wait a minute!” It’s true. You never know what to wear from one day to the next. It keeps things exciting!

   I have been busy over here on the plains making some last minute Christmas gifts for family and friends.  I found out we were invited to a family Christmas party on the 2oth! Any last minute work got kicked up a notch! I would show you some of the crafts I am working on but there are family members that read my blog! I can’t do that!! We must keep these things secretive you know! We had a great Thanksgiving. My day actually did not start out so great. My kids ended up not being able to be here. I woke up missing my parents terribly and between my kids not coming and that, I had a good cry. Once that was over with, I got on to the business of cooking and was fine. Just a minor set back, but I did miss having them here. My husband and his brother Joe deep fried the turkeys outside. This year they did a dry rub instead of a marinade. I think I like the marinade better from last year. The dry rub version was a bit dryer but still tasty. Here is hubby bringing in one of the turkeys…. and here I am….can you believe it….I am putting on a picture of me!,,,,taking a picture of my mother in law…taking a picture of me!

Don’t mind the stain on my pants from something that dripped while cooking!  We had a very casual day as you can see by the way we are dressed!  It was… a laid back turkey day this year. We opted for paper plates and cups and it worked out fine. We were able to spend less time picking up and more time visiting. It was really nice. Hubby brought me these flowers the day before for the table. He just showed up with them out of the blue. He is such a sweet man! My wonderful mother in law Alice, made two different kinds of stuffing….a Peach/Pork stuffing and a rice/shrimp one and both were amazing!! It’s so hard to keep everything hot and my oven never has enough room for it all so we kind of did a cafeteria style line up.

Roasted vegetables and butternut squash (from my garden)……

My sister in law brought the mashed potatoes and I made the gravy from a can of turkey stock. The gravy was ok but there is nothing like gravy from drippings. Next year we will have a bird cooked in the oven I think.

A good time was had by all and we stuffed our little stretched out tummies! Apple pie and pumpkin pie made them almost burst….but not quite!!

 

A little turkey for the dark meat lovers at the table!

Hubby…in between the candles holding some wire for some kind of techno thingamajig! It was a great day and I am very grateful for all of these family members that came.

   So we are moving forward to my favorite holiday….Christmas!! I will be decorating the house this weekend. The other day I took a walk into my backyard and gathered some Jack Pine boughs. I made two swags….one for my mother in law Alice, and one for me….all decorated and ready to hang on the doors! This last weekend, I went up to Alice’s and found some great boughs in her woods! I got xmas boughs and hemlock boughs. Hemlock boughs are so darned cute with those teeny little pinecones on them! At least I think they are Hemlock? I will be using them for my mantle and elsewhere in the house. I love the smell of fresh boughs!! Don’t you?? They are so plentiful here in Maine….we are very lucky. I also got a bag for Alice too and the cutest little Charlie Brown tree! She put it outside on her patio table, potted, with a nice wreath around the base of it. We are having fun with the holiday season and I hope you are too. I will try to be back before the big day comes but if I don’t, I am wishing you all the best of holidays, from our house to yours!! Until then, I will leave you with this Lobster Trap tree in Rockland!! Can you believe it?

Now if that isn’t a red neck Christmas tree, I don’t know what is! Ha ha….