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Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Thursday 17 October 2019

Thanksgiving Treats and Being Thankful


A good life is when you smile often, dream big, laugh a lot and realize how blessed you are for what you have. ~ unknown

Good morning ladies! This is what Thanksgiving is all about; counting your blessings. I have so many and I thank God every day for them.

It is not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, which is the true measure of our Thanksgiving. ~ unknown


I have been incredibly busy the past week. Hubby and I just cleaned out twenty-four years worth of stuff from our basement. That included old furniture, things our boys left behind when they moved out, and things long forgotten that were tucked away into boxes and an old chest of drawers. You know what I mean? 

As much as it was a trial to clean out all the junk, a lot of those things represented many happy years with our boys. Their certificates and report cards, a rocking horse my father had built, building blocks he had made for our youngest son, and birthday cards were among some of the found items. We even came across our youngest son's sheets of music and notes from his piano lessons. Some of these items we will save for when they come home and they can take them back with them.

It was a big job separating everything into what would go into the big dumpster in our driveway, donations to the Missions store, and things that would be given new life again. Our grandson came over one evening and helped his grandfather carry out the heavy objects like furniture and an old TV set. He was such a big help! We are thankful for his helping hands!

Boy, does it ever feel good going down there now and being able to walk in and not trip over something! But you know, the strangest feeling came over me when they hauled it all away. That dumpster held so many memories and some of which had been precious things, that I almost cried. Does that make sense to you? I am such a sentimentalist!
  
Memories are timeless treasures of the heart. ~ unknown

My back and hips have taken a beating however. I could hardly walk on Monday morning which was Thanksgiving. I did manage to bake some goodies on the weekend and on Monday morning in spite of it all.

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. ~ William Arthur Ward


Our Island family decided to meet at a favourite restaurant and have our meal together there which was nice because I didn't have to cook. We all came back here to enjoy the treats afterwards. 
On the menu was pumpkin pie, of course. I had made seven balls of pastry, most of which went into the freezer. I saved two for the pies I was baking. But for some strange reason, the pastry would not cooperate with me that morning and with frustration, I threw it out. I think I was just too tired and too sore to fiddle with it. I believe that is the very first time I've ever had trouble rolling out my pastry for pie plates. Anyway, instead of two lovely pies, I made one big crustless pie. That's Ok. Add a dollop of whipped cream and no one complained. Less calories too. *winks*

I also made a war cake on the weekend which is delicious any time of year but especially right now, smeared with butter. If you would like this recipe, you may find it here

And I made an apple upside down cake with a warm brown sugar sauce poured over it. Here is the recipe if you would like to try it. Click the link.  Apple Upside Down Cake
Some wanted coffee while others preferred tea.


I used mostly my Johnson Bros. Old Britain Castles and Skye McGhie Cream Lace for serving.

Everyone enjoyed the goodies and Thanksgiving was a wonderful day spent with my son and his family.

Now, I am trying to take it easy and relish a job well done and a nice day spent with our family. My hubby worked for five days getting the basement cleaned up and tidy. His boss arranged for him to have a week off for which we were very thankful. It would have been difficult to do this otherwise.

Next week I will post an idea I have been toying with. Till then, thank you for visiting and have a lovely rest of the week.

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. ~ Maya Angelou

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

11 comments :

  1. A lovely post, Sandra. You are right, we have much to be thankful for, and it's always good to keep that in mind. What a great idea to go out for dinner together. Your dessert treats look scrumptious and I love the idea of a crustless pumpkin pie! Have a great week and I hope your soreness soon eases.

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  2. So, I take a long blog break and when I return, I find that nothing has changed at your blog. It is still a beautiful and inspiring place to visit. I have missed popping by, but I am looking forward to being a regular around the cottage once more.

    Blessings,
    Patti

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  3. Lovely post, Sandi! I too have the Old Britain Castles set of dishes (from SIL) and love using it. I gave my mom a Skye teapot years ago and we use it when I visit her. Love its lacy edge.

    And that Apple Upside Down Cake looks so delicious. Yum!

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  4. The Old Britain Castles is so very pretty. The lacy edge is just so special too.
    The Apple Upside down looks so yummy, wish I had a peace right now with a little cuppa tea.
    Fabby

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your sweet comment dear friend. The chairs were reupholstered last year with a French Toile de Jouy in a salmon-pink color, that it goes well with many of my things, china and accessories.
      Fabby

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  5. What a lovely and inspiring post. Thank you for sharing your life and that delicious looking Apple Upside down cake. Have a wonderful weekend ~ FlowerLady

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  6. I remember going through 20 years of stuff before we moved where we are now. It's hard work and time consuming but feels good in the end. I only purchase items that I'm truly in love with now. I vowed to never get to that point again.

    Happy Thanksgiving and your sweets look incredible as always. Take it easy our bodies can only do so much

    Cindy

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  7. How wonderful to have your basement cleaned out! I do understand about the sentimental memories. Your desserts look wonderful and I’m sure we’re loved and appreciated by your family. 😘

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  8. Great job on the basement clean-up! I also need to do some decluttering. It's amazing how much one can accumulate over the years!

    The Thanksgiving desserts look delish. I'm particularly partial to the apple upside down cake. And of course, the red and white transferwares are perfect for an autumn tea!

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  9. Wonderful post,dear Sandi!Greetings and blessings!

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  10. Oh, Sandi. I know that feeling. I put things in a truck to have them hauled away and my eyes welled with tears as those memories rolled out of our driveway. That was our last place. Now we are in a rental until we figure out what we are going to do and I still have a basement full of 'things' to go through. It is gut-wrenching at best, isn't it?

    Good luck to you-I know you count your blessings like I do. xo Diana

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I am delighted to have you visit me and I read every comment. Please forgive me for not being able to visit you all as there are so many of you lovely bloggy friends now. I will visit as much as possible. I wish you a day filled with JOY!

Also, due to the amount of spam I've been getting, I have had to set Comment Moderation. ~ Sandi

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