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