Treasure Chest Thursday Thanksgiving Memories

I have been thinking about how Thanksgiving is the same and how it is different from when I was a child.   And a couple of unusual Thanksgivings just for fun.

How is Thanksgiving the same, there is a gathering of family and friends and a lot of good food. There is a lot of work to get ready for the feast as well as a lot of clean up when it is all done. There is a lot of visiting, talking and activity.

The characters have changed over the years by characters I mean the people present. When we were in Whitestone, New York we had lots of family at the house. My Dad’s brother, his family and sister with her family. My Dad was the chief cook at my home when I was a kid.

Since he was a fireman and worked 24 hours on and 48 hours off and if he was off he spent the time cooking for the Holidays. He was a great cook, a better cook than my Mom. If he was working we had our dinner on a different day, like the Friday.  I don't remember any particular Thanksgiving on a Friday but I know it happened.

We had a relish dish with black olives, green olives, stuffed celery, Gherkin pickles.  This was always ready early so we could nibble while we waited for the main dishes.  The main dishes were sweet potatoes, mashed turnips, fresh green beans just done plain,  canned cranberry sauce, occasionally we had creamed peas, turkey and stuffing done in the bird.  I can never remember having a ham. Of course pies, pumpkin and apple for desert with whip cream.   How we loved to clean the beaters after we whipped the cream.  He used a egg beater, not no small electric hand held mixer.

When we moved to Florida and there was no family about we ate with just the six of us.  It wasn't the same but still good.  After my Mom died my Dad would still cook but he used canned vegetables instead of fresh. 

After I became as nurse I seldom had dinner with my family as I usually worked on Thanksgiving from 3 to 11:30 PM.  When my brother Don married his wife would prepare the feast and we would join in with her Dad. 

Thanksgiving Bolivia 1980

I had two unusual Thanksgivings in Bolivia when I was a missionary.  I can't find any pictures of the first one, but here is one from the last one. I went home the following January. I am the one with the cast. Notice the mashed potatoes in the bucket, that is what you need when you feed a lot of hungry missionaries.

You can see pictures of recent Thanksgiving celebrations on mequitler blog with my husband's family. Here is my very first blog post about Thanksgiving.  Also on my quilting blog if you look on the side bar for recipes you will see some of the foods I fix for Thanksgiving and Christmas, just a little different.  I make my own cranberry sauce, never canned, I have baked corn, a yam, apple, cranberry and walnut dish.  But what every you eat and who ever you eat with, enjoy the day and have a happy grateful heart.