Thursday, November 26, 2015

Thanksgiving 2015

For our family's Thanksgiving, it won't be "Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go..."  Instead, it'll be onto the freeway to Uncle Steve's house we go [pictured below]. Steve is our middle child. Most of the snow that fell last weekend is gone, and the Thanksgiving Day forecast is 55 degrees with 60% chance of rain.  Whatever weather it'll be a great family day!


What am I cooking up to take?  Two boneless, roasted turkey breasts with gravy [alas no wishbone], cornbread dressing, corn pudding [Susan Branch's recipe], maple candied sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, tea, and coffee.  One daughter-in-law is making cheesy potatoes, and the other Amish noodles and cranberry punch.  My daughter is bringing apple and pumpkin pies, so we definitely won't go hungry.  

Did you know...


"Over the River and Through the Woods" was actually a Thanksgiving poem written by Lydia Maria Child in 1884 recalling her visits to her grandparent's house in New England, before it was set to music by an unknown composer.  The house still stands near the Mystic River in Medford, Massachusetts, and was restored by Tufts University in 1976.  

Although we sing "to grandmother's house we go," the poem originally read to grandfather's house we go. There are twelve stanzas in the poem, but only four are typically included in the song. Can you sing it from memory?  I may check my family's memory, and make them sing it for their dinner, in addition to the doxology.  We always sing the doxology as the blessing for our meal on Thanksgiving:
 "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
 Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Amen" 
[published in 1709 by Anglican Bishop Thomas Ken]

From our family to yours,
Happy Thanksgiving!

3 comments:

  1. First of all - what a really awesome house. I can appreciate all the extras on this house after house hunting - even the garage door is special. Your menu sounds delightful and it sounds like a great time! Happy Thanksgiving.

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  2. Happy Thanksgiving! What a wonderful feast you'll have today, and time with family altogether! So special.

    Deanna

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  3. You have been doing a lot of cooking! Your feast sounds delicious, and sharing it with family is the best part. We always sing "Over the river" but I did not know there were so many verses. I will have to look them up. My 3 year old granddaughter asked the blessing for our Thanksgiving meal - the sweetest thing ever!

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