Thanksgiving Preparations are underway!

I thought I would try to do a lot of stuff for Thanksgiving dinner in advance, but so far, all I've done is... well, I guess I've done a lot of planning.

I made the basic menu. I made a shopping list. I did the shopping. And even though I've finished the shopping, I have ANOTHER shopping list that I keep adding items to. I certainly won't be able to stay away from the crowds descending upon the grocery store.

I did make the cranberry sauce, and the applesauce.

I made a trial run Pumpkin pie - which I am eating, because as the trial run pie, of course, I had to taste it! It's good. I was going to make a lot of little tiny tart sized pies, but they seemed like too much pie crust and not enough pumpkin. I'm going to make some, anyway, because they are just too cute - but I think I might make them Key Lime and Lemon Meringue pies. Or maybe not. I'm not sure yet what's gonna happen with the little tartlets.

Thor has started making the Butternut Squash soup. Lucky for us we decided to start it tonight, because I messed it up. I had him start with a ham stock base, and it is WAY too salty. So we have to get another butternut squash to add, to cut down the saltiness a bit. It's going to be a cream soup, but for now, he's just boiling down the squash; we'll heat it up and add the cream on Thursday.

I have about a 21 pound turkey, which has started the slow defrost in the fridge. I hope it defrosts in time!!! I plan on brining it Wednesday night, and starting it pretty early on Thursday, in time to eat the main course at about 2:00.

I did clean up the house quite a bit. But ya KNOW it's gonna have to be done all over again before Thursday. We brought down the second dining room table. My regular table sits 10 comfortably. We have 16, so we are angling the big table and squeezing in an oval table that will be fine for 6. Instead of a "kids" table - there are only 5 kids - I am going to reserve the oval table for the "head" table, and put the grandparents and my aunt and uncle there. I hope that goes over ok!

I've also been thinking about how thankful I am.
I'm thankful to God for nature, for beauty, for art and music, and for all the love in the world.
I'm thankful to my husband for being a great all-around guy, for loving me and supporting me and sharing his life with me.
I'm thankful to my children for giving my life meaning, direction, and joy.
I'm thankful to my mom, for being the person who taught me the power of positive thinking,
and I'm thankful to my dad, who taught me acceptance and perspective.
I'm thankful to my Gram R., for her stories, kindness, and humor.
I'm thankful to Gram D. - whose birthday would have been today, or tomorrow, or something around Thanksgiving - I'm thankful for her example of straightforwardness and honesty.
I'm thankful to all of my family for being there, year after year, dependable and without fail.
I'm thankful to all of my friends for adding the sparkle and joy to life.
I'm thankful to my country for safety and plenty.
And I'm thankful to the universe, for all of the opportunity that I have been given, for every choice I get to make, even when I don't know it's a choice.