Friday, November 27, 2015

IT'S NOT THE DAY . . .

Several years ago Thanksgiving



I’ve just been roaming around looking at Thanksgiving posts on friends’ blogs, and it was a wonderful thing to see---all the preparations and polishings and things chosen carefully for the cherish of them and the guests who would use them.  I blush to tell that I simply imagined all the family hustle-bustles, the warm redolences of sage and pie, the light and the clink of silver on plate, for we had our pot-roast dinner on trays at the TV.   What an odd feeling.   The wonderful aroma of that pan of cushion-tender beef-in-rich-gravy perfumed the house for several hours in the afternoon, and the corn pudding, the pot of shiny pearls of Calrose, the Waldorf salad, all took a small time in the kitchen to prepare, and we just simply WERE in our dim cocoon, for Caro was sleeping upstairs to go to work, and all the departure of our rowdy crowd the day before was still ringing in the house, somehow, with remnants of fruit and yogurts and pretzel crumbs in the kitchen. 


We’ll gather with our few local Lovies on Sunday, when everyone’s schedule allows us the day.  There’s an enormous turkey in the fridge for Chris to put on the grill for a few hours, and most of the other necessaries for a small family dinner in the house.   We’ll gather and be thankful again. I always say that the holidays begin when you put together the Thanksgiving dressing.


And I’ll have the so-familiar moment once again, of these decades of Thanksgiving and Christmas preparation, of the MOMENT:








There’s something so just itself and so nostalgic about leaning over that big bowl of crumbled cornbread, minced onion and celery, fresh-ground black pepper and a little shake of poultry seasoning or several crumbled curls of sage, and inhaling that unmistakable aroma combination.  That humble, homey scent of brown crusty bread and onion and garden sage is a centuries-old memory-scent for Southern women, I think, carried on from sparse black skillet to Pyrex to le Creuset, with the meaning and taste intact for all the intervening years.







Then there will be the laying of the table, the setting out and arranging, for a celebration small but of great import---the thankfulness for all our blessings, and for those gathered with us and the ones far away, but always in our hearts. 




11 comments:

  1. It's not what you eat or even when you eat it. It's the thankfulness for the things we have. We are so fortunate compared with other people. Thanks for this lovely post. Your pictures are so homey and cozy. I can hear the echoes of your company with you.

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  2. Yes, Rachel, all is calm and bright. It all sounds wonderful. I have to tell you a secret. For the first time ever, I didn't use a tablecloth and used paper napkins. Don't tell anyone.

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  3. Celebrating with family and friends is always so great. Your food looks so great to eat and being together a couple of times this week will be wonderful. Have a happy many days.

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  4. I love hearing about the celebrations, whether it be traditional or not. Your feast looked delicious and loving prepared and served.

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  5. Thanksgiving smells so good and brings back all the wonderful memories of years gone by
    yet God willing we will build new memories in years to come.

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  6. Rachel, Every Thanksgiving...in my mind I go back to my mother's kitchen where she and dad have all the windows in that little house just steamed up...from all their cookings. Miss those times so very much. I have always tried to help my daughters get the dinners set up nicely..I used to have them all at my house...I told them it's their turn now. Blessings to you and yours. Hope your day was filled with love.xoxo,Susie

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  7. ummm...it all sounds delicious...and I know your day with your family was amazing.
    I'm making a Mexican Casserole today for some of the family..also cooked a big pot of red beans with the T'giving ham hock...boy, they are really good. Going to rest and relax today and tomorrow I'll start a little decorating...

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  8. Oh, this all sounds perfect, wonderful, cozy, delicious and most of all lovely! Your family must truly be thankful for the talented hostess and cook that you are. Oh, and how right, sage is a herb of much nostalgia. I remember it from my days of Christmas dinners and the sage and onion stuffing my mother used to make. I too am carrying on that tradition for my adopted holiday, Thanksgiving.

    I wish you and your family a joyous weekend of family fun and feasting. How marvelous it would be to pull up a chair at your table and listen to you all chitter-chatter away of stories and family memories.

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  9. Rachel, I love thinking of you with all your loved ones gathered round. They really fill our hearts to overflowing, don't they?! Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorites of all holidays.

    And, ooh! I feel the same way about the smell and taste of dressing. This year I added ground country sausage, diced apples and toasted pecans to my usual dressing ingredients. The dressing is my favorite dish of all.

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  10. Late but still thankful for so many things. Your wonderful food made with love is a labor of genuine beauty. I know it tastes delicious too. No matter if there is a house full of loved ones or a crowd of three, Thanksgiving thankfulness is a blessing to share.
    No one went home hungry. Big smile here.

    Love,
    Jeanne

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  11. It sounds lovely. And Thankful and that's all that really matters. I'm going to start a movement to switch American Thanksgiving to the same day Canada does it. Much earlier and makes the Christmas season less hectic!

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