My Thanksgiving

Hired a car and driver to take me to my sister's so I went out a bit early so I didn't have to rush when the guy arrived. So I'm sitting here in very mild weather (later the driver asked me if I wanted the a/c on in the car it was that mild, but I had the window open and was enjoying that).

Enjoyed the ride out there with some fantastic looking late fall trees like this one:

It's  good thing I'm an open minded liberal New Yorker or else this driver's name could have been a bit scary... he was a lovely man, but look at his license:

Ok, so I arrived a bit late because of traffic. This is Louisa with Oliver.

And this is Louisa with Holly who is the shy cat.

We started out all hanging around the kitchen with a bunch of appetizers... my shrimp, one guest's little bits of tenderloin beef on a round of french bread and I think a dollop of horseradish cream and chopped chives... then this guest (Cathy) also made what I had thought of making... hers was mixed nuts fried in butter and brown sugar, then spiced with rosemary and salted. Really good. I just remembered she had an extra jar she said I could take home and I forgot it... oh well. Then we had cheeses and I cut up the sausage I'd brought... Scott had shrimp dip in the refrigerator that he forgot about, but we had more than plenty.

This is Charlotte and Louisa, and the kids had (I think) sparkling cider, so my niece is not hitting the bottle... it was non-alcoholic.

Then it was time for dinner. They have a beautiful formal dining room with French doors that I love that really only gets used for special occasions. It was beautifully set, and Scott did the flower arrangemtn which all agreed you'd pay $300 for at a florist, but he did it with bunches from the grocery store.

For dinner there was turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, brussel sprouts with sauteed bacon, onions and mushrooms (really good), dressing and I'm probably leaving something out. Oh yes, homemade cranberry relish.

Scott also made yeast rolls that were warm and huge and wonderful, and I ate two!

Then for dessert... well there was an accident with the guest bringing the apple pie and she dropped it bringing it in the house, so she salvaged what she could and we renamed in Apple Jumble. I still had a piece (a spoonful) and it was wonderful. The guest sitting next to me also commented how good it was, and I think out of a desire to be polite she said that it was delicious "for being disfigured." So I had disfigured apple pie.

The other choices were chocolate pecan and chocolate silk. Of course, home made whipped cream:

And now some miscellany:

This is my sister Mary Elizabeth.

This is Clark and his mom. 

This is Charlotte wearing Christmas ear muffs Cathy had brought. I told Charlotte that this is the problem buying presents for teenagers. Never would I imagine that she would love those earmuffs which she was wearing. I asked her if she would wear them to school, and she said yes. 

This is Charlotte holding Holly with the basket  she has chosen as her home. Note Charlotte's beautiful smile since she got her braces taken off on Tuesday.

This is Clark, Louisa's twin.

Here's a selfie when I got home. I took it to show I was wearing the hoodie that Mary got and that Barb, Michelle and I also bought so we can be quadruplets.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!!!!!!