Thanksgiving, 2025, Near Philadelphia

With Joe's recovery from his triple by-pass late in October going smoothly but slowly and steadily in the right direction, we were mindful of how much we have to be thankful for. When the holiday turned into a three-day event, we paced ourselves and went for it.

Andrew's in-laws live two towns away from us, and we were so happy to be invited to join them for Thursday's dinner! There were just ten plus the household hound, Tucker. We'd heard about him but this was a first meeting. He's as immense as he is gorgeous; I wish I'd taken a photo. Susie's turkey was tender and juicy and no one used the M-word to describe it. Her stuffing was as different from mine as stuffing could be -- it included sausage and cranberries! -- and I loved it. Joe did well and when he got tired, we headed home. 

Skipping Friday for the moment . . . .

Tom had asked if I would host a breakfast on Saturday before the Virginia families started down I-95. I was nervous about a major event but went for it anyway. I ordered quiches from my wonderful caterer-neighbor and cooked about three pounds of bacon (the grandchildren include four teen-age boys and they can eat!) Joe cut up green and deep purple fruit for a lovely dish. And at my request, Andrew picked up a couple dozen assorted doughnuts (again, I wish I'd taken a photo) from the legendary bakery.  My sister joined us and a good time was had by all. And there was just enough quiche and fruit and bacon left for last night's dinner.

The fourteen of us gathered at Sherry's on Friday for the family Thanksgiving in the early afternoon. Everyone helped. The turkey was cooked on the smoker (is that the right word?) outside, beginning around dawn. There were two kinds of stuffing, garlicky green beans, yummy home-made cranberry sauce, and I can't remember everything else. I was responsible for the cheesy carrots and the gluten-free apple cake. It was a wonderful meal, preceded by a reading of Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation.

The high point of the day occurred after the meal. Sherry always organizes a Thanksgiving service project for us, and this year she had help from Thrivent, a community-minded financial organization. They provided most of the cost and a collection of matching tee shirts! We'd come across a strange recipe for a cake that was made from one boxed cake mix (any flavor) and one can of soda (any flavor). To this we added a container of icing, a little bottle of sprinkles and a spatula. All was to be packaged in a 9x13 pan with a lid. As we approached our target of 50 cakes, someone asked about where the donation was to go. The plan was to pack it all in Joe's van and deliver it to my food pantry on Monday night. An excellent plan, we thought. Until the clear thinker in the group pointed out that if we did that and the temperature dropped so that the sodas would freeze, they would explode and we would have on our hands a mess that . . . . well, enough said about that! Fortunately, a different pantry close to Sherry was open on the weekend and the cake kits were delivered there. 

It was Joe's first day without a nap! And he did so well! 

We did take photos of the cake-kit assembly line, and here they are.