Best Of . . . Thanksgiving Weekend

On a Monday at the end of the month, I've started showing you the "best of" my weekends (which are . . . pretty darn ordinary these days . . . ). Except this weekend was a little longer and a lot more exciting because of Thanksgiving.

Here's what made my "best of" list this weekend . . . 

First, it was so wonderful to gather this year -- around my fireplace, around my table -- for Thanksgiving with people I love! Last year, Tom and I boxed up Thanksgiving dinner portions and delivered them to Brian and Lauren and to my dad . . . and then we all ate at our separate tables. It was really pretty sad. So it was a real gift to be able to be together again. In person. Sharing the day together. (Brian and Lauren put together a tasty charcuterie board for us to get things started last Thursday.)

Second, if the pandemic has taught me anything, it has taught me to simplify! Although we made plenty of food for our Thanksgiving feast, we didn't over-fuss. I didn't stress about putting together a "fancy" table (although I did find those awesome solid-chocolate turkeys to dress things up). We kept everything relaxed and simple. And that felt . . . good and right.

Third, it's always fun to share Thanksgiving with the dogs! This was Ferda's first experience as an official member of the Turkey Security Detail, and she rose to the challenge like a champ. JoJo - who, as you may remember had been suffering the effects of (ahem) "dietary indiscretion" last week - was feeling better, but rather put out as she was thwarted at her begging-for-meat-please attempts. (She is feeling better now, and has had her share of turkey bits that we saved for her.) (Jenny enjoyed the day, but evaded photo opportunities.)

And, finally, Tom and Brian froze their asses off enjoyed a father/son bonding experience on Friday with a guided fishing trip. It was Very Cold, but the fishing was great. Here's Brian with a lovely steelhead, Tom looking on from the back of the boat.

And you know what that meant?  That I had Friday . . . all to myself. I might have been super productive and used my time wisely. But I didn't. I was pretty much a lazy slob all day long. Food hangover I guess you could say? 

But some weekends are meant to be just like that.

(What was the best of your weekend?)

Comments

[Claudia]

Unstructured time is so very necessary. So happy you had a great weekend!

[Vera]

Oh yum! The charcuterie board looks SO GOOD! I'm glad you could all be together this year (and those solid chocolate turkeys I bet were wonderful). The guys don't look very warm on the water! Nice that they could have some time together.

[kat]

Sometimes, doing nothing is the best gift you can give yourself!

I love the Turkey Security Patrol Outfit! Perfect! LOL (and simpler does not mean that it is not special... that is just the loveliest thing of all to discover!)

[Bonny]

That is a lovely charcuterie board (including the board itself!), your Turkey Security Detail must have a lot of self-control (or be well-controlled by others), and that is a beautiful steelhead. It sounds like you had the best of everything this weekend!

[Carole]

It sounds like a perfectly relaxed Thanksgiving and I think that's how all holidays should be. My father-in-law kept saying how much he enjoyed our easy dinner and small gathering and I think he's on to something.

[Pam]

We were with half our kids in Alabama and it was so wonderful to share it. Also simple, and under-scheduled.

[Patty]

Lazy slob Friday for the win! I started a dog sweater for our boarder (two more weeks!) Ruby and that was the extent of my efforts. Looks like a lovely weekend Kym - glad you could share it with family!

[Sarah]

Sounds wonderful to me! Love seeing the pups enjoying the company as well!

[Debbie]

I'm glad you had a nice Thanksgiving and a relaxing Friday! Like you, we simplified things on Thanksgiving and really appreciated our meal and our time together. One of the dogs on our dog patrol (my sisters big goofy boxer) almost got into big trouble by running off with a wing tip and the string used to truss the turkey, but she was saved and all was well!

[Carolyn]

Those vintage turkeys! They bring back a flood of memories of my grandmother's Thanksgiving table...sights and sounds, the whole gamut. So glad you enjoyed the day--and the day after!

[Mary]

What a wonderful weekend! Mine was a lovely mix of food, books, knitting, and connecting (almost all virtually). It was also really nice to go to church yesterday. I'm looking forward to (mostly) in-person church this season; I missed it so much last year.

[Jane]

I am so glad you were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family. I think the Thanksgiving hostess gets to have a leisurely Friday and even Saturday. I wasn't the hostess and I still didn't get much done over the rest of the weekend.

[Chloe]

You deserved that lazy (i.e. recuperation) Saturday!

[Vicki]

That sounds absolutely PERFECT!!!!

[kmkienholz@gmail.com]

A day to one's self is HEAVEN!

[Margene]

Great Mom who put together a fantastic feast and Proud Dad who had some real fun with his son. Perfect day! You deserve time to just lay around and enjoy the day.