Anytime people relocate, get married, retire, or have a live changing event, new norms and traditions need to be established.  We cooked a bird the first year we were here.  With all of our children living hundreds of miles away from us, we tried to bring a family feeling to this lonely little house out in the woods. I baked pies.  Cliff cut butternut squash.  Our first Thanksgiving dinner here was quiet with a table full of food.  We had turkey, stuffing, baked potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, peas, pies, etc., which seemed to be devoured in minutes compared to the hours of preparation. From our dining room chairs we saw stacks of dirty pans, spills on the counter, gravy puddles in the burner wells and too many pies leftover to contribute to our future weight gain.  We did give thanks for all of our blessings..........for our wonderful adult children, for loving grandchildren, our little house in the peaceful woods, and for being able to retire as we did.  That was also the last time we ever put together a Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us.  The next year when Brother's Restaurant advertised their Thanksgiving buffet special featuring real oven baked turkey, real gravy, with all the trimmings and a variety of desserts for $17.99 and seniors only $14.99, we knew we had found our new Thanksgiving tradition. 

We wish you all a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!