Thanksgiving

I do not have many photos of Thanksgiving at all. I don't know why - maybe we were too busy cooking and eating? Too busy spending so much time with nieces and nephews? Being overwhelmed? Being wiped out? I don't know. But it appears that I have a grand total of THREE pictures from Thanksgiving Day, 2025. That is very lame.

Photo number 1 - me holding my gimongous bowl that I got for Christmas last year. I was in charge of making the stuffing and I wanted there to be enough. It was a Preslar year, and of course wonderful Kathleen was the hostess and wonderful Sam was the turkey chef. They had invited quite a few extra people - the missionaries, their sons' girlfriends and their families - it seemed like we were going to have a big bunch of people. And I was going to make sure we all had all the stuffing we wanted!

You know, I like to think of myself as a good cook with lots of experience and the ability to make food for a lot of people What I just have not yet mastered is how to not make way too much food for folks. I always overdo it. That bowl held more stuffing than 30 people wanted to eat. I think we got through about half of what I made. 

Photo number 2 - the much beloved charcuterie board. I think this was only the second year Kathleen served a charcuterie board but it's already become a favorite. We arrive at the house a few hours before dinner, and we start the day by arranging a ton of food artistically and beautifully on a giant wooden board. Then we look at it for about five seconds, maybe take a photo, then we dive in. It helps us keep up our strength until the turkey is ready. 

Photo number 3 - the Preslar women coma. This was long before dinner was ready - folks were still munching on the charcuterie. But all three of us just collapsed onto the couch and were out cold for a while. That was one delicious nap!

I feel bad I don't have pictures of the rest of the guests or the amazing Thanksgiving buffet. It was a lovely day - Sam and Kathleen work hard to host us all and really make it special. I'm grateful to them. I'm also so grateful I was even there! Now that I work at a hospital, there will be years that I'm scheduled to work on Thanksgiving or Christmas. This was one of those years - I was supposed to be on duty on Thanksgiving Day. I was very grateful for my sweet coworker who didn't have Thanksgiving plans and was very interested in the premium pay and offered to take my spot. I didn't have to miss out on Sam's smoked turkey with sausage or Kathleen's green beans! Phew! Many thanks and next time I'll take more pictures.