Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Talk

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I certainly hope you did, too.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Blue, blue skies, lots of sunshine and ... it was COLD! A perfectly cool, crisp day with clear skies and lots of sunshine - now that is my idea of a perfect fall day.

Kevin and I arrived at mom and dad's early to help get the turkey in the oven. First, rinse off the brine; next, pat the turkey dry. Follow that by trussing the bird; then, place into a sturdy roasting pan (a must for a 20 pound turkey!); and finally, into a nice, hot oven. WHEW! Okay, now it's time for a rest =)

While the boys rested, mom and I made cute little table decorationsfrom a 'Party in a Pad' paper craft book I'd found a while back. Everyone had darling little name tags and napkin ring holders in fall patterns and colors. We didn't make all of the things in the book, so there are still some to make for next year.

Deb, Bill and the boys arrived not too long after that. Deb and the boys put our Thanksgiving table together:Isn't it pretty?! Deb made the floral arrangement in the basket. Some of the roses are from her own garden! Just beautiful.

Vicky arrived next and brought a carload full of goodies! Veggies and dip, deviled eggs (yum!), fresh bread and rolls. Mmmmm....delish! Oh and poinsettias! It's become a tradition that when we gather together for Thanksgiving, Vicky brings two gorgeous poinsettias to mom and dad. The first year, she brought them in two darling little snowman baskets; now, we pull them out every year, place the poinsettias in them, and place them on the hearth in the livingroom. It's sort of a kick-off of the Christmas season which is just around the corner.

Just after Halloween, I found a few bags of Milk Maid caramels on the clearance table at the grocery store. I picked them up thinking that it would be fun to make caramel apples with the boys on Thanksgiving. When I asked if they wanted to, they both readily agreed! We set up a table out in the back yard.First, we had to get all of our ingredients ready. Apples, sticks, a pan to melt the caramels, and, oh yes ... unwrapping all of those individual caramels! The boys, Kevin and ... Slippers ... made that an easy task.To stay out of the kitchen, we used the burner on the BBQ to melt the caramels - Kevin was our Master ChefThe boys had fun goofing around with the apples before the main event began ...Mmmmm...melted caramel!Okay, I think we're all set ... let the dipping begin!
Okay, so this project is a bit messy. Who cares? It sure was fun! And now, the celebration of the final product: Ta Da!

Back in the kitchen, all of the girls were working hard to ready our feast for the table ... Oh goodness, and what a feast it was! A delicious roast turkey, moist and juicy with just the right spices from the brine, and all of the 'fixin's'. Good food. Great company. A warm, and cozy home. Needless to say we all stepped away from the table full - not just with turkey, but lots of love and good cheer.