Thanksgiving Day Celebration

Our Thanksgiving was a lovely Thanksgiving indeed, and I hope that yours was as well! Here are some pictures of the, hmmm....120 or so that I took from that day. :D First off, I really wanted to decorate like I did last year...by the way, for us Floridians, and especially for the Fambrough family, "decorate" other than Christmas means "put something out". I wanted to do that. :D So, here are some of the decorations...I had collected some sweet gum tree balls, and we bought these sweet little lady apples, and pumpkins...this was the first thing you saw as you entered our house.


This is a very neat cloth wall hanging about Ireland's Arthur Cottage, about the times and lineage of the Arthur family, one of whom, Chester A. Arthur, would become the president of the US in 1881. It is very interesting to read through, and was brought to us as a present of last year's visit of Sarah Magee....who, now gets to see it used this trip! It added to our whole Thanksgiving Colonial theme. All ten decorations that is...hahaha.
Here is the kitchen table pre-food. :D The lovely autumn bouquet and pumpkins, and Grandma Fambrough's everyday china.
And since I was shooting everything else, I had to get on of the Irish girlie we had in town. :)

The complete table with decor and settings by Mother dear.
My favorite shot of the entire day.
Yes, we did have two different kinds of napkin rings...we love to be different. :D
Someone later asked me if I had taken a shot beforehand of the table, and I answered that I believe I had gotten about ten! Hmm...that seems a little low now, make it 30. Haha.
Here is a complete shot of the place setting.
The adorable little lady apples that were perfect doll sized. So CUTE!
And the table "party take-homes"...haha...Indian popcorn tied in little satchet bags, with sweet gum tree pod balls tied in the knot, leaning against a little lady apple centered on the plate. I was satisfied, nay, excited how it all turned out!
And here are Sarah and I's masterpieces - the name cards. Each is a bit different in size, decor and such. Sarah, in all of her amazingness of knowing calligraphy took a normal sharpie pen, and did this penmanship...I stared across the table, and said "Oh. I think you can do all the writing on them." How sensible of me, right? :D I know. These are six of them, Sarah did the little (cough) amazing leaves, and I did the cut-out others, I was proud of my little things...a childish sort of proud as I sat next to Miss Monet over there. Ha. I got a severe remembrance of how it is with my older sister. She draws art, and I draw sleeping worms. :)
Okay, okay...I just had to show you the one I was proud of...my little turkey...he is cute, is he not? I even made a little wattle, and let me tell you, those are some meaty little drumsticks that he has on him! So, what if he looks like a gas can with feathers and what all else? I liked him, and he never got eaten for Thanksgiving, so he was a happy turkey. So there.
The unhappy turkey of the day. However, he was a very tender and delicious bird, so, he albeit, unhappily, made us quite happy.
Daddy doing an excellent job carving the turkey.
Oh, the vast array of succulent dishes laid out for us. L to R: Stuffing, broccoli and cauliflower, turkey, ham, a pot of lima beans, and a rhubarb pie for later. All made by my mother, who is an excellent cook, and those who ate this Thanksgiving dinner agreed it one of her very best. Now, don't you wish you could have eaten some too? :D

And here it is...again...the rolls in the basket, my homemade apple butter, jelly, sweet potato casserole, lima beans, cranberry sauce slices, relishes and olives, pickled beets, gravy, and oranges. Oh, deliciousness...it was all SO good!
Our dog that is so often hopeful that we often refer to her so...her real name is Mopsie.
Our company were Mr. and Mrs. Gilchrist, dear family friends of ours, and Mrs. Gilchrist's mother, Miss. Nita, who very much enjoys our little doggie-woggie. Mopsie loves all the attention she receives from her! Miss. Nita is a sweet lady with gorgeous hair like my Grandma Fambrough's, who is a gracious woman at the wonderful age of 96! She has some very good stories to tell. :D
Miss. Nita drinking some black coffee...I very much enjoyed talking to you, Miss Nita!
Mrs. Gilchrist showing Miss. Nita the rhubarb pie. :D
Miss. Nita, with Mr. Gilchrist in the background.
Mummy busily cooking and talking with Mrs. Gilchrist, who was sipping some hot cider. Mrs. Gilchrist looked so lovely in her autumn orange blouse!
Mrs. Gilchrist holding her cup...more cider, perhaps? Or tea? From the Boston canal? HAHA!
Mr. G. , Daddy, and Sarah chatting about hmm... what were they chatting about?
Whatever it was, Daddy was in a hilarious mood while he cut up the turkey! Haha...Sarah had no idea what was going on, and just smiled in my direction. :D I love it.
Mr. G. and Daddy talk in the living room before the meal at 3:30pm. Godly men together.
A cold glass of apple cider really hits the sweet spot on Thanksgiving Day! Clean dishes...evidence of a meal very much enjoyed.

I really like this shot, just how it depicts the slow, relaxing afternoon and evening we had - the Thanksgiving it really is supposed to be. :) It was so nice to have the doors open to the breezy 70 degree weather!
Mrs. G., and Miss. Nita look at a Lehman's catalog for the first time! They loved it, of course.
And they also said that I could put pictures of them here, on my blog! Thank you!!! You are both so lovely...I hope I look as sweet and cute as Miss. Nita when I am 96. :D
Mrs. G. graciously offered to take a couple pictures of Sarah and I. We accepted!!!
And I think it is the first time ever that someone has told me that we looked exotic in our picture! We laughed over that one!
And one last favorite shot of the day to close things off...thank you, Gilchrist family for coming! We love you. And, ya'll come back now, don't be strangers here!
With love,
Jean Marie