We had a lovely, quiet Thanksgiving day, full of gratitude.

It started with waking to a gorgeous sunrise.

It was special to be with our younger daughter again, visiting from Pennsylvania.

We are the flower committee for church, and since we have a wonderful Thanksgiving service every year, we got the armload of mauve flowers for church, and I couldn’t resist some quirky ranunculus for our home as well. Both sets of flowers are featured in ceramic vases I have made.

We used my mother’s “Thanksgiving china,” which feels good, and we decided that morning what to make for our food, since producing a good meal around here is a routine event, and because as non-meat-eaters, we do not make usual Thanksgiving fare. We had tuna steaks on hand for the occasion– as high on the food chain as we go– but beyond that, it was all rather extemporaneous, and done within 45 minutes at lunchtime, after we got home from church.

We made Tuna Rub with Lemon Pepper Sauce, mashed white acorn squash, air-fried asparagus, Apple Salad with Terrific Homemade Dressing, sweet potato muffins with pecan streusel topping (a new effort worth repeating), Martinelli’s sparkling cider in our goblets to toast the day with, followed by apple tart (that James had made the day before), and English toffee our daughter made (which I didn’t get a photo of). I appreciate both my husband and daughter’s help on all of this; we did it seamlessly together, and it was all cleaned up almost before we even ate it.

Also un-pictured interspersed throughout the day is us playing Phase-10, a favorite card game, talking on the phone with far flung family, sitting around the fire knitting or reading or chatting, and our daughter cutting out and sewing a fleece skirt.

You can see James getting our parsley harvest– which he saved from frost every night the last week by going out and covering it with a blanket–ready for the food dehydrator.

I’m on call regardless the day, so the quiet approach to holidays works well for us, especially due to the unpredictable nature of my work schedule. Many I heard from were very grateful to be together again after a long pandemic, others were mourning the loss of loved ones at this time. Some people really feel stress during holidays, and it is a moment full of healing possibilities.

We are all heading into a busy season, so a little unplugging time with family felt great. We all have very much to be grateful for!

Much love from our house to yours. I hope you had a wonderful day too.