One Week. ONE WEEK, PEOPLE!

(Click here for a chance to win a copy of DISH, a big beautiful book
all about -- you guessed it -- dishes.  It's a That Old House Giveaway.)
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So today is Thursday.

Which means that the next time a today is a Thursday,

it will be Thanksgiving Day.

Don't anybody panic!

Believe it or not, the To Be Done By Thanksgiving List at That Old House is quite modest
this year, compared to past years when it included such things as solving the conflict

in the Middle East and developing a vaccine for Polio.  What?  Really?  Okay, scratch that last one.

But you get the idea.  I often have very ambitious TBDBT Lists.

But not this year.  This year, simple is the byword.

There are just a few things to do.  I have a project involving this fabric:

 meaning that unless I conquer my paralyzing fear of my big fancy sewing machine,

the dining room windows will be nekkid come next week.  It's drapery sewing time.  Crunch.

If I can get Howard to wield the screwdriver -- a tedious job that seems like work,
so I pass it on to him -- I'd like to recover the dining room chair seats.  We've got 12, I think.
Some of them look like this.  Some are even worse.

Thankfully that's a pretty quick job.  Ha!

Our kitchen needs a lick o' paint here and there,
touchups and old holidays from last year's makeover.
That second coat on the backsplash that never got done.  Easy stuff.

I need to locate the old silverware and give it a shine,

and the Thanksgiving china, glassware, table linens,

the ice buckets, damask napkins, fresh candles, fresh flowers . . .

and make sure all are clean or polished or ironed or arranged -- that everything is ready.

Even the chandelier gets new bulbs.

Well, you know what it's like.

 There's a house to clean, food to buy, chairs to rent, menus to finesse,

recipes to check, a list of what-gets-cooked-when-and-in-what-vessel to make,

along with a list of what serving pieces will hold what food,

and then there are the prayers that for one more year, no one will be poisoned by my cooking. 

I just love this holiday!

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Today, I am doing a Thanksgiving place setting.

For one.

No time to do the whole table; I've got other fish to fry.

I hope I remember to snap pics of next week's real deal.

This is not a fancy for-show table setting.
White china.  The food's the star on Thanksgiving Day.

These are the things that we really use on the day.  Every year.

Right down to the kitschy salt and pepper shakers.

What it is:

Dishes:  My 25 year old Della Robbia-style white china, from the old Bradlee's chain.  Used once a year; they'll last forever.

Flatware:  Our ca. 1912 Georgian silverplate.  With monograms, some of them even our own.  eBay finds.
Stemware:  Irish crystal, inexpensive, heavy, and great for parties.

Napkin:  Large vintage linen, hemstitched and mitered.  eBay, natch.
Crystal candlesticks:  Assorted, from Big Lots and Tiffany.  Not kidding.  

Frosted Votive Candles:  Wedding leftovers from June.  I could give them as door prizes, we have so many.

Salt and Pepper:  Turkeys, of course!  (A gift.)

Amber Turkey compote dish:   A cranberry sauce must.  (Another gift.)

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Have a lovely Thursday -- Cass

Link Parties!

Susan at Between Naps On The Porch hosts Tablescape Thursday.  Who can resist?  Click here!

At From My Front Porch To Yours, it is Treasure Hunt Thursday.  Click here and visit!

No Minimalist Here hosts Open House Party Thursdays.  Click here!

At Coloradolady, Suzanne hosts Vintage Thingies Thursday.   Click here!