Oh My Ears & Whiskers! The Turkey Cometh

Not even two weeks until Thanksgiving!

Meaning, a relative of one of these guys is on its way to That Old House.

Wild turkey,wandering aimlessly near our house. Silly bugger - it's November. Flee!

Because eventually, all November roads lead to this:

 This is motivating.

Yes, this wakes up my hostessing DNA and gets all those

holy-monkeys-get-your-act-together genes percolating merrily.

Because we won't just have turkeys here on Thanksgiving.

No turkeys in this group!  :-)

We'll have people.  Aged from 22 months to 88 years.

This year, I do not have a long, elaborate, impossible
To-Be-Done-By-Thanksgiving List.

Nope, this year, it's pretty pared down.
In no particular order, here it is:

Polish the old silver.  The easy way.
(You don't know the easy way?  I'll show you.  Tomorrow.)

Clean.
At least enough so as not to frighten the guests.

Plan the menu (yes, because Thanksgiving foods change

so much year to year), send Howard to shop (he likes this, or so he claims),

and then do the cooking, from cranberry sauce to pies.

Get the Thanksgiving china out of the breakfront.
Actually, that will be Annie's job when she gets home.
(I wish I had her home for days beforehand!  She cooks.)


Speaking of the dining room, I better include
"clearing off the table" on my TBDBT List.
Ha ha! Gotcha!
This was October 2010, when we were rejiggering the kitchen, and 
all the kitchen stuff was all over the freakin' house.  Including here:

We still don't have matching dining room chairs, but that's okay.
No one coming has matching bottoms, either.  :-)

I am tempted to add "sew dining room draperies" to my List this year,
as I have had it on my TBDBT List for years, but I am not including it.
After all, don't the windows look nice, all nekkid?

If the draperies get done, that will be a lovely surprise.  For me.
Do elves ever show up at night and sew curtains?  Please tell me Yes.
 

So, pared down, this year's TBDBT List is:

Clean, shop, cook.
(Yep, that covers a lot of ground.)

Change the chandelier lightbulbs, an annual event.

Find all the table linens, platters, wineglasses,
and the cords to the big coffee urns.
(More of a challenge than you might think.)

Fetch guests coming by plane or train.

Plan table centerpieces.
(I pretty much always forget this.)

Bathe the dogs before Turkey Day itself.
(This reminder is hard-won; don't ask.)

Don't poison anyone.
(So far, a perfect record on this one.)

Yup.  That pretty much covers it.
Mostly, just the basics.  And the fun stuff, like cooking.

What's on your T.B.D.B.T. List?
Cass

And thanks to Karen at The Graphics Fairy for the vintage images.
Her website is amazing, and addictive.  Go see!

I Elect Not To Fret

Today, here in these United States,
it is Election Day. 

E PLURIBUS UNUM.  The phrase suggested 'way back in 1776, for
the Great Seal of the United States.  Latin for "out of many, one," it describes the coming-together
of the 13 former colonies, which had strong regional differences, into a cohesive, purposeful whole.
It's still a part of the Great Seal.  You can read more (lots more!) about the Seal here.

Anywho, I'll vote today.

This isn't a presidential election year, so there isn't the great

excitement of nationwide voting, but that doesn't mean it doesn't count.

Me, getting ready to cast my ballot.

 Now, about that fretting mentioned in the title. . . .

You know my Thanksgiving "to do" list?

The TBDBT?

This year, I'm letting it go.

This year, I'm a bit hobbled with a bum knee, and spending

way too much time with that knee immobile.

Meaning I am doing way too much sitting.  Yes, annoying.

Going to the doc today.
Hoping for a quick fix!

With just 3 weeks till Howard heads out on his annual

Turkey Hunt, and brings home a whopper of a Tom,

those "to-do" items are most likely not going to get "to-done."

Howard does love his knickers.

The important stuff will get done; it always does.

Cooking, cleaning, more cooking . . . . Those things we'll do.

The old silver will be polished.

We'll get out the Thanksgiving dishes.

Cranberry sauce will boil merrily away on the stove.

And I'll make the walnut pie - just one this year.

We don't want a lot of leftovers.

On the great day, Howard will host - in his Turkey Shirt.

And most importantly, That Old House will be full of people.  Well fed people.  :-)

Thanksgiving Day 2009

But as for that TBDBT List,

for yet another Thanksgiving,

the dining room chairs will not have matching seat covers.

And it's a pretty good bet those draperies in there will not be sewn.

Unless Howard has heretofore hidden talents.

 And you know what?  Those things aren't important to anyone but, probably, me.

So I'm letting them go.  I'm allowed.  Kind of amazing.

You can find me here, today, un-laxing,

being all Lazy Lady Liberty on Election Day.

I seem to be in danger of a wardrobe malfunction.

Fellow citizens, please vote.

It is, absolutely, the least we can do to show our

gratitude in this month of Thanksgiving.

Happy Tuesday!  Keep an eye on that Thanksgiving

Countdown Clock on my sidebar.  Yikes! -- Cass

Vintage graphics courtesy of Karen, at The Graphics Fairy.

That Old House Gets Her Feelings Hurt

How could I forget?
The first day of October was the 
5th Blogiversary for That Old House.

I didn't send flowers, didn't send a card,

didn't even mention this event in my post that day.

In fact, I didn't even write a post that day.

Not me, not writing a post, and not my cat.  Or whatever animal that is, stuffed or alive.
But I think I have that same small table topper in my stash of old linens.

Ooops.

Dear old house, dear old blog -- I apologize.

You know how I am.

Pretty fuzzy in the brain department.

Foggy, you might say.

Foggy.

Just like you were, this past Sunday morning.

But I so clearly remember that very first blog post, with one picture

filched from the real estate listing for this house, and not 

a blessed clue as to what I was doing.

On the 2nd TOH Blogiversary, I wrote one of my favorite posts,

about what blogging means to me and, I think, to many others.

That post is here.

************************************

Today I tootled off to a magical place called Bergen County,

where lovely people often sell lovely pieces of furniture

for lovely (if by lovely we mean cheap) prices.

I bought a small chest of drawers, very French, and

I think quite old.  It has lead a colorful life, as some

bits and bobs of its thick veneer have taken permanent leave,

but it is still gorgeous.  Original brasses, too!

However, it's out in my car and it's too dark out now to get a picture.

Tomorrow.  Promise.  You will either think I'm brilliant, or a total boobie, for buying it.

Then, after kidnapping my sister for lunch at a cute little bistro

in Ho-Ho-Kus (and don't you just love that name?),

I went on to yet another town to take a gander at these:

I think it's time I grew up and got real,

grown-up chairs for the lovely table in our dining room.

Since we already have 5 good Queen Anne chairs,

I was hoping these six would give us almost enough, in a similar wood.

Turns out the set was in kind of a sketchy neighborhood.

Even by my standards.

I'll go back on Saturday, with Howard.

For once, I'm being cautious.

And now, my friends, adieu.

Guess what?  It's fewer than 50 days until Thanksgiving.

I think I need to start a T.B.D.B.T. List, posthaste.  Eeek!  --Cass

Many thanks to the amazing Karen of The Graphics Fairy for the vintage images.

Link Party!

It's Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer.

Join Susan and the rest of us.... click here!

Happy Frank, Sloppy Snow, Sniffles, And The Turkey Shirt Returns

In our prep for Happy Frank's Giving Day,
we had a serious crisis:  Howard could not find his
(in)famous Turkey Shirt.

Miraculously, it surfaced on The Big Day.

Me:  "Where did you find it?"
Howard:  "In the closet.  Hanging with my other shirts,
                 right where it was supposed to be."

Ladies, you have all been down this road before.

So here he is, Mr. Thanksgiving himself, circa 2012:

Howard and a 28-and-3/4 pound Tom,
looking way better in the picture above than it does in this one:

 Raw turkey.  Not attractive.  But such potential.

What is attractive on Thanksgiving Day?
(Other than Howard in his Turkey Shirt?)

A lineup of pies!

Getting the dessert table set up.  The whipped cream is still being, well, whipped.

 2 apple, 2 pumpkin, one cranberry, one walnut, cookies with
Hersey Kisses, and a pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust.
We go all out in the dessert department on Thanksgiving.

We fed 22 souls last Thursday, and no one got poisoned.
Another successful Thanksgiving!

*************************************
Today, an actual snowfall.

About 3 inches by nightfall.

Little doggy Dylan is not sure about this cold white stuff. 

Out with Anne for a business trip.

"It's getting kind of nippy out here."

"Let me in!"

Houseguests Josh and Alida
went back to Los Angeles this morning.

We stuffed them like they were Strasbourg geese for a week, 
and in a month we'll welcome them back at Christmastime.  
:-)
********************************

Meanwhile, I am sniffling and sneezing.
My first head cold of the winter season.
And I hope it will be my last.  I'm so impatient with colds.

They don't make you sick enough to send you to a doctor

for some sort of magic drug, but you still feel dreadful.  Crazy.

Having doggy Dylan with me on the sofa, snuggling through a

couple of awful old movies today, was therapeutic.

He really tucks himself into the nooks and crannies, does this dog.

Oops.  I think we woke him up.

I was especially thankful this Thanksgiving

to husband Howard, daughters Anne and Alida,

and son-in-law Josh for their wonderful help in getting

Thanksgiving launched here at That Old House.

Without them, it would have been baked beans and hot dogs.

And of course, I am deeply grateful that Howard found his Turkey Shirt.

Turkey Shirt pose, 2012 Edition.

Now, my friends, it's on to Advent, and Hanukkah,

and Christmas, and the New Year, and Epiphany.  

Let the decorating and celebrating begin!  -- Cass

P.S.  Happy Frank's Giving Day?  For the newcomers to the blog, that's the name given to the Thanksgiving Holiday by our much-missed Cavalier spaniel Dion DiPoochy, years ago.  Dion often waited in vain for Happy Frank to bring him a special present, but being an honest pup he also had to admit that most years, he didn't deserve one.

He passed the tradition to our new Cavalier, Dylan.  Dylan is learning his manners fast, but he's still got a few quirks, like biting his leash in order to take himself for a walk.  We're working on that one!  It's amazing what a couple of Cheerios can do; you can't munch a snack and bite a leash at the same time.  

What T.B.D.B.T. List? One Day, Folks!

There is an Old Wives' Tale - When your 
squirrels are chubby in the Fall,
you are in for a rough winter.

Uh-oh.

One of our local squirrels,
perched on a fence post outside our sunroom.

Bring on the snuggies and the galoshes, friends.

I'm abandoning all hope of a mild winter.

But tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day 2012, will be a lovely day.

Which is a mixed blessing;

brilliant afternoon sun on the west side of the house

highlights how really schmutzig the windows are.

Me?  I like a day with good cloud cover when I give thanks.

Supermarket flowers, waiting to be transformed into centerpieces.

My T.B.D.B.T List?

(To Be Done By Thanksgiving.)

Ha.  Ha.  Ha.

Between one thing and another, including this:

pretty much nothing got done.

Although we did hang the matchstick blinds in the study.

I am thankful for even that small thing.

(Which I call small, because Howard did all the work

and I just had to watch and supervise.  He loves that.)

Meanwhile, at That Old House, preparations continue for

tomorrow's feast and love fest.

Mmmm . . . chopped onions and celery, getting all

hot and bothered and ready for the stuffing.

Our biggest blessing?

A family which really enjoys family gatherings.

And, of course, a full refrigerator.

The turkey, a modest 28 pounder, is in the fridge downstairs.
So it's really two full refrigerators.  Come help us eat!

Next on the food prep list?

Hot artichoke dip, two apple pies,

one walnut pie, and a pumpkin cheesecake.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

You lookin' at ME?

I'll be back to say Hi soon, and share a picture of

this year's pin-up boy:  Howard in his turkey shirt!

-- Cass

Dylan and Dad; a dog and his boy.