Raven and Sparrow

Candle Thanks

Although we come from different denominations and are no longer members of any church, Mike and I are agreed about the need for gratitude at mealtimes. We alternate between the Methodist grace of his childhood and the Catholic grace of mine, maintaining the traditions of our families as we express our thanks for the great good fortune we have experienced in our lives.

At Thanksgiving I like to augment our usual grace by lighting three candles in honor of food.

The first candle is for the abundance of food. We must have food to live. The nutrition our bodies require for survival is not guaranteed and so we give thanks for the chance to eat our fill, as we remember those who never have enough.

The second candle is for the pleasure of food. The delicious taste of our carefully prepared and presented dishes reminds us of the many glories this world offers to our senses. We give thanks for the joy that beauty gives to us as we remember to look for it everywhere every day.

The third candle is for the sharing of the food. The most important part of Thanksgiving is the gathering of friends and family. As we sit down to partake of the bounty together, we remember that love is the best seasoning and give thanks, always, for each other.

Thanksgiving comes together

All of the elements I've been collecting for the Thanksgiving table came together yesterday. The scarf from Asian Eye as a runner, the little wooden cut-outs on the napkin holder/placecards, pressed autumn leaves that I have had in my leaf press for years, and bright orange madrona berries picked from the forest floor. The green water glasses were an extreme find at a local second hand store, and the flatware was my mother-in-law's everyday stainless. The plates also belonged to my mother-in-law...they are a Denby pattern from the early seventies. I remember when she chose them, and we used them many times when we celebrated Thanksgiving with her and with Mike's dad after her death. When he moved into assisted living he gave the set to me, (it pays to be known as a dish collector) reserving four plates for his own use in his little kitchenette. His death this fall released those plates back to me, allowing me to plan my Thanksgiving table around them. It was bittersweet to gather with Mike's brother and sister-in-law (and our boys) and use these objects so associated with their family traditions on this most traditional holiday. We ate our turkey from these old, familiar dishes and remembered with love all the people who shared Thanksgiving with us in the past who now are gone. It was good.

Fun stuff for the Thanksgiving table

One night while Mike was in the hospital I came home to find a present for me from my brother Tim and his partner Sue. It was a lovely green bowl full of little fall decorations, including these wood autumn cut-outs. So cute and such a mood lifter....At the time I wasn't thinking of setting a Thanksgiving table, but when I did start down that road, these little things fit right in. I immediately visualized them on napkin rings because the colors work really well with scarf I'm using as a table runner. 

My first plan was to attach them to grosgrain ribbons but no ribbon of the appropriate color or size was available at my local fabric store. However, at the scrapbooking store next door I did find some card stock in the right colors and thought it might be nice to work in paper for a change. Using the stock also allowed me to incorporate place cards in the napkin holders. I've had little individual letter stamps for years so I used them to stamp out the names of my expected guests...I forgot how hard it is to line them up evenly...and then slipped the names into slits on the card stock.  I stuck the wooden cut-outs on with double-stick tape. I think they are great colorwise, but maybe a little much overall. We'll see when the table gets set.

 

 

Thanksgiving table try-outs

  Usually we join my extended family for Thanksgiving. I have four brothers and two sisters, most of whom make it home to my parent's house for the day, bringing their families, plus my aunts and cousins. Its quite a crowd. Of course we all bring our specialties so the food is fabulous and very abundant. My parents remodeled their house many years ago to include a dining room large enough to accomodate us all because they have always encouraged and enjoyed having the family together. Usually there are twenty-five to thirty of us giving thanks for the traditional turkey dinner.

    This year everything is different. Mike still gets tired easily and he has to be very careful about what and how much he eats. The prospect of a long day of travel, and the hubbub of dinner prep amongst and for so many people just seems like too much, although we will miss being with my family. We've decided to have Thanksgiving here at home instead.

    It has been quite a while since I have undertaken Turkey Day on my own, even though I will have the support of my dear sister-in-law, who is also a wonderful cook. I think a full scale turkey dinner is pretty hard to bring off well, with everything finished at once, at the proper temperature and nicely presented. I'm reviewing my recipes and planning the menu, but really, I'm most interested in the table.

    I was wondering what to do about it...letting possibilities float about in my mind.... until this weekend when our local scarf wholesaler Asian Eye had their pre-holiday clearance sale. I always go to these events just to enjoy being surrounded by beautiful textiles and to check in with my friends there....also I can never resist buying things. This year I found this woolen hand-made and embroidered scarf from India and immediately thought it would be great for the Thanksgiving table. I brought it home and now I'm auditioning my decorative doo-dads to see how the table will come together. I will let you know.