Monday, October 10, 2011

Giving Thanks

Today is the Canadian Thanksgiving.  The cooking turkey has been producing a heavenly aroma for several hours now.  I have made my special cranberry chutney and prepared the Brussels sprouts, although I am the only one who actually likes those miniature green cabbages.  I think it's from having been forced to eat them as a child  with each Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, as tradition would have it.  Chef Pierre is making a lot of noise in the kitchen with the final preparations.  The table is set, the wine at the ready.  All that is missing are the guests, who will be here soon.


 Oh yes, and one other missing item: a centrepiece for the table.  I am not much of a Martha Stewart type, really.  I don't recall if I've ever made a centrepiece to put on the table.  So I am borrowing this autumnal beauty from my friend Jacqueline who created it for the scrumptious and sumptuous dinner party she hosted a few weeks ago.  Yes, I am presenting a virtual centrepiece.  The dinner guests can look at it on my computer screen.

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I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all the kind people whom I have met through blogging, as well as my real life friends and relatives,  for coming to visit me here to partake of my humble offerings

30 comments:

  1. Have a wonderful thanksgiving! :)

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  2. Life as it can, as it should be.

    Please have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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  3. Wow, Jenny!
    you're definitely the early bird here, as opposed to the late bird we'll be serving for dinner. Lovely you could make it.

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  4. Robert,
    You're here, too! Excellent. Would you prefer white meat or dark? Or are you vegetarian? Perhaps a glass of wine?

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  5. Happy Thanksgiving Louciao! I hope that you have had a wonderful day with lots of good food and laughter with guests. I am confident they will love the virtual centre piece as much as I do!

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  6. Oh my, oh my, I'd hardly digested the lovely wildflower salad you had just served up with generous helpings of greens, and now already we are back at the table for turkey ! Well, let's go then ! Bring on the carving knife, bring on the stuffing... and the cranberry jelly, stewed onions, fresh dinner buns, soft butter, oh, and pumpkin pie ? You didn't forget to pop the pumpkin pie in the oven I hope ??? Thanksgiving in October... that's a change of pace... Anyway, I raise a virtual glass from afar to you, to Pierre, to the virtual centerpiece, to anyone else who may be around the table. May your turkey be golden and tender, I can almost smell it from here... yes, a toast to the roast... and happy feasting to all !

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  7. Audrey,
    Thank you. Are you well enough to indulge in a turkey dinner? At any rate, I hope you've had a lovely day. My guests were great company and provided lots of laughter and made appreciative noises over the food. It was a lovely sunny fall day here...though I was too busy cleaning the house for company coming to actually get outside for long. But as Martha Stewart would say, "That's a good thing" (which is about as close to being Martha as I can get).

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  8. Owen,
    Seems whenever food is involved you're ready willing and able to partake! I think you'd get along well with Pierre. Our guests brought along a homemade pumpkin custard pie so no need for me to pop one in the oven (which is a Very Good Thing as I am hopeless at pie-making. There. Now you know the sad truth about your Big Sister). There were no dinner rolls or butter--this isn't France, you know, where no one ever gets fat. Heaps of mashed potatoes with rich dark gravy, though--will that do?
    Oh, sorry, I see you've dozed off in a turkey-aroma stupor so I'll just tippy-toe out of the comment box now...

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  9. I wish the calories I consumed today were virtual too. ;) Such a sweet post. I'm very grateful to have found your entertaining blog. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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  10. Save me a thick slice of white meat & some cranberry relish for a sandwich tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving, louciao!

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  11. Hilary,
    You and me both! Although I exercised extreme self-control and declined having ice-cream on my slice of pumpkin pie. Well, essentially so I wouldn't feel too guilty about that extra glass of wine I did accept. I will definitely be taking that Lake Road walk tomorrow.

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  12. jann,
    Do you think you could bring some of that crusty Sicilian bread for the sandwiches?

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  13. Trust you enjoyed a wonderful meal!
    Best wishes,
    Ruby

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  14. Happy Thanksgiving!
    Canada seems to be grateful earlier than than here.....closer to harvest festival.
    What a splendid centerpiece. How talented your friend is!

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  15. Love the centerpiece. Thanks so much for sharing. :)

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  16. What a beautiful center piece, it comes as a perfect image for your description of your Canadian thanksgiving night (I had no idea yours was at a different date to the USA's). Thanks for your kind invitation, I'll join you with joy, especially since Owen is there too, he's such a great entertainer.

    Thanks for your frequent visits to Avignon, always much appreciated.

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  17. It was a great Thanksgiving wasn't it. In Toronto we had wonderful summery weather and ate turkey and roast outside! Your centre piece is so festive. Thanks for sharing!

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  18. Ruby,
    Indeed we did! Lovely to see that you're back in the world of blogging.

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  19. elizabeth,
    We Canucks need to get our thanks in before the deep freeeze hits us! I'm glad to have a good couple of months between one turkey dinner extravaganza and the next anyway. Time to work off some of those calories (ha ha ha).

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  20. Nancy,
    Wasn't it lovely, and for the most part edible...though the guests were too well fed or too well brought up to actually eat the centrpiece.

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  21. nathalie,
    I'm so pleased you could join in on the giving of thanks. We Canadians try to differentiate ourselves from our southern cousins, though in this case, it has more to do with climate difference than nationality. By the time it's Thanksgiving in the states, much of Canada could already be well-blanketed in snow. Not much reason to give thanks for that! I think Owen might even have brought his guitar along...

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  22. Lucia,
    Thanksgiving outside?! Wow. I'm impressed. It was a beautiful day here, too, though a little bit coolish. Last year I remember it was really cold, so extra reasons to give thanks for this time round.

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  23. Happy Thanksgiving! Your friend's centerpiece is pretty awesome. Nothing is better than good food, good wine, and good company all at the same time! It's been great fun getting to know you, exploring your corner of the world thru your photography, learning from your art and dialogue about it, and enjoying your wonderful, witty sense of humor!

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  24. Stickup,
    The feeling is entirely mutual! I'm really thankful that our friend Owen pointed me in the direction of your famous ass...the equine one...I mean, not that I'm intimating you're a horse's ass...on the contrary...I find your comments sensitive and intelligent and very perceptive and your photos always blow me away.
    Would you like another piece of pie?

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  25. I did indeed indulge! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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  26. Ah, what a lovely nap I've just had... was dreaming of a basting tube and golden juices dribbling down a crispy skinned bird... and it smelled soooooooooo good !
    :-)

    Yes, and mashed taters an' gravy will do just fine !

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  27. °º✿
    º° ✿°º✿ Olá!
    º° ✿Passei para conhecer o seu blog.
    Sinceramente... o que me chamou atenção para o seu espaço foi a imagem do seu perfil!...
    ✿° o Gosto de conhecer lugares diferentes, pessoas e natureza diferentes...
    Amei o seu blog.
    º° ✿♥ °
    ·.♥ ° ·Beijinhos.
    .✿♥ ° ·.Brasil

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  28. Inês,
    I am charmed to have a visitor from Brasil! Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I understand the hearts! ♥ ♥ ♥

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  29. oh and i missed this - are there any leftovers for me as well? :-)
    but at least i have these lovely visual impressions to delight me.

    cranberry chutney ! it sounds like heaven to me, and an exotic one, we don't have cranberries over here.

    many many thanks and warm thought for you as well, dear Lynne, and for your dear ones...

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  30. Dear Roxana,
    I'm sorry but the last of the turkey is gone. However, there is still some chutney left. What if I put some in a nice ceramic pot and send it home with you...when you're ready to leave...which I hope won't be for awhile yet. Stay and listen to the music and dream a little, why don't you. I'll put on some tea.

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