Some tales from our Thanksgiving this year...
We decided to go local for our Thanksgiving turkey. Maple Lawn Turkey Farm provides thousands of turkeys to thousands of customers each year. Since it was our first year, we did not know what to expect. The preschooler and I went on Tuesday morning before Thanksgiving to get our bird. When we arrived, the pick-up line was about forty people long. Most people said it was a very short line for the pre-Thanksgiving rush.
We waited about fifteen minutes to get inside, where they had a table with cookies and apple cider. I was afraid to get out of line, so we did not get any refreshments. The pre-schooler didn't notice.
Once inside, the line did move fairly quickly. We got our bird and then went outside to see some of the lucky clucks who hadn't been prepped yet. My son thought they were really huge chickens. All our Thanksgiving books have dark-feathered birds, so I can see how he made the mistake.
On Wednesday, our young son helped with the stuffing preparations by cutting up some bread--his first use of an actual knife!
As a "day of" activity, we bought a gingerbread house kit that had four mini-houses. We used frosting as glue to assemble them before guests came to decorate the cakes.
Like many other celebrations, we were too busy being festive to take pictures, other than a small handful. My daughter made up our menu and posted it in the front hall for guests to see as they came in.
A few notes on the menu. I took a while to figure out the double entry for mashed potatoes--the "take a lot" instruction is for those eating it as their main dish, "take a little" as a side dish. We had a last minute addition to the drink menu with a typo. We did not drink "bear" but "beer." Maybe we'll have a bear beverage next year.
The turkey cooked very quickly, or so we thought.
When carving, we found the interior of the bird rather underdone, even though our temperature thermometer gave a high-end reading on the breast and thigh. Everyone wound up taking a lot of mashed potatoes! Next year, we will probably go back to butterball.
We had a fire in the fireplace, which blazed majestically for quite a while.
A good time was had by all.
We decided to go local for our Thanksgiving turkey. Maple Lawn Turkey Farm provides thousands of turkeys to thousands of customers each year. Since it was our first year, we did not know what to expect. The preschooler and I went on Tuesday morning before Thanksgiving to get our bird. When we arrived, the pick-up line was about forty people long. Most people said it was a very short line for the pre-Thanksgiving rush.
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| Maple Lawn Turkey Farm |
We waited about fifteen minutes to get inside, where they had a table with cookies and apple cider. I was afraid to get out of line, so we did not get any refreshments. The pre-schooler didn't notice.
 |
| No one else getting refreshments either |
Once inside, the line did move fairly quickly. We got our bird and then went outside to see some of the lucky clucks who hadn't been prepped yet. My son thought they were really huge chickens. All our Thanksgiving books have dark-feathered birds, so I can see how he made the mistake.
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| Turkeys |
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| Enjoying himself |
On Wednesday, our young son helped with the stuffing preparations by cutting up some bread--his first use of an actual knife!
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| Carefully cutting |
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| Slightly menacing |
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| Using the Force |
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| Look ma, no eyes! |
As a "day of" activity, we bought a gingerbread house kit that had four mini-houses. We used frosting as glue to assemble them before guests came to decorate the cakes.
 |
| To raise a village, it takes a child |
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| Ready for decorating |
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| In decorating mode |
Like many other celebrations, we were too busy being festive to take pictures, other than a small handful. My daughter made up our menu and posted it in the front hall for guests to see as they came in.
 |
| Our menu |
A few notes on the menu. I took a while to figure out the double entry for mashed potatoes--the "take a lot" instruction is for those eating it as their main dish, "take a little" as a side dish. We had a last minute addition to the drink menu with a typo. We did not drink "bear" but "beer." Maybe we'll have a bear beverage next year.
The turkey cooked very quickly, or so we thought.
 |
| Ovenly fate of the bird |
When carving, we found the interior of the bird rather underdone, even though our temperature thermometer gave a high-end reading on the breast and thigh. Everyone wound up taking a lot of mashed potatoes! Next year, we will probably go back to butterball.
We had a fire in the fireplace, which blazed majestically for quite a while.
 |
| Maybe we should have cooked the turkey in here? |
A good time was had by all.
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