Let's give a little Thanks!

This is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  There is so much to be thankful for -- as a person, a family, a neighbour, a community, and a nation. 

Today, I cooked turkey dinner for my family -- which I usually do at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, but I usually cheat with stuffed turkey breasts that are ready in 1 1/2 hours.  This time, I did the full-on 15 pound turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts with bacon/orange/mustard sauce, green beens with sage/walnut butter, carrots with butter and parsley, gravy and, of course, cranberry sauce.  I also made a salad to start: spinach salad with goat cheese, cranberries and toasted pecans with a vinagrette dressing.  YUM!  Even the twins were able to join us for dinner... last year, they were less than a month old!

Amazingly, everything went smoothly!  I had everything ready on schedule, and I felt under control.  Mike helped by taking care of the kids, and when my Mom showed up, she helped him too.  I made the same dishes for Christmas last year (except with the stuffed turkey breasts), but it was chaotic!  Don't know what I did differently -- I had my flight class this morning until 11, got home around noon.... who knows.  Maybe I'm polishing my culinary skills as I do this more and more. 

Our good deed for the day: Our next door neighbour was facing Thanksgiving alone since his wife and kids were away visiting his MIL.  We have lived in this house for 4 years, and have never invited them over, but I just couldn't stand the idea of him warming up beans on toast for Thanksgiving.  I had Mike call over, and our neighbour was happy to accept.  He and his wife are much older than us, but we get along very well.  He was thankful for a good meal, and I was thankful that we had plenty to share!

I hope all of you out there can take a moment to count your blessings... even the wee ones!  Happy Thanksgiving!