I stopped the lavish feasts after my husband died. My only child moved 2k miles away and i have no other family alive. That may sound sad to some but this introvert LOVES it! I usually bake a loaf of bread, make a salad, bake pumpkin pie, and put a pot of soup in the slow cooker. Then i head to the nearby taxpayer supported wild life refuge for a quiet stroll. Usually the only one there. Back at home i pour a glass of wine and read. This year, my partner and i are attending a family potluck and my nervous system is already on alert. 15 people crammed into a small space! I am bringing a brussels sprouts salad with dried cherries and bacon and cranberry sauce. And will patiently wait to go home!
Brussel sprouts and grapes! My favorite local restaurant makes a salad of shredded Brussels sprouts and grapes in a mustard vinaigrette and it is the BEST. This year the grandkids are with their other grandparents and we two oldies are not up to traveling so I was feeling a tad grumpy… and then my husband came home with a half lasagna from another local favorite and announced we were having lasagna for the holiday feast (and at least two meals afterward). There’s a reason I married this man… and yes, I’m making that Brussels sprout salad for us. May your holiday nourish you the way your writing nourishes us.
It's just not a lot of fun for the one who does all of the work is it Elissa? I'm with Elizabeth David on this. Enjoy your apple and cranberry sauce, make a huge bowl just for you.
I'm Australian, so Thanks giving is not a thing here, but I did once cook and host a Thanks Giving dinner for an American neighbour. She gave me the list of must have dishes, which I cooked to perfection apparently, but it really didn't seem like a well balanced delicious banquat to me. She loved it, but it left me wanting a big bowl of salad greens and a bottle of mineral water. May your day be joyful, delicious and relaxed, with an early night of restful sleep.
Used to beg my ex husband for the years we had a Jewish Christmas which means Chinese food and a movie instead of Christmas dinner. Why not an omelette and Sauvignon blanc for brunch and it’s done…..? Love a nine pound turkey on any given Sunday, as a nursing mother I would cook a twelve pound turkey each Sunday. Could it be that the spirit of neither Christmas nor thanksgiving is martyrdom? Not every family is a Norman Rockwell portrait.
Oh! I can feel the lead-heavy limbs, the drooping eyelids. My family situation is similar to yours and at 38 I'm giving so much less fucks about it all - though we don't do thanksgiving here in Scotland. Christmas is usually about not leaving someone alone who we otherwise wouldn't see often, and who aren't chosen family. Every year I vow it's just going to be my husband and I, every year it's the same... Though we do celebrate Mabon as our thanksgiving, and it is just us, a glorious feast (usually soup, harvested veg lasagne, and apple pie) and we speak our gratitude to Mother earth (the best kind of mother) for all the things we're grateful for, all the people we love. Then in Scotland New Year is a big deal - and usually more social with friends - always steak pie (Fable pulled mushrooms for us with Caledonian 80 Shilling beer) with roasties, carrots and sprouts or braised cabbage. Lots of wine, games, TV. We take two weeks off, so there's plenty of time to rest and recuperate at least. Makes a big difference! I hope you and Susan find some equilibrium again, some sleep and some peace xx
This year our kids and their families are all going to their in-laws and we are having Thanksgiving with our neighbor and about 30 guests at her sister’s house in Norwalk. Frankly it’s a relief. We have everybody here on Christmas Eve ( for 7 fishes) and I’ve honestly decided that hosting those two big holidays, not quite 4 weeks apart, is too much for me at my age. Sometimes you just have to give yourself a break! Here’s wishing you and Susan a peaceful Thanksgiving!💕
On point. Tired to the bone pre-holiday. Thank you for this gift of truth!
Speaking of bone, why does every dish Julius Roberts prepares make me swoon with delight while running to the market to buy ingredients for said dish? The Porchetta looks beautiful.
Happy quiet holidays to your small gathering, both Thanksgiving and Christmas.🙏🏼
Turkey-Lurkey Day to purrfection! Great you can share and we are with you. Exactly correct. Great to be able to celebrate every which way and the capon idea, awesome. Most folks don’t know about capon…love it, love you and your writing. Thank you and much aloha from the islands (80 degrees, sorry)
I love your words. Why must there be so much pressure around the holidays? And why do we question our decisions if we decide to keep it small with intimate family/friends? Why do we set ourselves up for failure going to a setting where we know politics/controversial topics will be discussed? I say kudos for keeping it small and enjoying those special to you which includes the special pets in our lives. I wish you were able to travel to Colorado to be with your friends. That sounds wonderful. May we all have peace this holiday season.
Perfect! The pictures are worth a thousand words. My wife and I will have two turkey/ham feasts (Wed/Thurs) at other people’s houses, then waddle home, put on our jammies and in a semi-comatose state, watch Landman. We love Billy Bob and hate his ex-wife. Then glorious sleep.
I stopped the lavish feasts after my husband died. My only child moved 2k miles away and i have no other family alive. That may sound sad to some but this introvert LOVES it! I usually bake a loaf of bread, make a salad, bake pumpkin pie, and put a pot of soup in the slow cooker. Then i head to the nearby taxpayer supported wild life refuge for a quiet stroll. Usually the only one there. Back at home i pour a glass of wine and read. This year, my partner and i are attending a family potluck and my nervous system is already on alert. 15 people crammed into a small space! I am bringing a brussels sprouts salad with dried cherries and bacon and cranberry sauce. And will patiently wait to go home!
Brussel sprouts and grapes! My favorite local restaurant makes a salad of shredded Brussels sprouts and grapes in a mustard vinaigrette and it is the BEST. This year the grandkids are with their other grandparents and we two oldies are not up to traveling so I was feeling a tad grumpy… and then my husband came home with a half lasagna from another local favorite and announced we were having lasagna for the holiday feast (and at least two meals afterward). There’s a reason I married this man… and yes, I’m making that Brussels sprout salad for us. May your holiday nourish you the way your writing nourishes us.
that photo of your mother watching susan carve...just made my day
It's just not a lot of fun for the one who does all of the work is it Elissa? I'm with Elizabeth David on this. Enjoy your apple and cranberry sauce, make a huge bowl just for you.
I'm Australian, so Thanks giving is not a thing here, but I did once cook and host a Thanks Giving dinner for an American neighbour. She gave me the list of must have dishes, which I cooked to perfection apparently, but it really didn't seem like a well balanced delicious banquat to me. She loved it, but it left me wanting a big bowl of salad greens and a bottle of mineral water. May your day be joyful, delicious and relaxed, with an early night of restful sleep.
Used to beg my ex husband for the years we had a Jewish Christmas which means Chinese food and a movie instead of Christmas dinner. Why not an omelette and Sauvignon blanc for brunch and it’s done…..? Love a nine pound turkey on any given Sunday, as a nursing mother I would cook a twelve pound turkey each Sunday. Could it be that the spirit of neither Christmas nor thanksgiving is martyrdom? Not every family is a Norman Rockwell portrait.
Oh! I can feel the lead-heavy limbs, the drooping eyelids. My family situation is similar to yours and at 38 I'm giving so much less fucks about it all - though we don't do thanksgiving here in Scotland. Christmas is usually about not leaving someone alone who we otherwise wouldn't see often, and who aren't chosen family. Every year I vow it's just going to be my husband and I, every year it's the same... Though we do celebrate Mabon as our thanksgiving, and it is just us, a glorious feast (usually soup, harvested veg lasagne, and apple pie) and we speak our gratitude to Mother earth (the best kind of mother) for all the things we're grateful for, all the people we love. Then in Scotland New Year is a big deal - and usually more social with friends - always steak pie (Fable pulled mushrooms for us with Caledonian 80 Shilling beer) with roasties, carrots and sprouts or braised cabbage. Lots of wine, games, TV. We take two weeks off, so there's plenty of time to rest and recuperate at least. Makes a big difference! I hope you and Susan find some equilibrium again, some sleep and some peace xx
Your Mabon celebration sounds lovely. And thank you. However you celebrate, celebrate each other. (Also, I love 🏴)
Thank you. That's what it's all about. (And I love living in Scotland, it's a magical place full of witches) 😊 x
We are going out for Thai food on Christmas night. Can’t wait- it’ll be its own kind of special.
This year our kids and their families are all going to their in-laws and we are having Thanksgiving with our neighbor and about 30 guests at her sister’s house in Norwalk. Frankly it’s a relief. We have everybody here on Christmas Eve ( for 7 fishes) and I’ve honestly decided that hosting those two big holidays, not quite 4 weeks apart, is too much for me at my age. Sometimes you just have to give yourself a break! Here’s wishing you and Susan a peaceful Thanksgiving!💕
On point. Tired to the bone pre-holiday. Thank you for this gift of truth!
Speaking of bone, why does every dish Julius Roberts prepares make me swoon with delight while running to the market to buy ingredients for said dish? The Porchetta looks beautiful.
Happy quiet holidays to your small gathering, both Thanksgiving and Christmas.🙏🏼
I’m so right there with you: sleep
Turkey-Lurkey Day to purrfection! Great you can share and we are with you. Exactly correct. Great to be able to celebrate every which way and the capon idea, awesome. Most folks don’t know about capon…love it, love you and your writing. Thank you and much aloha from the islands (80 degrees, sorry)
Happy holidays yall. Xo.
To you too! (Also, I want your cornbread recipe, but that’s a conversation for another time.)
I love your words. Why must there be so much pressure around the holidays? And why do we question our decisions if we decide to keep it small with intimate family/friends? Why do we set ourselves up for failure going to a setting where we know politics/controversial topics will be discussed? I say kudos for keeping it small and enjoying those special to you which includes the special pets in our lives. I wish you were able to travel to Colorado to be with your friends. That sounds wonderful. May we all have peace this holiday season.
Brussel sprouts with grapes!
Pray for a walloping snow in VT. Diffusing the attention was always my fave strategy. So happy that you have your new/ old dog for that, too. 💚
Yes, as my husband would say, “dilute, dilute.” We used that strategy with his toxic aunt.
Perfect! The pictures are worth a thousand words. My wife and I will have two turkey/ham feasts (Wed/Thurs) at other people’s houses, then waddle home, put on our jammies and in a semi-comatose state, watch Landman. We love Billy Bob and hate his ex-wife. Then glorious sleep.