Our Wonderful Thanksgiving

There were so many reasons to be thankful on our wonderful holiday yesterday, great and small, and even some which may not have seemed at first to be blessings can be framed as such in a greater perspective.

Of course the best blessing of all is the presence of my wonderful parents -- we just can't get enough of them and are thankful they will continue to be here a few more days. We are also thankful for the rest of our extended family, hither and yon.

We are all thankful to be in relatively good health.

We are thankful our friend, Dan, is home from Afghanistan.

We were thankful my son's migraine was mild yesterday and he was able to sit with us at the table for a little while.

I was thankful for the use of my friend Sherri's two ovens next door. We made a lot of food!

I was thankful for my gourmet chef parents' open minds and hearts. My father even retooled his famous (and my favorite from childhood) Sage Dressing to make it vegan (he used Earth Balance and veggie stock instead of his usual butter and chicken stock).

I was thankful for a chance to use Grandmommy Eula's fine china -- it made me feel close to her. See it under my wonderful vegan Thanksgiving food above?

We were thankful that, after days of grey drizzle, the sun came out just as we were sitting for dinner -- we sat on the patio afterward and basked in it!

I was thankful that our dog Ellie, the naughty, dainty princess who doesn't tolerate doing her business outdoors when the ground is wet, was at least nice enough to choose an out-of-the-way area of our hardwood floor that was easy for me to clean and sanitize. Twice. Thanks for not choosing the rug, El.

Here she is on the right, looking guilty, next to her sister, Emma.

Seriously, we are all so thankful for these amazing canine family members, whether they are naughty or nice. Their hearts are always in the right place and they add so much to our lives. Isn't this photo cute of them posing exactly like the little puppy statues behind them?

Back to the food now . . .

I am thankful for "tried and true" recipes that are not gambles in a mentally taxing cooking extravaganza like the one we undertook yesterday.  I am thankful for our vegan blogging community that has afforded me so many of these. Here is what was featured on our table:

Clockwise from top left are:  my own "Mushroom and Bean Melange" (from A Midlife Vegan), "Scarlet Roasted Root Vegetables" (from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone), "Tender Green Bean with Mushroom and Lemon" (from "The Healthseeker's Kitchen" http://healthseekerskitchen.blogspot.com) and my own mashed potatoes, inspired by Morgan's (http://littlehouseofveggies.blogspot.com) but using what I had on hand: this time vegan cream cheese, Earth Balance, and some veggie stock swirled around to clean out the dregs of my vegannaise jar.

And finally, what says Thansgiving to me:

Dad's Sage Dressing!  Daddy has never written the recipe down, but besides the Earth Balance and stock, it includes lots of mushrooms, lots of celery, an onion, several cloves of garlic, a bouquet of sage and a loaf of white bread. I wish you could have smelled it cooking! This is so good!  Thanks, Dad!

While I have not yet found a reason to be thankful for the overflowed toilet that is now dripping through the kitchen ceiling, (not naming any names) I am thankful that I am now middle-aged enough to know that like everything, this will pass and I can just roll my eyes and grab a towel without flipping out the way I might have done even, say, five years ago! See, something to look forward to, young-uns!

In conclusion, the last couple of days have been wonderful, and I am feeling very blessed indeed. This bustling household is full of love, humor and gobs of fabulous food! I look forward to another day of it!