Category Archives: Thanksgiving

Nov 27 2023

Week 15 – Done

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Week 15 is the week of Thanksgiving, so I am not sure it was a full school week as far as book learning. But doesn’t all that cooking count as a cooking lab?

We had the last day of the semester at co-op. Another day of the week I took our daughter to Knoxville for her harp lesson in person. We also shopped for Thanksgiving menu items.

Traditional Thanksgiving menu

My plate for Thanksgiving – I love this traditional menu

Then, it was all steam ahead with cooking. We had two large meals, one on Thursday and another one on Friday, with different people. It was lovely.

Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones around. Thanksgiving is certainly my favorite holiday.

Nov 25 2022

Happy Thanksgiving 2022

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If you live in the USA, you probably celebrated Thanksgiving last Thursday. For me, this year was different because I did not even attempt to engage my teenagers in a turkey craft. It did not even cross my mind. That ship has sailed.

Thanksgiving Plate

What I made for Thanksgiving: veggie turkey, cranberry salad, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, creamed spinach, green beans, corn, stuffed eggs.

I am enjoying this new phase, don’t get me wrong. As I browse through curriculum options and different classes available, I cannot believe PreK-8 does not apply to us anymore. Continue reading »

Nov 29 2021

Thanksgiving Break

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We only take three days off for Thanksgiving. For my nonAmerican readers, Thanksgiving always happens on a Thursday – the fourth Thursday of November. I cook a lot on Wednesday and Thursday, we have our family luncheon on Thursday, and then on Friday they decorate the Christmas tree. Thus commences the Christmas season at our house.

Thanksgiving Plate

Thanksgiving plate (clockwise): dressing, vegetarian turkey, cranberry salad, corn, green beans, potatoes, stuffed eggs, salad.

This year we had a cozy Thanksgiving, the four of us, and it was wonderfully relaxing. Besides, I came down with a bug the Sunday before, and spent Sunday-Wednesday in bed. No fever, no coughing, no sore throat, just a general fatigue that kept me in bed. So… the children took care of their own schooling on Monday and Tuesday. Continue reading »

Dec 1 2019

Lessons from the Seventeenth Week

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Week 17 included Thanksgiving. That would be enough to make it a busy week, right? But we also experienced a mad dash to the Emergency Room, as my husband was suspected of meningitis. Also, we gave the kids three days off school. Last but not least, I decided to finally dive into the SAT/ACT/college admission universe. Let me take this in order.

Kids with fall decorations

Five years ago

First, I became fully aware that some people do not celebrate Thanksgiving. It amazes me, but as I delved more into this phenomenon, I realized it is based on historical revisionism and left-leaning positions when it comes to American politics. It’s a free country and people can do whatever they want. I am not stopping anybody from quitting or shaming Thanksgiving. Continue reading »

Nov 25 2017

Thanksgiving 2017

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Did you have a good Thanksgiving celebration? We did. We stayed home and I prepared Quorn turkey (vegetarian, gluten free, soy free), gluten free dressing, cashew gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, sauteed broccoli, cranberry salad, bread sticks, and pumpkin pie (gluten free, dairy free).

Thanksgiving dinner with friends

Thanksgiving dinner with friends

I thought of making a salad, but I got too lazy. So I just cut up some Campari tomatoes and they got consumed. I know. I should make more of an effort with salad, but we just had so much going on, it was hard to get motivated. Continue reading »

Nov 24 2016

Happy Thanksgiving 2016!

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This year, we stayed home and played host and hostess to a small group made up of family and friends. There were ten of us around the table, including the four of us. Viewed differently, there were six adults and four children.

Thanksgiving plate

Thanksgiving yummy food

I made Quorn vegetarian turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, fresh salad with greens, tomatoes and petite sweet peppers, cashew gravy, five-minute cranberry relish, corn and dinner rolls (bought frozen). For dessert, I made pumpkin pie, white cake with cream cheese frosting and crustless cranberry pecan pie. We drank apple cider.

Continue reading »

Nov 26 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 48 – Give Thanks

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To celebrate Thanksgiving, we went to Asheville, NC. The Omni Grove Park Inn serves a Thanksgiving Grand Buffet, plus one can take a look at the Top 10 National Gingerbread House Competition creations for 2015. Here are some pictures for you…

National Gingerbread House Competition

 

National Gingerbread House Competition

 

National Gingerbread House Competition Continue reading »

Nov 24 2014

Mom Monday Week 47 – Thanksgiving Every Day

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The idea of taking one day out of the year to eat well and think about what you are thankful for really, really appeals to me. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, if not THE most favorite. I like the Thanksgiving menu and the whole idea behind the holiday. I think about the Pilgrims and what they had to go through – can you tell I am an immigrant? I know the feeling of looking back on my first year in a foreign country (Sweden and then the US) and knowing God’s protection and blessing has been upon me.

Thanksgiving Everyday

Having said all that, Thanksgiving should happen every day, in my opinion. Personally, I have chosen to write down ten gifts I already have in my life – every day. It’s a great reminder to walk away from discontentment and into the attitude of gratitude.

Continue reading »

Nov 17 2014

Mom Monday Week 46 – Thanksgiving Holiday

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That’s it, folks! No more school for the next seven days. I am declaring a Thanksgiving Holiday this week. I need to catch up on housework, writing deadlines and editing my new book, 101 Tips for Kindergarten at Home. I can’t believe it has taken me so long to get it out, but it’s a great lesson. Our plans get interrupted by life. And we all know that life is what happens while you are busy making other plans…

mom monday wk46

I spoke with another homeschooling mom who shared the same dilemma: how do you get it all done? If you focus on housework, school work will lag behind. If you keep all the school assignments up to date, your house starts looking like a tornado just went through and the laundry piles turn into small hills.

Continue reading »

Dec 2 2013

2013 National Gingerbread House Competition

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We took two days off from homeschool to celebrate Thanksgiving, but does learning ever stop?

Ice Sculpture Pilgrims, Grove Park Inn

Ice Sculpture Pilgrims, Grove Park Inn

What if we took a trip to a hotel that has been around for 100 years – where we saw a 1914 Ford T-model and where the likes of Thomas Edison, John Ford and many politicians and celebrities have stayed? Would that qualify as a field trip?

The main lobby features two giant fire places - The Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC

The main lobby features two giant fire places – The Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC

Thanksgiving Day found us at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. My husband’s family came there to meet us and we enjoyed a great feast.

Grove Park Inn Icesculpture

The banquet hall featured ice sculptures such as this one.

We also got to walk around this century-old establishment to admire the 2013 National Gingerbread House Competition Top 10 winners in four different categories: Adult, Youth, Teen and Child. I wish you could smell the gingerbread. Enjoy the pictures!

Gingerbread House

 

Gingerbread House - Top 10 Finalist

Gingerbread House

Gingerbread House - Grove Park Inn

Gingerbread House - Grove Park Inn

Gingerbread House, National Competition

Gingerbread House, North Carolina

Gingerbread House, Grove Park Inn Exhibition

Of course, we spent a few minutes gazing at the Grand Prize Winner – two adorable Panda bears chewing into their bamboo sticks.

National Gingerbread House Competition Grand Prize

Holding my daughter as we look at the 2013 National Gingerbread House Competition Grand Prize

Before we left, we looked for the outdoor fire place and we found it. We also found this adorable teddybear.

Children with Sleigh, Teddybear

Our children posed in front of the outdoor fireplace, with an oversized sleigh and teddybear – The Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC

I feel very tempted to put this down as a homeschool field trip, but I won’t. It will go down in our family history as a family trip and a Thanksgiving celebration.