A Blessed & Thankful Weekend

It is the day after Thanksgiving holiday (for those of us who live in Canada).  Nearly one month has passed since my last post and of course, so much has happened since then!  The fleeting fall season is upon us and the autumnal trees are boasting their magnificent hues.  The girls have been in school for over one month now and our family has settled back into the daily routines and orderly schedules of the school year. 

 

On a less pleasant note, our little Annabel broke her arm over a week ago.  I can't tell you how awful it was for me the first couple of days.  But because Annabel is so strong and brave, she keeps me focusing on the positive.  With all the extra love and attention she's getting; fingers crossed, by Halloween, her cast will come off, and she will be good as new again! 

 

Aside from that bit of sad news, everything else is great!  We had such a glorious holiday weekend; filled with so many good things, I just can't wait to share it with all of you!

 

On Saturday, we went on our annual fall drive to see the changing leaves at their peak.  A mere thirty minute drive from our home, in the city of Orillia, we saw this spectacular scenery!

 

 

 

Autumn is my favourite season and these photos are proof of it.  Can you see the vibrant red, orange and yellow leaves?  It is breathtaking to see the trees on a sunny fall day; they radiate such a soft, warm glow this time of year.  It is M-A-G-I-C! 

The girls and I picked pretty fallen leaves and stuffed them in a book to take home and dry. 

 

We stopped for lunch and then went for afternoon tea at this quaint and cozy tea house in Orillia.

Click on the photo for a link to the website!

 

 

At the White Lions Tea House we enjoyed freshly brewed tea and scones!  If you are ever in the area, you must stop in and visit.  Laurie, the owner, is so warm and welcoming, and her freshly baked scones are delicious! 

 

Here is Laurie's selection of loose-leaf tea.  I love how she stores them in clear glass jars.  Even the drawers are smiling!

On Sunday afternoon, I made pumpkin pie to take to my parents' home for Thanksgiving the next day.

Here is the pie dough.  It's the first time I ever made this type of pie edge.  I notice that the more pies I make, the better I become at playing with the dough. 

I also made half a dozen mini pies, to be on the safe side.  Our house is full of pumpkin pie lovers and it would be very dangerous to have a whole pie out on the counter, for all to see. We wouldn't want anything happening to the Thanksgiving pie, now would we?


And finally, the much anticipated day arrived - Thanksgiving day - at my parents' house.

Here is the famous 24 pound turkey, after five hours roasting in the oven.
 For some reason, the turkey keeps getting tastier and tastier as the years go by!

Thanksgiving is about tradition.  Here are a few of ours:

My mom always makes the turkey, stuffing and potatoes
We always celebrate at my parents' house
I always bake the pumpkin pie
My dad always sets the table
Nuno (my husband) always carves and serves the turkey
We always eat too much!

I love this picture!  I was taking a photo of Nuno carving the turkey, when I noticed Anita unaware and staring at the turkey, licking her lips.  Simply priceless!

My plate - turkey breast, stuffing, potatoes and gravy - YUM!

And lastly, our dessert...

a slice of homemade pumpkin pie! 

This year we added something new to our Thanksgiving celebration.  Annabel and I wrote a Thanksgiving prayer together.  Annabel read it at the table yesterday before we carved the turkey.  From now on, the prayer will be read every year at our Thanksgiving dinner. 

I hope that my fellow Canadian friends enjoyed yesterday's Thanksgiving holiday. I hope it was filled with lots of love and gratitude.  I am thankful every day, but particularly on Thanksgiving day, for my wonderful family, my dear friends, my loving husband, and precious daughters. 

I am glad that a holiday like Thanksgiving exists; reminding us to take time out from our busy lives to fully appreciate all of our blessings.  Because no matter where we are in this life, no matter what the circumstances, there is always something to be thankful for.

Many blessing to you all!  Have a wonderful week and continue to enjoy the autumn leaves, while they're still here!  xo



The Gift of Thanksgiving Tradition

From our house to yours...

This past weekend, Canadians celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday .  Our country has been celebrating Thanksgiving yearly, since 1879.  It used to be held in November, but in 1957, it was proclaimed that Thanksgiving would occur every second Monday in October.  And so it has been...

On Thursday, January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:

"A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October."

I am the daughter of immigrant parents.  I came to Canada, from Portugal, with my parents, in 1978.  I was a little over one year old.  My parents came to this country in search of a better life for themselves and to give me the opportunities that they never had.  One of the first "gifts" they gave me, was the gift of "Thanksgiving". Although it is not a holiday celebrated in Portugal, my parents took on their new role as "Canadians" and celebrated by making Thanksgiving day special.  Every year, my Mom cooked a turkey lunch or dinner for us.  This soon became our tradition.  When I started dated Nuno, back in 1992, he too, became part of the tradition, and every year since, we have been celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents' home.  That's 20 turkeys, since we met! 

This year, of course, was no exception!  When Fall arrives, we begin to anticipate the coming of Thanksgiving and the delicious turkey feast.  My mom is always the chef that day.  She makes the turkey, potatoes, and stuffing.  I am the pie baker.  I bring along the whipped cream and pumpkin pie!

I made a pumpkin pie on Saturday evening.  It was the first time I made a crimped edge with the pie dough.  I was quite pleased with the way it turned out.

On the morning of our Thanksgiving feast, I made popovers...

So simple to make these.  Only four ingredients - eggs, flour, milk and salt!

And 30 minutes later, Ta-da! 

Pumpkin pie and popovers!

While I was making popovers, our 20 lb turkey was already cooking in my Mom's oven, since 7:30 that morning!  Lunch was for 1 pm.  We got ourselves dressed and ready for the one hour drive to Toronto.  

And this is what we saw on our drive to my parents' house.  This photo was taken by me, while driving along the highway.  The fall colors are stunning!  And I forgot to add how beautiful the weather was.  It was so warm, people were wearing shorts and flip flops.  It was quite an unusual weather weekend for October!  I don't remember ever celebrating Thanksgiving in such summer-like weather! 

And here it is...the moment we had all been waiting for...

...the star of the show - the 20 pound turkey!

Here is my plate - sliced turkey breast, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and a popover to dip in the gravy!

This year, we were happy to welcome a new face to our table, a friend of my Mom's who hadn't any family or friends to celebrate with.  We all ate, enjoyed, laughed, talked, and felt thankful and blessed to be gathered here together, another year.  We let our stomachs settle a bit before we had dessert.  

A slice of pumpkin pie, with whipped cream on top - the perfect end to a delicious Thanksgiving feast!

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I give thanks for my family (parents, grandparents, in-laws, nieces, cousins, aunts, uncles) my friends, my husband, my daughters, all of the special people in my life.  I live in a world, full of life, beauty, and wonder.  I am thankful to wake up to it each morning and celebrate it with YOU!  

I thank the universe for all the blessings it has bestowed upon me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  

I hope all my Canadian friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Our American neighbours will soon be celebrating theirs!  And I know one of my English friends will be celebrating a special Thanksgiving in America this year.  Not everyone celebrates  "Thanksgiving" as a holiday.  We don't need it to be thankful.  It is a wonderful reminder, however, to be thankful, always.  

Have a wonderful week everyone!  Thank you for stopping by.  If you enjoy reading my posts, please follow my blog!  It would mean so very much to me.  xoxo