THANKSGIVING

A Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

The flowers from the Dame to grace the table this year. Much to be thankful for. Family, a close circle of friends, good health, a job I love, and surrounded by nature. As Travel Penguin blogged... I'm grateful for enough. And all you for your entertaining comments.

I love watching the Thanksgiving Day parade...I guess tradition. A fun fact. In the 1920's, and 30's it wasn't uncommon to catch a glimpse of a giant dragon, Felix the cat, or hippo floating in the air days after the Macy's parade ended. It seems like a crazy idea, but it happened, the balloons would be released. Once the balloons were freed from their tethers; there was no control over where they went or where they ended up. Some hit lamp posts, the hippo almost collided with the Empire State Building, and others in neighboring counties and states hitting power lines. Most balloons came to the ground within the five boroughs, but some balloons traveled over 100 miles, one character ballon was found in Greenville, Connecticut and two others way out over the Atlantic!

🦃🦃🦃🦃

SEASONAL SNAPS

Currently on a side table in the bedroom! The way the light comes in, I found it very relaxing. 

This post for no other reason,is to just share a few current and pass pictures that I love and make me think of why I enjoy thanksgiving time.

After work today, Ill begin to prepare the feast of thanks for tomorrow. I have everything I need, the turkey picked up from the farm, and my aunt's favorite cookbook out and ready for parts of the meal. Ill prepare a few dished tonight to have ready to just pull out and put in the oven tomorrow morning. My aunt LOVED her Julia Child, as I was honored, she left the three cookbooks by her to me.

Ah candlelight.

My beloved material grandparents before they married.

My current turkey collection on the kitchen table.

Remembering dear Lilith waiting one year for the bird to come out of the oven. And yes, she waited THE WHOLE TIME.

Remembering Buster and my current Sophie from one Thanksgiving. It seems every dog I have is always a kitchen dog...meaning always under foot when in the kitchen cooking waiting for a scrap to fall. Sophie and Lily were almost always in the kitchen when I'm cooking.

When I lived in the old pied de terre who remembers when the wild turkeys would come out of the woods and roam the grounds? I'll never forget that.

The last picture is not mine but I always makes me chuckle.

FOOD PORN

 The dinner was a complete success and if I may toot my own horn, almost everything tasted just like many of the family recipes. The house smelled wonderful, and it was a three-hour affair. Everyone was stuffed. How full? When the visiting Lad and I turned in, we bypassed sex!!! But the bird!!!

Before

After

It also came up about a funny story about our late dog Lilith who was a Rhodesian Ridgeback. She was a great lover of turkey, so I do reckon Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday, and turkey being her favorite treat. But overall, she was what I called a kitchen dog. ALWAYS in the kitchen when cooking was being done.  We recalled one year, years back, where her patience and persistence were on display for almost the full four hours the turkey roasted...and would not let the oven out of her sight, till the bird emerged at long last.

What a riot she was, and she always got some. Good times!

 In other news, my cousin Frankie proposed to his girlfriend over the pumpkin pie last night during dessert. So there was that excitement!

THANKFUL

 

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the US. One of my favorite days with the parade, and most of all... the smells of the house from the dinner that will be enjoyed later. The pheasant vessel was my grandmothers and hasn't seen flowers in it since probably the sixties. My talented friend, the Dame made an arrangement in it that will grace the dinner table with family later. My late aunt loved flowers, as do I. So,  at the dinner she will be remembered, my grandmother too with this vessel, and the cooking I'm doing with all the family recipes from both sides of the family for the day. While we all bitch and groan at times, I am lucky and truly grateful and thankful for the little things in my life. I hope we can all find things to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

🦃🦃🦃🦃

THANKSGIVING

I truly am thankful for so many things.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

🦃🦃🦃

 

I LOVE A PARADE

Call me strange, but I love a parade! The fun of it, the pomp and circumstance, the revelry and celebration of it...gay pride or otherwise. Even though the town we live in only has a Halloween one, and even when I lived in Doylestown, we had a wonderful lively Fourth of July parade, one thing Philly does well is put on a parade. The Mummers Parade is legendary!!!! But Thanksgiving wouldn't be the Thanksgiving without the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade. I have been a few times, and it may shock you to know, it's actually even older than the Macy's one.

In 1920, the Gimbels Thanksgiving Parade was the first of it's kind. Store employees in clown costumes bandied down Market Street vying for attention to promote the store's "Toyland" department. Today, along with the Mummers and 25 or more college and high school bands, numerous floats, balloons and performers- the two hour parade ignites Ben Franklin Parkway with much fanfare and color of pre-holiday merriment. Gimbels in Philadelphia was at 9th and Market Street- the cornerstone of a national brand that famously rivaled Macy's- and catered to both high- and low-end consumers, unusual among retailers od the era. It just wouldn't be thanksgiving without see this parade in the morning for me, along with all the cooking smells from the turkey and stuffing and other goodies for the dinner in the evening.

As a regular reader will tell you, I can't stand Macy's.

So as Auntie Mame said-"GET IT AT GIMBELS!"

WHITE MEAT

 Whilst searching for something or other on online, I came across a lovely photo of the late,fabulous Betty White. Did you know she once hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade from the 1960 to the early '70s. Who knew?  The Casa du Borghese says: Can we bring back this tradition please? Take a look at our beloved Betty in action along with her co-host, Lorne Green, who also hosted with her. Of course, this was back when the parade was fun to see, and not plug for all pop star and Broadway shows. When I worked for Bloomingdales, who was owned by Macy's, we too had the opportunity as part of the organization to partake in the parade as balloon handlers. My boss always tried to get me to do it every year. I told her she must think I'm nuts to say yes, and leave the warmth of my house, and getting up at the wee hours of the morning to drive into the city to handle a balloon!!! Plus, we always had family dinner anyhow. Not to mention those huge crowds. I'm fine with watching it right on the tube. Now these days we usually watch the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade then watch the Macy's Parade just to see and hear the marching bands. I can only suspect it must have been a blow when Betty ended hosting the parade. Adore these photos of her.

   

I do love a parade.

 But the Macy one is just meh, these days. I have no problem saying "Get it at Gimbels!!"