Happy Thanksgiving 1988 style! From my table to yours! This was our first Thanksgiving in Charleston. Yes, that’s two pictures of our dinner but for years they have been displayed in our photo album like this because it was our Thanksgiving as a couple. Oh and I still have the scarf but the style of wearing it has changed…
The year is 1979ish. The wallpaper is hip. The haircuts cool. The men are happy. From left to right there’s Len, Mark, and Mike (my future husband). It’s Thanksgiving and Donna (behind the camera) has worked hard to fill the table with food. That’s why they’re happy.
Now back in the day women made the meal and men ate the meal with them. Well welcome to the 21st century where everyone has a job in the kitchen when it comes to feast time. Here are my guys helping out in 2012. Yes the meal was delicious. Aaron makes mashed potatoes. Mike does the relish tray and turkey carving/picking. Both do the various veggie and fruit chopping needed for dressing. Hope you are having a great Thanksgiving. I promise there will be a table picture of our feast this year and maybe more kitchen shots of these good-looking men.
Thanksgivings for me have changed over the years as I’ve matured. Sure there are some foods that are tradition – turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberries (real whole not that can shaped jelly), rolls, and such. But things evolve as the years went on. (more…)
This is me at my maternal grandparent’s house in Laurens, South Carolina. I would guess this to be about 1969. It is a tradition in my family to make a picture of the table laden with the feast. So here I am not having done any of the work but going to do my best share of the eating. Enjoy!
For years our Thanksgivings at Mike’s parent’s house included his maternal grandparents the McAllisters. They were Michigan snowbirds that joined the great grey migration to Florida every year. On their way down they’d stop and have Thanksgiving at Donna’s. So here we are around the table one Thanksgiving in the late 90s. I’m not sure why we all look so sunburned maybe because the house was kept so hot to keep the snowbirds comfortable.
First off let me say I texted my son and sent him the picture asking his permission to publish it. He was fine with that. So here’s my son Aaron when he was in second grade. Yes he’d made this himself at school and wore it to our Thanksgiving dinner. Sadly he did not make one for each of us. **SIGH** Maybe this year.
It’s hard to cook a 20lb turkey when you can only lift 10lbs. Also time on my feet was limited. I started by making the Broccoli Salad. It’s a layered salad that marinates for twenty-four hours in the fridge. After that my guys lived up to their promise and joined me in the kitchen. They were a great help in all the chopping to make the stuffing (I do stuffing with apples, veggies, sausage, nuts…). They were also the heavy pan lifters. Mike was the official Turkey Baker of the house. He did as well as I could.
There was a mix up about Thanksgiving dinner time so we didn’t conflict with Aaron’s obligations at Sara’s family. It was okay we went over for dessert at Sara’s house then came home to have our dinner. It all worked out just fine.
I liked having help so much that I’m going to make family preparation of the dinner a NEW family tradition. I’m all excited for it and gung-ho for next year. The guys don’t seem to be embracing it so much. I can’t see why they wouldn’t love it too instead of sleeping in while I cook or watching football while I cook they get to get up and be a part of the holiday preparations!
So here’s our day in photos:
Until next time! Hopefully the new tradition sticks – I’m sure they will come around to it.
Mike and I already have the Turkey in the oven! Hard to cook a 20lb turkey when under doc’s orders not to lift more than 10lbs. So I am now the sous chef to Mike’s being the chef of the dinner. Hopefully it doesn’t go to his head like it did Marnie’s in this internet classic (psst this is a REAL letter with names changed) :
Have a great day if you are in the US enjoy the holiday and if you aren’t have a turkey sandwich and enjoy the day!
Until next time.
Mary Louise Eklund 