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Giving thanks!

We shared a lovely Thanksgiving with family and friends this year at our house. 

Brooke's southern drop biscuits.

Heath and Brooke

Not your momma's green bean casserole.

Cornbread stuffing

Roasted Brussels sprouts

Amanda enjoying her wine in a silver goblet.

The dinner table all lit up

Our spread

This was my plate - and I cleaned it but wasn't able to go back for seconds.

Brooke's pecan pie - delicious!

Amanda's three fruit desert - pears, apples, and figs - YUM

After the feast, Dad and Connie decided their tummies needed an Underberg.

HOME - Our tree

We have a gorgeous tree in our front yard. It is giant and provides an amazing amount of shade that is much appreciated in the summer. I love the tree, Rob is on the fence about it. Based on our experiences with the tree and sewer line in Moscow, we are a bit concerned about what the future holds and what the giant root system is doing below ground. Regardless, this is our tree and we DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS! I have the same tree outside my office at work - no one can tell me what it is there either. What kind of environmental scientists are we? 

A cool thing happens once a year, on one day. The tree losses all of it's leaves. On one day (maybe 2). Gone. They just fall off. In one dramatic event. We happened to lose them this year on November 24th. All of them. The drop this year coincided with very cold weather and 3 inches of snow. You wouldn't know that because the leaves are covering all of the snow in our front yard. 

The tree on November 16.

And then again on November 24.

After skiing (in some of the most amazing snow I could have ever hoped for in NOVEMBER) we raked up all the leaves. They are bagged and ready to be dumped in the city compost pile. Too many leaves to add to our compost bins. 

KITCHEN - cranberry sauce

I cannot imagine eating jellied cranberries from a can ever again, however, they still have a place at our Thanksgiving table. Rob cannot live without this memory of childhood Thanksgiving. I was able to swap out the old standby green bean casserole (aka cream of mushroom soup, canned mushy green beans, and friend onions) with 'not your momma's green bean casserole' (recipe will be posted later). For now - here are the super easy directions for whipping up a batch of cranberry sauce. So good you'll want to eat it up with a spoon. 

Recipe

2 c fresh cranberries

1 c water

1 c sugar

Bring water and sugar to a boil and add the cranberries.

Bring back to a boil. 

Continue simmering while stirring frequently. 

Continue cooking until cranberries pop - about 10 minutes. 

Transfer cranberry sauce to a bowl or canning jar. 

Enjoy!