![Hold Back the Dawn [DVD] Charles Boyer; Olivia de Havilland; Paulette Goddard](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41AkExBJQsL._SL75_.jpg)
The day before, the day of, and the days after
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 04:44PM 
She knocked the pillows down just to stand on them
Oh dear.
Here I was thinking that Thanksgiving was just last week, and I only had yet to tell you about ours.
Then I realized that I thought that same thing all of last week, when it was actually true.
At some point I became OBE: Overcome By Events.
On Thanksgiving Eve we once again had the Hot Taco Dip
Now here we are another entire week removed.
We'd better get down to it.
Thinking linearly means going either backwards or forwards; right?
Because we're about to go backwards for a mo or two.
I'm not a pro cake baker/decorator but I did what I could
Anyway we had a spectacular Thanksgiving weekend, starting on Wednesday afternoon/evening when everyone arrived, and only ending on Saturday morning when Andrew, Brittany, Ember, and Guy drove away.
The meal that night was pizza (arranged by the kids) along with Mari's Hot Taco Dip (we omit the black olives) which is a major crowd pleaser.
And for dessert? Birthday Cake.
Our Ember was all set to turn four on December third, but none of us would be with her at her official birthday party.
Ember was thrilled with her book and markers
So I made her a cake, and I must tell you what a success it was.
The cake itself was strawberry flavored, made from a box mix that I zhuzhed up in my usual way:
Where the mix calls for water, I use milk (or better yet, buttermilk). Where it calls for oil, I use the same amount of melted butter. Where it calls for eggs, I use at least one (sometimes two) extra. Then I add a box of vanilla instant pudding mix, and in this case, a half-cup of sour cream.
She called this gift from TG and me her "wings"
It made a luscious cake that baked up two round layers just about perfectly.
For the frosting I went to the trouble of making a batch of American Buttercream from scratch.
That proved a challenge due to the fact that I do not own a stand mixer, but I used my hand mixer (which takes twice as long) and persevered, and the result was outstanding.
Then I decorated Ember's celebratory confection with pink sprinkles and candies and other things, and I was pleased with the outcome.
She'll be an angel in this dress for Christmas
So it was that on the night before Thanksgiving, TG and I, plus Ember's three aunts on her dad's side, brought our presents to give her after she'd blown out her four candles and we sang to her.
She received a sparkly red Christmas dress, an activity book with special clicky markers, and a play dress-up ring wardrobe, among other things.
Ember seemed happy with each and every gift and said THANK you! so sweetly to everyone in turn.
Aunt Audrey held Ember while we sang to her
That child loves life. It's a joy to behold.
So then, one sleep and it was Thanksgiving Day.
I spent the day in the kitchen, making the turkey and various sides. We ate at five o'clock.
Chad and Erica arrived at about three-thirty, having had Thanksgiving dinner at lunchtime with Chad's family.
Brittany brought these adorable plates for the littles
He told me he would not be able to eat again at five, but in spite of that, as usual, when the time came, he carved the turkey for me.
We also had loaked baked potato casserole, corn casserole (both in Crock Pots), and sweet potato casserole (made according to the Ruth's Chris recipe).
I also made the classic green bean casserole, and I've got to say: I won't be doing that again.
I sampled the turkey before handing the carving knife to Chad
I'm aware that it's pretty much a universal holiday side dish, but I just don't like it.
For Christmas I'll be reverting to my mother's tried-and-true family favorite, the broccoli casserole.
We also had deviled eggs and homemade sweet creamy Southern slaw, and homemade cranberry sauce, and the end of the bag of Brazi Bites.
I'd made yet another pecan pie
For dessert I had made a pecan pie, and the kids brought pumpkin pies and such.
No one went hungry unless for some twisted reason, they wanted to.
We hung out all evening and made plans for our annual Black Friday Picture Day.
This is the day that we all go someplace special to take pictures for everyone's respective Christmas cards.
My deviled eggs were zhuzhed up as well
It used to be that the only plan for that day was to capture Stephanie's family for their card.
But several years ago, since the others would come along for the outing, I began urging Cherica to pose up, and then Audrey and Dagny.
Then at one point, Audrey started taking pictures of TG and me, for our Christmas card.
Green bean and sweet potato casseroles
Now we just call it what it is: one big photo shoot involving five separate families.
Late on Thanksgiving night, Andrew, Brittany, and Little Andrew (our eleven-year-old grandson; he slept in our room on a pallet for the two nights his family were here) came into the kitchen.
Brittany wanted to heat up some of the leftover pizza from the night before. Little Andrew wanted some of the leftover loaded baked potato casserole.
Slow cooker loaded baked potato casserole
Big Andrew found a huge bag of Cretor's Cheese and Caramel Popcorn that I had bought at Costco and saved for just such an occasion.
We broke out a big bowl of that and the three of them snacked while I began gathering fall decorations into their storage bin.
It wasn't long before all of that was safely tucked away and I thought, let's go ahead and do Christmas.
Last batch of sweet creamy Southern slaw for 2023
The tree was already up and decorated and lit and so forth, shining in the window of the front room.
All the other decorations waited on two tables set up just for that purpose, in that room.
So I brought a whole bunch of them into the kitchen and decorated the table, and the ledge, and the coffee cart.
Then I took some stuff into the TV room and placed it here and there.
Crock Pot corn casserole
Before I slept on Thanksgiving night, Christmas was pretty well in place at Chez Weber.
What do you think of that? I told little Andrew: Around here we don't let any grass grow under our feet.
He gave me a blank look so I said, You don't know what that means, do you?
Homemade cranberry sauce
He admitted that he didn't, so I told him and then he smiled and agreed that we certainly don't.
And then it was time to sleep again.
Black Friday turned out to be perfect weather-wise, for our photo shoot. At three-thirty that afternoon, we all met downtown in an area that I call "behind Mast General Store" because that's what it is.
Dagny and Baby Elliot a/k/a Skippy "the Peanut" Porter
It consists of an alleyway with several picturesque scarred brick walls, some interesting signage, and a colorful loading dock.
I've taken so many pictures there through the years, I can barely remember them all.
Then we walked down Main Street to the Columbia Art Museum, which has a large forecourt featuring a very nice fountain.
Audrey and Dagny at the big mural
On the way I took pictures (with the Nikkor 18-200mm zoom lens affixed to my Nikon D7000) of a downtown squirrel who, although there were many people walking in his proximity on that fine day, was undeterred from his nut-consumption activities.
At the museum, I made sure to get photos of all four of our kids together in the same picture, as well as the grandkids all together in the same picture.
That's not as easy as it looks, since our Melanie won't let anyone near her except her parents.
Andrew, Brittany, Ember, and Guy
If anyone else comes within three feet of Melly, she becomes agitated and is likely to lash out.
We're not sure why she began doing this several years ago, because due to her disability, she does not have speech and cannot tell us.
We work around it. In this case Stephanie placed a chair a little ways from the fountain, so Melanie was included in the group.
Cherica with Rhett and Elliot at the loading dock
We take what we can get and it's all good.
After getting those shots, we continued walking another block to a massive mural wall, which presented endless opportunities for interesting backdrops.
By then it was beginning to be twilight, so we walked back to Mast General Store where we were all parked, and went inside to look around.
Stephanie, Joel, Melanie, Allissa, and Andrew at the museum
Although Mast Gen is the sort of store that makes you wish you were well-off enough to buy every single one of your Christmas presents there, I don't think anyone bought anything except for me.
Actually, TG bought it but I handed it to him and said I wanted it. It's a metal sign that I will show you in my next post, when I reveal all of my Christmas decorations.
I hope you're able to sleep between now and then. Apologies if the anticipation proves to be too much for your delicate psyche.
TG and me, Black Friday 2023
At any rate, all of that accomplished, it was time to say goodbye to our Stephanie and her family.
They live in North Carolina, less than a three-hour drive away, but it's their tradition on this day to stop someplace special for supper.
Speaking of supper, on the way home, the rest of us went to Cracker Barrel for ours, then back to the house for coffee and leftover desserts.
L to R, youngest to eldest: Andrew, Erica, Audrey, Stephanie
I think you'll have to agree that not only did we not let any grass grow under our feet, but that we didn't waste a moment of our time either.
Speaking of time, it's now Christmastime, which means that everyone's favorite holiday is coming at us like a runaway freight train.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I designed and ordered our Christmas cards.
Our eight grandchildren ... click to embiggen
On the Monday after Thanksgiving, I picked up said Christmas card order at CVS.
All one hundred-forty of them will go out to their fortunate recipients this week.
(If you don't get one, it means that you have not provided me with your address.)
Rainbow on the coffee cart a week after Thanksgiving
Ninety-nine percent of my shopping is done, and my goal is to have everything wrapped and under the tree by the end of this week too.
The stockings are hung and as for my children's giant ones, they are stuffed with stuff.
Meanwhile there have been rainbows on my coffee cart in the morning. Upon said cart sits a Christmas corgi mug given to me by our beloved daughter-in-law Brittany at Thanksgiving.
Corgi's even cuter with foamy froth coming out of of his head
(I am much enamored of the corgi breed and it wouldn't take much for me to get one. Except, I already have a dog. So maybe later.)
Speaking of pets, my tuxedo cat, Sweetness, knocked the Christmas pillows off the bench in the sun room, just so that she could stand/sit on them.
Cheeky little sucker.
Black Friday for a busy downtown squirrel
Tell me in the comments about your Thanksgiving (if you want to look back that far), and about your Christmas preparations so far.
We're not getting any younger, you know.
And that is all for now.
=0=0=0=
Happy Tuesday
Reader Comments (22)
It sounds like a perfectly wonderful Thanksgiving, and a great day after too.
I must say, I usually agree with you on most things, but you are wrong on the green bean casserole. It really beats broccoli! :)
We had dinner with my sister on that day, then came home and put up all our Christmas stuff - no grass growing under our feet either. It felt good to have it done. I've been feverishly working on my granddaughters yearly books. Hope to have that done by tomorrow, then will do cards and wrapping.
It's been very busy here - had all the kids and grands together this weekend. I should have done like you did and gotten pictures!
Your pictures all look great. You have such a beautiful family!
My wee, old brain can't keep up with all of the folk and all of the food, but I note that you did seem to find good spots for photos.
@Mari ... I don't know why I just cannot warm to that green bean casserole. TG loved it and it all got eaten both times I made it -- for company a few weeks ago, and then for Thanksgiving. It just does nothing for me. But girl! My mom's broccoli casserole is just heavenly. I cannot believe you would not like it! Anyway ... to each his own. I'm not surprised that you did your decorating right away after Thanksgiving too! It was so nice to make the switch immediately, and besides, as much as I really like all of my fall stuff, I'm ready to put it away once Thanksgiving is over. You will get the books done and they will be precious and then we can just sit back and enjoy the season! xoxo
@AC ... now your brain is not so wee that you cannot read the names beneath the pictures! I made it easy for you, hahaha! And yes we did have some nice backgrounds. There are so many great places in Columbia to take pictures. xoxo
Sounds like a splendid Thanksgiving in Pie-ratsville. Ember did well birthday-wise ;-)
Splendid family photos too.
My t-giving was highlighted by my not losing tug of war to two dogs...but feeling like my shoulder is out of the socket the next day (so mebbe I did lose...). Try as I might, I am NOT mastering this aging thang just yet.
My Christmas plans are simple: working so two others can have the holiday with family. My pet rock understands...he and the Amazon Alexa have their own Christmas plans, and I probably don't want to know...
Howdy Jenny, just now posted our thanksgiving post too....so guess we are both running a little late, ha ha ha! LOL I sure loved all these fun and festive pictures, and all the delicious Thanksgiving dishes! It's been SO NICE here the past few days, hasn't it? After that freeze, all the darn "skeeters" ARE GONE GONE GONE! Yipee! LOL. I love sweater weather. Some of the past days this week and last have been warm/balmy/breezy. And others nicely chilly, get the sweaters OUT! HA HA. Enjoyed being a part of y'alls nice family holiday My goodness....the grands are ALL GROWING SO FAST, even the newest little babies! .Happy birthday to sweet little Ember, she is so cute and looks like she sure did love her presents! You made a very pretty cake! I bet she loved it. 'When you get a chance please tell me how to make the crock pot loaded "tater" casserole dish, that looks yummy. thanks! Black Friday Photo Shoot 23 turned out great! Lots of great pictures! We are doing ours this weekend. I do enjoy it and trying to come up with new ideas each year .You and TG look great in your photo! You always look glamourous and gorgeous! Cant go wrong with classic black, head to toe! Pretty Mrs. Raven! Please when you have time ask Erica what color that lipstick was in the family pictures? Pretty color. Love ya! Hugs! Have a great week my friend!
I have to agree with you 100% about green bean casserole. I am NOT a fan either and never make it. The cake you made is absolutely ADORABLE!! You did a wonderful job on it and I'm sure it tasted amazing. I loved hearing about your holiday and seeing all of your photos. You all look fabulous!
I did the whole Thanksgiving meal and we enjoyed it. I made a big pot of Brunswick Stew out of the turkey on Sunday. That is my favorite stew. Enjoy the holiday season my friend;.
@Mike ... so, going the sacrificial route this year, I see? Nothing wrong with that, but I hope that you'll get some family Christmas time too! And drat those dogs, messing up your shoulder! We are not spring chickens. Must be more careful. I have to watch it just walking around the house! A stair step can send me sprawling. And they never move! Always in the same place. Mercy. Pie-ratesville! I love it! I'll make another pecan pie-rate for Christmas, most likely. And tell Seymour to watch it when hanging out with Alexa! She may not always have his best interests at heart! He could end up scarred for life! hahaha! xoxo
@Debbi ... YES the skeeters are gone at last! Lots of gnats swarming around outside on these warm days, though ... although today, while sunny, there is a nippy wind! I shall have to add a warm shawl to my ensemble for church tonight. Ember is a doll and yes she was precious during her pre-birthday party. She's such a joy, as they all are. But I wish you could have seen her light up when she saw those wings (rings), haha! It was so cute. And yes we had a blast with the photo shoot. As to Erica's lipstick, she is a big fan of Maybelline Ruby Star (640) ... in fact she had that color choice in common with my mom, who also wore it after she saw Erica wearing it! Of my three daughters, Erica is the only one who wears red lipstick like I do and like her grandmother did. We love the red lippy! BUT she says she's almost positive that that day, she was wearing MAC Lady Bug (510). I don't think you can go wrong either way! xoxo
@Lori ... thank you for your kind comment about my cake! It was so delicious, moist and rich, and mercy that buttercream!!! Truly fabulous. I think the reason I don't like the green been casserole is because one, green beans don't hold their heat no matter what you do, and I like hot food. Also that dish just does not have enough oomph for me. I have never made it before this year (well, maybe once, years ago), and it's unlikely that I ever will again. I want to make things that thrill me, hahaha! I have never made a Brunswick Stew. I'm going to look up a recipe and try to get that on the schedule for this winter. Happy Christmas Season to you and TBG and Binx! xoxo
Great Post and pictures as always! A couple details popped out at me: Rhett’s sweet brown shoes, along with his suspendered knee pants, made me think of an 1800’s or early 1900’s lad! Then, that wall behind you & TG, with wonderful ferns growing amidst the brick, love that.
Like you, I got right on the decor switch, December goes so fast.
I love the photo of your children, youngest to oldest. ;-) You have a beautiful family Jenny.
We also do not like Green Bean Casserole... yuck, YUCK.. and another YUCK. It is not on our Thanksgiving menu.
I love the birthday cake and I have a December birthday too... I also say December birthday's need to stick together for the December birthday person can get pushed into Christmas To Do's and forgotten about... Hee Hee... My birthday is 12/12 my sister is 1/1 ... our birthdays were always wrapped up with Christmas. Ha!
@Donna G ... YES on the decor switch ... it DOES go by so fast! I'm glad I was on top of that this year. Last year my game was weak and it did not make me happy. Thanks for noticing the little details like the ferns in the brick wall! I love those too! And yes, Rhett's outfit along with the look on his face certainly puts me in mind of a boy of another time! I'd love to see him in a black velvet suit with a white ruffly collar, hahaha! And those golden curls and blue eyes! He's such a doll face! I hope you are making the most of every moment of your Christmas season! xoxo
@Carla ... I know, right? When it comes to green bean casserole, it's so ubiquitous, so universally accepted, that you think, well, I must be the one who's wrong. And then you TASTE it and you're like, NO, I'm NOT wrong! It's nasty! Hahahahaha! Never again, I say. And as for December birthdays, in addition to Ember we have my sister whose birthday is the 14th, and our Melanie's who was born on the 21st. We always separate Melly's birthday out because it's just too close to Christmas -- although I guess we don't do a great job of it because what we've done for the past several years is, they come here (this year it's on the 22nd) just for one night before heading up to Pennsylvania and Joel's folks. That means we have to have a meal and then a birthday party including Melly's presents, and then have our cake, and then we immediately go downstairs for the Christmas party, hahahaha! But at least the meal is considered Melly's birthday dinner, and we let her have all the time she needs for her presents and cake and whatnot, before we flip the switch and it's Christmas. I'd say we all have too much of everything, hahahaha! Lord make us truly grateful. And Happy Birthday to YOU next Tuesday!!! xoxo
I love reading about Thanksgiving celebrations.
We don't celebrate this festival here. There are only small Thanksgiving celebrations in the churches. But we have St. Martin's Day on November 11th, on this day many people eat the St. Martin's goose... a goose is also common here at Christmas, but in recent years I have bought a turkey from the farmer and prepared it for the family.
Yesterday we had St. Nicholas, December 6th, which is dedicated to the holy Bishop of Myra, who was baptized with the name St. Nicholas. On the evening of December 5th, the children and occasionally adults - but especially the children - put their clean boots in front of the door - and the next morning there are sweets and small gifts in them.
I think our biggest celebrations are Christmas and Easter...
And you? Is it Thanksgiving?
Thank you so much for your post and the wonderful photos... I enjoyed it.
Hug from Viola
@Viola ... definitely Christmas for our biggest celebration! But Thanksgiving is beloved because it ushers in the holiday season, and families begin to gather together. Your St. Nicholas celebration sounds charming. I know your turkey will be tender and good on Christmas! We are having ham that day. And many other things, hahaha! Thank you for stopping by! xoxo
Your food photos are great — they almost show just what’s inside and how to make them! It’s amazing that you so quickly segued into Christmas.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
@Mae ... Thank you! Yes I was determine that no grass grow beneath my feet, hahaha! Merry Christmas to you xoxo
Lovely pictures of the food and your family. Wondering why the one granddaughter was sitting so far away from the others. Was she upset with them or something??
You have the most Beautiful family!!
You did an Excellent job on the cake for Miss Ember!! Love how you decorated it...girlie girl!
We've been so busy with the "C" word treatments, I haven't really had much time to decorate or shop. Just a busy time here...
Can't wait to see the decorations!
Have a beautiful weekend dear one...
hugs
Donna
Your Thanksgiving celebration sounds delightful! From the Hot Taco Dip to Ember's birthday cake, it seems like a joyous time with family.
I can see why you were overwhelmed; you had a houseful of people! Ember looked adorable posing with all her gifts. Love all the family pictures and what a great area for a variety of settings. Now, you can relax for a few weeks before Christmas comes!
@Leilani ... As I explained, Melanie's disability for some reason causes her to be unable to tolerate anyone being near her except her parents. And she gives them a hard time too, hahaha! Since she does not have speech, she can't explain to us what's wrong but her agitation increases with the proximity of any other living person besides her mom and dad. So, she can't pose up with her sibs and cousins -- refuses with great force, actually! We tricked her into the picture by seating her as close to the group as she would consent to go. BTW she just began acting like this within the past five years. She will turn 19 in a few days. We love her just the way she is, but her behavior is frustrating at times! xoxo
@Donna ... I think of you often and all you've got going on what with Larry's illness, and helping out with Sloane, and the holidays, and all of your lovely projects! Thanks for the praise for Ember's birthday cake. I had so much fun doing it and of course, I agree that they are all beautiful, hahahaha! xoxo
@Melody ... the Hot Taco Dip is especially scrumptious! You should try it! xoxo
@Jim/Barb ... yes indeed I can relax for a few weeks! Despite suffering with a miserable cold for the past few days, I got all of the presents wrapped and under the tree! Hope you all are well. xoxo
Apologies. Your blog was loading 'jerky" on my computer, and I didn't notice your explanation of Mellie being apart from the others. Our son had Asperger's syndrome -- he was highly functional but still had some "odd" behaviors, so I sort of understand the challenges.