After the pink night out at the lake I don't know what happened but it felt like a switch had been flipped and I went from dreading Thanksgiving and being at the lake to looking forward to it. My motto for Thanksgiving was "different but not depressing". I repeated that over and over to myself and to my family. It really helped me to set an intention for Thanksgiving. (This will most likely be my motto for all of the upcoming holidays.) Tyler and I talked a lot about activities that we could do now and how we could finally truly focus on our own growing family and our traditions and not be subjected to the previous ones that had gone before...many that no longer served us well. That part was kind of nice (don't get me wrong I would give it all up to have my mom back) but in an effort of different but not depressing...it was interesting to think about and discuss how going forward all of the holidays now can be how we want them. With the death of my mom all previous expectations and duties and obligations melted away. I felt the click and shift as I truly moved into adulthood.
A few days before Thanksgiving all of my food prep began. Grocery shopping, turkey purchasing, pie making, homemade noodle making, and cranberry sauce making. This was the first time that I cooked the Thanksgiving meal all by myself. In full disclosure... I had never roasted a turkey (or a whole chicken for that matter) or made homemade gravy from the drippings. My mom was well known for her delicious turkey and even more so for her out-of-this-world gravy that we all lovingly called "Liquid Gold".
Mom making her famous Liquid Gold!
My kids and Tyler and I are a family of pescatarians and vegetarians but now Kam eats meat pretty regularly and we have Hunter who comes from a cattle ranching background. Plus Tyler and I usually eat a slice or two of turkey on Thanksgiving so we had to give it a try. Since I was doing 95% of all of the cooking myself I turned the turkey over to Tyler. He remembered a lot of how my mom used to do it and then consulted the Internet and did a mash up of things. I was thrilled not to have to figure that out!
Tyler, Ailey, Bryn, Beverly, and I headed out to the lake on Wednesday afternoon. Kameron had to work so he, Reilly, and Hunter came out to the lake the day of Thanksgiving. We stopped at our favorite Chinese food restaurant on our way to the lake and got take out. I was pretty apprehensive going out and missing my mom on the drive. Tyler was doing his best to make me feel okay but the tears began to fall. My brother Kirk and sis-in-law Meki texted me the whole way there too giving me a pep talk. But once I walked in the door it felt comforting and cozy to be there.
We ate our Chinese take out, cranked the music, and got to work preparing for the next day! It was all hands on deck:
The girls peeled potatoes: russets and sweet. They chopped onions and washed and cut brussel sprouts.
Tyler made rolls. I made two more pies. I had already made two pumpkin and two chocolate pies and had decided not to make cherry and pecan pies this year since we had just had those the week before at Reilly and Kam's birthday party. But...then I decided that is it even Thanksgiving without pecan pie? The answer is no. So I made two pecan pies that night and Tyler brined the turkey.
I posted this on facebook that night:
So many great late night-before-Thanksgiving preps with these two! So many years our family would spend the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving at my mom’s and we would cook late into the night. My mom and I making pies and Tyler making rolls. So many laughs... the great roasted chestnut debacle...my mom doing her shuffle shuffle dance around the kitchen to music she loved...stuffing ourselves on hot rolls right out of the oven...the year we decided we deserved to eat pie for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning because we damn well deserved it. 😜The three of used to laugh and wink at each other and smile that no one ever knew that an entire pie was gone every year when they came for Thanksgiving dinner. Mom, the tradition continues this year but we are down our third musketeer and there is a big hole in our hearts. Your grandkids are cooking and dancing in your kitchen with us tonight and we are definitely eating pie for breakfast tomorrow. Your legacy lives on. ❤️ #victoriasdaughter
I definitely felt the huge hole left by my mom that night. There were a few tears shed but there was also a lot of laughs. I think she would be happy that her granddaughters were cooking in her kitchen (which was my grandma's kitchen before it was my mom's). She would be happy that we were still doing our special traditions and making our special foods. She was probably laughing about all the times she told me, "You should learn how to cook a turkey, Kristin!" and I would laugh and say " No way! We are a family of mostly vegetarians. That is what I have you for!" You were right, Mom! I KNOW that she would get a kick out of hearing me say THAT!! I am glad I paid attention to everything else though. So very glad!!
Thanksgiving dawned sunny and bright! Just the way I like my Thanksgivings!! The snow can wait for Christmas. It was absolutely beautiful but very cold at the lake.
The first ice was starting to form.
We ate pie for breakfast. :)
Tyler and I got up early and took Beverly for a walk. She loved being at the lake and going for walks. So much to see and do for a curious little puppy.
When we got back from our walk we floated some flowers in the lake in memory of my mom and my Uncle Mike. The lake is their final resting place. It is strange not being able to go to the cemetery to bring flowers and reflect but the lake is definitely more beautiful and cheery.
After that Ailey and Bryn got to work making place cards for everyone:
They turned out really cute!
By then Kameron had arrived. Reilly and Hunter had to split up their time between our family and his family. Lucky for us they eat early and we like to eat late by candlelight on Thanksgiving.
We set the table.
Everything was all prepped and ready to go. Tyler and I even had a few minutes to sit and enjoy the sunshine.
This was kind of a special moment of calm that we had before the flurry of activity began. I was feeling a bit sad so Tyler and I went outside and sat and looked out at the water. Suddenly the sun shone really brightly on the two of us...almost blindingly. It was shining so strongly that we had to take our coats off it was so warm. We sat there and enjoyed the incredible warmth. We felt awash and surrounded by intense love, warmth, and peace. It was nice to sit in that incredible space for awhile. Then it was time to get cooking!! We stuck close to my Mom's traditional Thanksgiving menu.
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| A past Thanksgiving menu of my Mom's. |
Our menu:
Roast Turkey (My Mom's Recipe)
Liquid Gold Gravy (Mom's Recipe)
Pecan Patties with Gravy (My Recipe)
Killer Mashed Potatoes (My Mom's Recipe)
Sweet Potatoes (My Grandma Ellersick's Recipe)
Homemade Rolls (Tyler's Recipe)
Roasted Brussel Sprouts (My Mom's Recipe)
Homemade Noodles (My Grandma E.'s Recipe and My Nana's tradition)
Cranberry Sauce (My Recipe)
Ranch Dressing (Grandma E.'s tradition)
Pickle and Olive Relish Tray (My Grandma E.'s tradition)
Assorted Cheese Platter (Tyler's tradition)
Pumpkin Pies (My Grandma E.'s recipe)
Pecan Pies (My Recipe)
Chocolate Pies (My Grandma E.'s recipe)
Chocolate Orange Jelly Sticks (My Grandma McKinnon's tradition)
Sparkling Juices
Everything turned out so delicious and with all of the help and extra cooks I wasn't stressed or freaking out. Everything was done on time for our 5 pm dinner. Next year I will add in my Mom's chestnut sausage stuffing too. It seemed a little too daunting to attempt this year.
Reilly and Hunter arrived and the party got started!! They brought the incredible cheese platter. She is her father's daughter! LOL. They brought the relish tray too. They also... and this is HUGE... did ALL OF THE DISHES!! That was the kindest and sweetest gift. Reilly felt bad about not being there for all of the food prep and this was much appreciated!!
The host and hostess were NOT frazzled!! Miraculous.
Ailey setting out the chocolates like my Grandma McKinnon used to do! I love these traditions that carry on and keep those we love alive in our hearts and minds. Ailey has my Grandma McKinnon's smile. Ailey was HUGE help with dinner prep. She is an amazing cook!!
Bryn was a great sous chef! She was super helpful. Miss Beverly...not so much.
This guy was amazing! He is a great cook too. His turkey was perfection! So were his rolls and his killer mashed potatoes which he is making in this picture. Yum!!
It was fun to have everyone all together!
The kids took this picture of me cooking in the kitchen just like my mom and grandma.
Mom cooking in the same kitchen for Thanksgiving!
My Grandma and her delicious baked goods in her kitchen.
It definitely felt like the mantle of the matriarch was handed down to me this Thanksgiving by these two amazing women. How blessed I am to follow in their footsteps. They are some big shoes to fill.
We took a few family pictures:
Kam's *funny* face cracks me up. He thinks it is hilarious.
Then it was time to eat:
We had a great dinner. We had Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and music from that era playing in the background. We are purists. We don't crack out the Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving. We had good conversation, laughter and tears, and some delicious food. It was peaceful and calm and full of gratitude and thanksgiving for all that we have. We prayed. We toasted those loved ones who are gone and missed. We kept an empty chair at the end of the table with a vase of roses in honor of my mom.
It was a great Thanksgiving...different but not depressing. I was overcome with gratitude for my family...past and present. We had many phone calls and texts from family. I loved all the texts with pictures that rolled in that day from my aunt and a bunch of my cousins who had made some of my mom's recipes and some of my grandma's. We felt connected to and loved by our extended family.
After pie and a full day we snuggled up and watched a movie and conked out! It was great!
Despite missing my mom intensely and only celebrating with our own little family this year; it still was a nice Thanksgiving and it felt like my mom was very much a part of things. My siblings said that they felt the same way as they celebrated in their various locations. That is good.
We will never stop missing this incredible woman and the hole in our hearts is HUGE but we will do our best to go forward and carry on with her traditions, love one another, and make her proud.
The next day we slept in and had a lazy morning. The day was cold and gray. More ice had formed on the lake. We ate pie and hot chocolate for breakfast. LOL. We put up my mom's flocked Christmas tree...lights only...my grandma's tradition. Although hers was always a fresh cut tree from her property with little green lights. My brother has Christmas at the lake this year and we thought that he might enjoy decorating my mom's tree with her ornaments. Her tree was always beautiful and elegant! The Christmas music was cranked and we were excited to usher in the holiday season. Reilly, Hunter, and Kameron all had to work so it was just Tyler and I and the little girls on Friday.
Beverly loved her long walks lakeside and didn't seem to mind the cold! It felt so good to be outside despite the chilly weather. I loved these daily walks so much!
The girls were busy crafting away!
We saw these cute pompom trees at my friend Celeste's store and thought they were cute and that they would be fun to make. They were!
Our inspiration:
Our results:
They turned out really cute!!
That night we went into Coeur d' Alene for their Christmas parade, lighting ceremony, and fireworks. We used to do this years ago when the kids were little and my Uncle Mike and Aunt Bonnie and family would come to my grandparents house for Thanksgiving. We were super excited to bring this old tradition back!
We had THE BEST TIME!! It was so much fun! We are going to do it every year that we are in town for Thanksgiving.
It was so fun to be out on the main street with so many other people, carolers, and families. We found a new favorite place for crepes and hot chocolate! It was divine. We walked all over and had the greatest time! Ailey kept saying that it felt like we were in a Hallmark Christmas movie and it really did!!
Look at this darling house decorated all vintage-y for Christmas. LOVE!!
We got back to the lake late that night! Again we snuggled up in the living room and watched this cool docu-series on Disney + about the history of Disneyland.
We all loved it! Very interesting.
The next morning Reilly came out bright and early. Hunter had to work and so did Kam. The sun was shining once again. Another beautiful day. Tyler and Ailey made my friend Annie's amazing cinnamon rolls:
They are SO GOOD!!
We lounged around for most of the day watching Christmas movies and playing games. It was super relaxing. Finally we got dressed and went for a big walk. Had to burn off those cinnamon rolls!! LOL.
Beverly in her fur trimmed puffy vest was quite the sight in rural Northern Idaho. One old gentleman stopped the girls to say: "Hmm...I didn't know that dogs wore coats." LOL. This one does!
Tyler and I did a bunch of yard work and burned yard debris. I do love a fall bonfire. Several other people around the lake had the same idea so you could see bonfires dotting the shoreline here and there. It looked really pretty and smelled so good. Very autumn-ish.
Kameron got off work that afternoon and brought his girlfriend Abbey out to spend the night with us.
The kids all made gingerbread houses. Abbey is a pro!
It was fun to see them all laughing and having fun together with Christmas music blaring while Tyler and I hung out and relaxed at the fire.
The finished products.
Reilly left and took hers home with her.
The kids ate pizza for dinner and played games. Tyler and I went out for Mexican food. It was nice to squeeze in a little date night!
When we got back from dinner it was time for game night!!
The Best Friends Game was back!!
Kam and Abbey were best friends! LOL...especially when making whale noises at each other!
Maybe not these two! Ha ha!!
We stayed up late, watched a movie, and Jim Gaffigan's lastest comedy show. It was cozy and fun. A great respite before we left the next day to go home and had Kameron's heart procedure looming.
