Thanksgiving Day at Our Cottage

Good afternoon, dear blog friends! I hope that each of you enjoyed a blessed and beautiful Thanksgiving's Day gathered in with your family and friends. We had a wonderful day here at the cottage! I got up around 6:15 to the sumptuous aroma of the turkey baking in the oven. We bake our turkey over night at 275 degrees in our good old covered roasting pan seasoned with seasoned salt, poultry seasoning and a stick of melted butter poured over the top~mmmmMMM!!! I got online for just a few minutes to wish everyone on Facebook a Happy Thanksgiving and then set about turning off the oven and starting the process of preparing the side dishes for our meal at 3:00. My sweet husband and son got up around 9:00 and I had coffee and breakfast ready for us to eat by 9:30, too. Caleb and I watched most of the Macy's parade and we called family and friends to wish them "Happy Thanksgiving" and Caleb added "Happy turkey day", as well~lol! My sweet hubby got the turkey out of the oven and placed the meat on two separate platters; one for light meat and one for dark~we had to sample it, of course...mmmm. My daughter and her family got here around 1:00 and she brought rolls and a delicious venison roast with carrots, potatoes and celery in gravy. I usually am not real fond of venison, but this was very good. My son-in-law's cousin came along with them and we were very happy to meet him and have him join us for our celebration. I had most of the side dishes finished by then with the exception of the mashed potatoes and the gravy which I had just started working on. Next came two of our sons and their families and everyone had a good time visiting as they waited for all the food. My daughter and daughters-in-law helped me finish the meal. My hubby asked the blessing and thanked our Heavenly Father for the wonderful blessings of food, family, home and His Grace in our lives. And then, it was time to eat! We had two tables set, one in the dining room and one in my office/learning room (yes, I had to take my computer down yesterday so that we could use this BIG old table in here~lol). After our meal my two dear cousins, Kay and Nancy stopped by to visit a while. I was so glad to see them!!! They brought some new books for our ever growing homeschool bookshelf and told my hubby that they wanted to make sure they took some of his famous stuffing home with them. They love his stuffing~it is really good! Our grandchildren had a great time playing together; watching movies, playing with their favorite toys, drawing and making paper frames for their pictures. Elizabeth brought her saxaphone and played some Christmas tunes for us after dinner. My brother stopped by later that evening with my niece and nephew and a sweet friend from NC and we had a great time visiting, too. Most of our kids were still here, as well and they were glad to get in a visit with their uncle and cousins. We had phone calls from our daughter in NC and other dear family members, too that added to our joy! Needless to say, everyone had plenty to eat and wore themselves out visiting and laughing and talking! It was a wonderful day! I didn't get photos as I have decided that the visit is sweeter without the camera being in our faces. I did get a picture of the dining tables BEFORE:

My house looked like a bomb had exploded AFTER~LOL, but it was a blessed mess and will remain dear in my memories always! Love to all and hope you have a great weekend.

Until later, Stay Cozy,
Charlotte :-)