Thanksgiving with the Carsons

Yesterday we had a yummy Thanksgiving meal at the refectory, but we still had one more meal to go. We came home and Chad and Tucker took naps and Caroline and I watched Home Alone. We probably could have taken a nap, too, but there was no time for that. Caroline and I had two casseroles to make in preparation for our dinner at the Carson's house. Caroline pulled her chair up to the counter and helped me make baked pineapple and corn pudding.

Thankfully, the recipes are not difficult and there are only a few ingredients in each dish. Basically, I put everything in a big bowl and Caroline stirred it for me. She did a good job and was a big help since I was trying to do two dishes at a time. I used recipes from an old church cookbook that had been my Grandmother's, so there was no doubt that the food would be tasty! As we stood at the counter, it occurred to me that Caroline was learning how to make recipes that her Great Grandmothers had made. It was almost like there were three generations in the kitchen as we were preparing the baked pineapple and corn pudding. It was really neat to know that a tradition was continuing. Caroline was just so excited to be helping Mommy that it didn't matter what we were doing, as long as she got to stir.

Around 5:30 we went over to the Carson's house as we had done the two previous Thanksgivings. And as with the previous Thanksgivings (and most other meals) we ate about an hour later than planned. We love the Carsons! We had smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, baked pineapple, corn pudding, green bean casserole, rolls, and pumpkin pie for dessert. Caroline was a big fan of the pumpkin pie! It was another great meal with great friends!

We stayed at their house a little longer and sat by the fire. The seminarians talked about seminarian stuff and Julie and I rearranged her living room. I realize that it is not typical for people to rearrange their living room right after a large Thanksgiving dinner, but we were both inspired and it had to be done while we were thinking about it. Around 9:30 we came home and went right to bed. Our last Thanksgiving in Sewanee was just as perfect as the first in 2007.