A New England Holiday

I find myself missing New England most during the fall. It's a balmy 76 here today and as I look out my window I see many trees still wearing their muted colored leaves. The Thanksgivings of my childhood were rather different....

I often visited Plimoth Plantation. This place is the real deal, a 1627 Pilgrim village where the surroundings are so authentic and the villagers speak and act completely in character. You can also visit a Wampanoag homesite and board the Mayflower II, a scaled down version of the original. While in Plymouth, MA we always had to go see the rock which is actually a bit anti-climactic after all that 'living history'. click here to see a pic of the rock

By mid October the leaves were changing, and frosty evenings foretold a winter not far off. By Thanksgiving time silvery tree branches were all too visible, and the cold had crept in permanently. In New Hampshire Thanksgiving was often synonomous with snow. I remember sitting at the bottom of a huge hill two holidays ago and praying that the van would make it safely up. I thought that we might not make it to dinner at all that year as the snow went from 0-6+inches by noon time. Once you start up a long snowy hill, you'd best not slow down or you'll lose precious traction and never make it to the table. The song "Over the River and Through the Woods" often takes on a whole different meaning in New England!

I'll also admit to being a bit picky regarding my Thanksgiving menu. I grew up with the classics: roast turkey with stuffing (in the bird please), mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, peas, and pumpkin pie. I hear lots of talk here about macaroni and cheese, ham, and potato salad, amongst other dishes. Sure they might be tasty, but to me they just don't belong on my holiday table. Check out a quintessential New England menu here . Think cranberries, lots of cranberries folks. Incidentally they flood the bogs to harvest them and those bogs made for some of my best childhood ice skating shortly after turkey day.

We have so very much to be thankful for this year, and of course that's what matters most. At the top of my list are the many friends and family we're missing up north. We've developed a new level of appreciation for you all and can't wait to see you over the Christmas holidays. We're also so thankful for the friends and family that we have here in Georgia- the faces which color our daily lives here with laughter and love. We wish you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving, no matter how or where you celebrate.

I'm going to let the girls take over the blog during this school holiday so they can let you know what's on their hearts as we gather this year. Stay tuned...

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:1