Tag Archives: pie

Thanksgiving Eve

Watch this oil painting come to life in just over 1 minute (time lapse)

This painting is of a peach pie, but today my firstborn daughter baked a pumpkin pie for tomorrow. I baked ahead the homemade macaroni and cheese. My youngest daughter made a green bean casserole. The two hot dishes will be on a heating & warming tray tomorrow. In the morning I’ll prepare and roast the turkey. We’ll have a flurry of activity in the kitchen when it’s time for making all of the other parts of the feast: stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, yams (I don’t count them as vegetables and I won’t eat any, I don’t like yams) and heating the french bread my husband baked. My son will open a can of cranberry sauce and slice it. I won’t eat that stuff either, but he sure will.

I put matching turkey and harvest themed tablecloths on the tables, finished making festive potholders, and washed the pretty new holiday apron my daughter gave me. I’m ready! I’ll be up very early to finish thawing the turkey, going outside to cut the fresh parsley and rosemary to stuff the turkey, as well as a lemon, orange, onion, and apple. This is a new variation I’m trying, based on tips I found online. I like to try new ways to prepare the turkey. Every year it seems to be “the best turkey ever!”

I wish you all a happy day tomorrow, and those of you who celebrate this holiday, may you have a joyous Thanksgiving!

Something Different

Watch this oil painting of peach pie come to life in about a minute (time lapse)

When we tried the peach pie it was something different and new for us, that first year after we moved to the deep South in Georgia. This week, for my husband’s birthday (he likes pie better than cake, and I’m the opposite- I prefer cake), we tried something different again. It was a maple syrup pie, a recipe I found from Canada. It was good, very rich; a small piece is plenty. He thought it was fun to try a new pie.

We have our favorite foods and desserts that are our family traditions, but it’s good to try something different too. This is a good recipe for life as well. Enjoy the familiar, the things we know, the habits that have become tradition in our families, and the lifestyle that is comfortable and usually preferred, but on occasion step into something different. Be open to new things, to change, and to experiences that depart from our regular way of doing things.

Just like when we take a trip and when we come back we say, “it was good to get away, but it’s sure good to be back home,” taking a break from our usual way of doing things can push us out of a rut and into a spiritual space of gratitude. And if we like the new things we try, we might incorporate them into our lives. The important thing is to feel joyful in our daily regular lives, and it can help to try something different. But if you can’t travel or make major changes, don’t worry, sometimes all it takes to feel an extra boost of joy is trying a new pie!