I understood Canadian Thanksgiving was coming up. I really did. There are pumpkins in the stores, turkeys in supermarket coolers and every time I look at a Pinterest board there's something made out of straw and burlap staring back at me.
Also, it's right there on the calendar. The problem is I didn't check the calendar. I just sort of based my knowledge of "thanksgiving is coming up" on the general idea that I feel stupid wearing shorts and flip flops into the grocery store, so it must be coming up soon.
What I didn't realize was it was coming up this weekend. I need to shove some bread crumbs up a turkey's ass and QUICK. I'm not really sure why we have turkey for Thanksgiving. I've never met anyone who really loves turkey. It's almost always dry, doesn't have a lot of flavour and takes all day to cook. It's like the fruitcake of the meat world.
But surround it with cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes and an embarrassing amount of farting and waddling and there you have it. The annual Thanksgiving dinner.
Since I am the one who hosts my family's Thanksgiving dinner every year I need to get going on it. S.T.A.T.! (Start Thanksgiving Activities Todayish.)
The table is set. I have that much going for me. Well that and naturally curly hair. Huh. Now that I think of it, that's actually Frieda, the least popular character from the Charlie Brown cartoons.
This year I went with a rustic, dark, moody feeling. Warm and cozy. Like an autumn Thanksgiving should be.
The table has a rough burlap runner down the centre with a piece of hardwood on top of that. When dinner is served, the arrangement will get removed and all the dishes of food can go right on the board.
There's even more layering with cutting boards on top of the wood board. This one is my favourite from Cattails.
One of the things I'm most excited about is the fact that all of the food served will have been harvested from my garden. Everything. (aside from the poor Turkey) I'm serving a classic Thanksgiving dinner with side dishes that are slightly elevated. Just a little bit. For fun. Elevated as in "churched up". Not elevated as in levitating.
Ground cherries will be scattered on the table.
And there will be bowls and jars of my kosher dill pickles which turned out DELICIOUS. I've eaten 3 jars already myself. Which is all kinds of wrong but all kinds of right.
I'm expecting the black sea salt to be a hit. Mainly because it looks so good on the table. Weird little things like using black salt in a black dish are what bring the whole moody table together.
So if you're wondering about how to do your Thanksgiving table (either this weekend or next month) pick some sort of theme. It could be something as literal as classic American Thanksgiving, a crisp black and white theme, or something a bit more esoteric like a mood. If you aren't feeling all that imaginative, just open a magazine or look at a blog and copy it. That'll take all the guess work out and make it way easier. Which leaves more time for making more stuffing. You can never have enough stuffing. Ever.
Of course, if there are those out there who are frightened of black salt, there will also be white.
The dishes are round matte black dinner plates that I found at my local thrift store. I got the whole set including lunch plates and bowls for $9.
The salt dishes were on clearance at The Keeping Room, I bought the vintage cutlery (that I've been LOOKING FOR for ages) from a local reader! Thanks Cornelia!
Betty made the napkins, and half of the flowers in the arrangement are from my community garden plot. I planted the Amaranths in the spring specifically to use in my Thanksgiving arrangement. Normally I'd *think* about doing that and then promptly forget all about it. For some reason, I didn't. I suspect I forgot something much more important.
Well, like when Thanksgiving is, for instance.
This is one of two tables that will be set. The other one will be one room over, in my front hall, so the 12 or so people (it's up to 15 now) can fit comfortably. Plus the foyer is the perfect spot to sit people I don't really like. I'll tell them they're in the foyer because it's away from the mess of the kitchen and because they're my favourites I wanted to seat them there.
For your table to have an actual harvest feel, put food on it! Don't just put out pretty decorations and arrangements. And like I said, once the dinner is served the big arrangement in the centre will be moved away, and the food will make its way in on old, rustic stoneware and enamel platters.
The total cost of the arrangement was $27 for the ornamental cabbages and miniature red snapdragons. The lime green trailing flowers and the tall burgundy flowers are from my garden.
Every year I do this and every year it's the same. I think I can keep it together. I think that things will go smoothly. It will be a restful, warm and inviting Thanksgiving with my family close. We'll all enjoy the food, the kitchen will not become a disaster and the night will end with us crowding around the fireplace singing Frank Sinatra.
Instead, someone's fingernails will catch on fire, one of the kids will barf, my mother will forget her camera, everyone will get a stain on their shirt and the night will end not with song, but with us measuring the size of each others heads.
Happy Thanksgiving my fellow Canadians. I have my fingers crossed that your Thanksgiving will NOT be like the pleasant, fancifully perfect, imaginary version of mine.
Because the real thing is way more fun.
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Janice
I dont want to be rude and try to invite myself for Thanksgiving dinner....also I am going the the Mother-In_Laws to eat boiled chicken breasts....no joke....she boils her chicken. Do you feel even the slightest bit sorry for me?? Enough to maybe invite me over for leftover Thanksgiving pizza in that wonderful oven??? Pizza with cranberries, stuffing and of course turkey...God I am hungry....maybe hangry....boiled chicken...eugh
Jasper
Can someone please explain this whole head measuring thing to me? I read the post she linked to and all of the comments. Is it some sort of Canadian tradition? Or a Thanksgiving tradition I've never heard of? Why is it done? I'm SO confused.
Kathy Hartzell
I can never be your BFF from West Marin, California.....I like turkey and I like deep dark gooey fruitcake.
Man, I was so hoping......
Karen
We always have the memories. ~ karen
Janet Timinsky
Happy thanksgiving and I am positive Cuddles and the others are happy they are small versions of the turkey! Your table is beautiful. I always loved white dinner plates so you really see the food, but I might have to look for some black pieces, it really does look "moody" yet very inviting. Perfect offset to flip flops...hey I wear black nail polish too, so at least there is a tie in there. By the way, Christmas is around the corner, go circle the date on your calendar!
Karen
Hi Janet. I always thought I liked white plates the best because of that too Janet, but once I went black … well … you get the idea. Food looks extraordinary on a back plate. ~ karen!
Julie
This is perfection! Have a lovely Thanksgiving, Karen!
Karen
...oh yes, and about the tree.....it's beautiful. I love the attached root stem. I have killed more than one ficus tree and they look something like this when fully dead. I've always thought they were sculptural and like them as much like that as with their leaves...but never thought about mounting one on the wall.......it's groovy.
Karen
Your table is exquisite....such a great balance with your wacky stories....the best of both worlds really.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Jasmine
Happy Thanksgiving! I am hosting...again! (Somehow the trading that was supposed to go on in my family is out the window. Maybe I should adopt your tradition and just KNOW that I will be cooking.) Anyway, we all love the turkey, I find that if I do the whole brining thing, it tastes a lot better and stays quite moist. You have inspired me to dress up my table though, so thanks for that. I have to use my china, it's one of the only times it gets used. But it was left to me from a dear friend, so I don't mind. It makes 'rustic' a bit harder though since it is all swirly navy and gold. The plates are tiny too. I will have to put my thinking cap on....or hit Pinterest. Cheers!
AmyKate
I'm a bit late to the party...but for Christmas or your next turkey, use a turkey size Oven bag. Easy. Easy.Easy..moist turkey.No basting..I have been using them for years! I promise a good turkey that is Not dry. I promise. Or you can come to NC next month and have some of our turkey!
Nancy Blue Moon
Hey Lady..Do You Know There's A Tree On Your Wall???..lol..I figure if you're not gonna talk about it we will find out later..you should have know we would all spot it and ask questions..Gorgeous table as always..I still envy your family togetherness..Have a great day as in stuff your tummy until they find you rolling around on the floor in agony..Hugs
Susan
I commented on the tree on the wall..last night, wondering what it is also.
Susan
Ella
Also--is the dead branchy thing on the wall from your garden? Can't believe no one has commented on it. i love it!
Ella
This is all so beautiful. I like how the painting in the background matches the mood of the table!
zoe
if you ever need it, i have a stuffing recipe that goes under the skin of the turkey that stops it from being dry - there's a lot of sausage meat involved :)
Z
JeannieB
It's going to be a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend here in southern Ontatio, even if they're forecasting possible flurries. Crisp apples, fireplaces, warm woollie throws, and tables spread with yummy food to share with family and friends. I usually get the grandkids to go out to the front lawn to gather beautiful red/ orange maple leaves to scatter on the dining room table.
Happy Thanksgiving Karen!
chris aka monkey
karen you know i love your posts but i also love reading all the comments ...this is the only blog i do that on... so what about that dam tree lmao...between now and thanksgiving here in the states we have football sundays to figure out food for and i think i will elevate it and serve deep fired wilbur with ketsup and frass in a white bowl and a milkweed salad with fresh dill sauce... what do you think?
Melissa
I'm hoping that this year, my Thanksgiving will include everything from the garden as well, including the turkey, which I still have to figure out how to butcher.
Like everyone else, I love the tablescape!
Sandy
LOVE your dining room table (the actual table but the whole set-up is lovely too). I look forward to turkey, I think it's delicious and if it ends up a little dry, well, that's what gravy is for!
"Happy Thanksgiving to you my fellow Canadian"!
Deana
If any of your guests should happen to cancel for some reason and leave a hole at the table that needs to be filled, just let me know, I only live a few blocks away. I can be there in a few minutes. You might have seen the flames in our driveway last year when our dear son-in-law tried to deep fry a turkey and set our driveway on fire. Really uncomfortable when the fire truck pulled up and they started laughing. Thankfully we were celebrating on Sunday instead of Monday so my daughter scooted down to KFC for a bucket of chicken. Nothing like a good old traditional KFC Thanksgiving dinner. Love your tables setting. Happy Thanksgiving.
Rondina
So what do I notice? The pink curtains! At least they look pink. They seem to have horizontal lines in them. n't Don't know why I didn't notice them before. Where did you get them?
Happy Thanksgiving.