Very low key holiday at our house - turkey breast, dressing (a new recipe with ciabatta and sausage), whipped spiced sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Oh, and cranberry from a can! Hope everyone found something to be thankful for.
Neither of us has family here, and we have a large community of expat friends, so we celebrated with 35 others yesterday. Some of them have dual citizenship, but there were only three bonafide Yanks in the house, including myself. Others were from England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada and Australia. Everyone loves this holiday, because we all have something to be thankful for. It doesn’t involve unneeded gifts, silly decorations, and so forth.
There was a hilarious discussion about which holidays should go and which should stay, and Thanksgiving was the winner. But none of us cares for pumpkin pie, so we decided we would ban it, lol!
We had lovely, very unrushed Thanksgiving at our house and everything timed perfectly! H & S schlepping to his parents today as S hasn’t seen them in over a year. I get to stay home with the dogs. 
Sounds like everyone had a nice day yesterday!
Exhausted here and at work. I have to do more ahead I think. Making every dish the day of is too much.
The vegetables were: gingered carrots, sweet potato casserole (which squeezed in next to the turkey – it was so big we couldn’t get another rack in there – thanks all for tips!), steamed broccoli and cauliflower with cheddar sauce on the side, string beans with slivered almonds. My lovely SIL brought DH’s late mom’s orange jello coconut salad, which I appreciated for the nostalgia. Blended family laughed and ate which was our main goal. My wonderful DH washed all the plates and silver by hand.
We had a family tragedy 2 weeks ago. DH’s brother’s girlfriend called us saying she was concerned my BIL wasn’t answering his phone or returning texts. DH went over there to check on him and found him deceased in his bed. DH and his brother were very very close, so it’s been a very rough time. My BIL’s 13 year old son came in for the service this past weekend from his home in NYC. Nephew’s mom let us have him at our house until tomorrow am. DH and my BIL always carved the turkey each year at our house. They always seemed to eat more than ended up on the platter. My MIL would half heartedly admonish them, and the rest of us would just laugh. It was a tradition. I didn’t know how in the world DH was going to get through that this year. But MIL had the idea for DH to teach our nephew how to carve the turkey and ham. We took videos, and the laughter returned to our Thanksgiving.
Later I found DH upstairs crying.
As to food, I finally roasted a turkey that came out perfectly juicy and beautiful on the outside. I seasoned the outside with herbs from a rub recipe I found online, and it looked and tasted fabulous. MIL makes a great giblet gravy, so we all ate to our heart’s content. I completely suspended my very low carb diet with absolutely no regrets.
@Nrdsb4 – I am so sorry for your loss. How sad.
So sorry, Nrdsb4. But glad you found the new bonding moments. Hugs.
@Nrdsb4, my condolences to you and your H, your nephew, and all of your BIL loved ones.
@Nrdsb4 So, so sorry. And what a lovely idea to have your DH and nephew continue the tradition.
Your husband’s brother would be so very thankful. Condolences
@Nrdsb4 I’m so sorry.
So sorry for your loss, but glad that your nephew got to participate in the family tradition.
I’m so sorry @Nrdsb4.
Very sorry.
Kudos to your MIL @Nrdsb4 for putting the nephew in his father’s shoes.
What a blessing of connectivity for that young man.
My deepest condolences to you Nrdsb4. My wish for all of you is to go one step at a time…together. We had the best Thanksgiving ever…since the death of my parents. Parents and grown kids told stories of our youth…transgressions…prize goes to…the nerdy doctor. (he is fun, bright dedicated…but he was the kid that always did the right thing.). We laughed until 12…I am exhausted.
Hugs to you @Nrdsb4 and your DH. So sweet his son filled his shoes. You know his dad is smiling down from heaven.
Nrdsb4, I am so sorry. Condolences. Your description is one of he sadder things I’ve read in a long time. But hooray for the family being together for your nephew and finding joy in the celebration.
Cyberhugs, @Nrdsb4
I’m so sorry @Nrdsb4 - you and your family sure rallied around each other for the holiday yesterday - you are lucky to have each other. <3
I’m so sorry, nrdsb4. I hope that carving the turkey will enable your DH and nephew to heal a bit and forge a closer bond.