Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Smiles! Subtited "A Hayride to Remember"


The Thanksgiving four (as they have dubbed themselves) - Kylie, Nan, Jennie and Ko

As I reflect on this Thanksgiving celebration just past, the thing that pops into my mind first and foremost is the smiles :) It does my heart good to think of all those laughing faces and the fun we had.
We were so happy to have the family all gathered together and a few friends as well, to share our day. Our son Andrew and his wife arrived on Wednesday night, bringing our little grandsons. Ko came with close friends of his and Kylie's, Nan and Jennie, on Thursday. Kathy and Akio also came on Thursday and brought Akio's mom, Reiko. This was our first meeting with Reiko and what a sweet lady she is! we had a wonderful time getting to know each other.

As I mentioned in the previous post, Kylie came on Wednesday to help, and it seemed to me she did most of the cooking. The Thanksgiving meal is her "thing" and she loves to prepare it. I was happy to let her plan and delegate. She's much better at it than I am! The turkey was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and all the trimming were scrumptious too.



Kathy & Akio being posh (I had just jokingly given instructions to hold shoulders back and tummies in)



Reiko Posted by Picasa

I'm sad to say I didn't take very many photos in the hustle and bustle of getting the meal on the table and visiting with everyone through the course of the day. It's hard for me to believe, but the camera was actually forgotten for a while in the midst of all the activity! I ended up with only one picture of our oldest grandson, and none of our son, his wife and their youngest! I'm hoping someone else managed to get a few shots of the ones that I missed.



Apple pie is one of my favorite desserts!

My DIL did a wonderful job of peeling and slicing the apples for me, which made the pie so much easier. I'm not one of those clever people who can produce 7 pies in one sitting without breaking a sweat. To me making pie crust is not an easy task! I suppose the secret is to make it often, which I don't.


Kylie's creation - an Orange Mocha cake, and my pumkin cream cheese pie.

The cake will forever live in our memories as "The Cake Of Shame" (Kylie's name for it) and has a funny story attached to it, which you can read on Kylie's blog if you want to. Suffice it to say, the chocolate mocha ganache was delicious, but the cake itself was just a wee bit heavy :)



Reiko brought us an assortment of wonderful cheeses and crackers. She and others brought some delicious wines too. We had quite a feast!



Hayride group

My husband, Ross, had surprised me earlier in the week, telling me he was planning to take us all on a hayride after the meal. "OK, I thought, that should be fun".
A pleasant little jaunt around our 300 acres, right? Little did I know what was in store.....


Here we are getting ready to go. That's the one picture I got of our grandson! His little brother stayed behind with his mom and dad because he needed to rest.


We've been enjoying some lovely mild temperatures since last Wednesday, with sunshine and dry days! What a blessing that's been.

So off we went, and I discovered I didn't know my husband as well as I'd thought! He turned out to be quite the adventurer....



High on the hill overlooking our farmPosted by Picasa

First he took us up a very steep hill. Granted, the view from the top was spectacular, but my heart was in my throat all the way up and down. He's taken me up here in our old jeep in the past with me protesting all the way. If I must be on this hill I want my feet planted firmly on the ground and not in any vehicle.

Next we drove up to our long meadow which is the eastern boundry of the farm, and from there proceeded towards the woods and the
old logging road. Now I'm thinking, "He's not planning to take us down that old logging road, is he?" But, that's precisely what he had in mind!

So through the woods we went, bumping and sliding, dodging branches and commenting that we should've written wills before embarking on this journey. When we emerged in the meadow above the barn we breathed a collective sigh of relief.
And so back home we came, laughing and joking after a very memorable ride. That was one way for our guests to see our acreage I guess, but when I asked Kathy the next day what Reiko had thought of it she said, "She had a wonderful time but she told Akio she is never going on another hayride!"
I wish I'd taken more photos on the hayride, but I was too busy hanging on!

26 comments:

LindaD said...[Reply]

What an absolutely memorable Thanksgiving you all had. Thinking of the fun made me smile all the way through it. Do we tend to lose our sense of adventure as we get older? So glad you shared all this.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

What a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving you were able to share with your family! I so envy your country/farming lifestyle. I had hard enough time convincing "city boy" to live way up here, but he's turned into quite the "country lad". Then again, we're only 16 miles from civilization and it's quickly creeping up this way!

Sissy said...[Reply]

That cake looks like something out of Gourmet magazine!! Fantastic!
The hayride sounds like so much fun!!

Val said...[Reply]

Its been unseasonably warm over here in the UK as well, Kerri! But many thanks for the lovely photos, especially the one from the top of the hill on the hayride - what a lovely view, and those clouds are wonderful. Great writing too!

Anonymous said...[Reply]

It looks like you had a great time to me! I haven't been on a hay ride in a very long time. Our church use to have hayrides and we stopped at peolpes house to sing christmas songs.

Motherkitty said...[Reply]

I'm so glad you were surrounded by family during this holiday season and you had such a wonderful time. The food looks great and the desserts!!! All I can say is wow. Those pies and cake look spectacular.

Looks like your hubby wanted to give everyone a thrill with his magical mystery tour hayride. I'm sure everyone had fun even with all the ups and downs.

After our dinner was over and our company left Sunday morning, I also realized that I had not taken any pictures. No pictures of the food and no pictures of the friends and family. What a dolt I was. At least you have some pictures. Oh well, there's always Christmas.

Annie in Austin said...[Reply]

If I knew about that hill ahead of time, I'd have volunteered to do the dishes while you were on the ride.

Two good things - there's no chance that Reiko will think that your family is boring; and Kylie's cake was made for practice, not for real!

I'm glad you all had such a wonderful Thanksgiving, and got Blogger to let you have 10 photos.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Susie said...[Reply]

Your dinner looks super! Sounds like that hayride will be one for the history books! I would have been holding on for dear life too. The views are marvelous!
Glad you had the chance to meet Reiko. She has a lovely smile...
xoxo

Sigruns German Garden said...[Reply]

What a dinner! The mocca cake looks great!

Sigrun

Philosophical Karen said...[Reply]

Great story and photos! I really enjoyed reading about your Thanksgiving celebration. How wonderful it is to get together with family.

Jeanette said...[Reply]

Gday Kerri
All those happy faces looks like you all had a great time on that Hay ride and all that food looks delicous I think ill have a quick nibble on the Brie Cheese my favorite.Or was it Camembear

Carole Burant said...[Reply]

Oh Kerri, that sounded like such a fabulous Thanksgiving!!! What fun to have that hayride, even if you did have to hang on for your life...lol...and that dessert all looks so very yummy! Loved all the pictures and I can just imagine how happy you all were to be together!! Hugs xox

TJ said...[Reply]

It looks like a wonderful time was had by all!!
:-D

Anonymous said...[Reply]

I'm betting your grandson loved the ride and will recount the tale to his kids.

I'm so glad you had a wonderful gathering.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

You did just as I did Kerri. We were so busy enjoying our family that pictures were the last things on our minds. I also forgot to bring out the camera until later and also missed some of the kids and of course no pictures of the food. I felt like such a dolt. No one took pictures because they know I take enough for all, but not this time. I had even planned to take a picture of all of the grandkids (so we could count them).hehehe

What a wonderful hayride although bumpy. The only thing missing were the snowflakes...brrrr. *LOL*

Dianne said...[Reply]

Looks like the 'smiles' were there this Thanksgiving too! Ahhh... a hayride! It's been a long time for me. Hope it was lots of fun to see the beautiful countryside.

Pear tree cottage! said...[Reply]

Kerri your holiday sounds like the "best time" and what a wonderful husband you have to take everyone on "the tour" but did it work of all those extra pounds after such a wonderful looking thanksgiving (the cakes look very yummy!)

Have anice weekend.
lee-ann

HORIZON said...[Reply]

Oh wonderful- this post really made me giggle Kerri. Loved the way you described the hayride and hubby- brilliant!
The dinner sounded as though it was a great success- lovely to have your children and extended family around too.
Have a nice weekend dear friend.
Glad things have warmed up a bit for you. We have quite the storm headed our way this weekend.
xx

Reflection Through The Seasons said...[Reply]

Hello Kerri...
Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving Day. You did have fun and as you rightly said, a day full of smiles. How wonderful to have family and friends together on such an occasion.

Your Thanksgiving table looks delicious. My, what a cake the orange mocha is. I’d love a slice, Hmm! just wondering how many calories that would reckon to, but who’s counting on that special day. Your pumpkin cheese cream pie looks good too. This may surprise you, but I’ve never cooked pumpkin. I think I should ask you for that recipe, it looks delicious.

We have no Thanksgiving celebration over here and I’ve always thought that’s a pity. I guess there is nothing stopping us from having our own is there. Now that’s a thought for next year!

Your Hay ride looks, well, exciting! I would be exactly the same as you, clinging on for dear life.

As always, I loved seeing the pictures of your kitties. they are adorable.

So pleased you enjoyed our little walk I posted on my blog. It was quite delightful. Our weather is still so mild, however, I’ve just heard the weather forecast and we have a big storm coming in to-night, so we’ll have to batten down the hatches.

Have a great weekend. Marion

Alice said...[Reply]

Sorry, I'm really dragging the chain here ..... Loved your Thanksgiving story. What a wonderful few days you had, what with the anticipation and then having a house full of happy people cooking and enjoying delicious food.

The farmer still lives in Ross, doesn't it? And why not? We walk people around our gardens, why shouldn't he have the opportunity to drive family and friends around his 'garden', his beloved farm.

Shame about your idle 'shutter finger', Kerri. But I can understand your desire to hang on for dear life, rather than lose it taking photos.

Thanks again. I loved it.

kylieps said...[Reply]

Hi Mummy,
Could you send me that pic of the "Thanksgiving Four" and the one of the hayride that has Dad standing next to the tractor. I'd like to put my own version up on my blog. You know how I like to add a little hyperbole.
Also a picture of the cake of shame?
Thank you! Love you!
Kylie

Anonymous said...[Reply]

What a great family Kerri! Your post was so intertaining about the hayride! We never know about our husbands do we?? Sounds like you have a great one! I miss hayrides!

squire said...[Reply]

Days like these make for great memories.

Jellyhead said...[Reply]

Eeeek, I'm a bit late getting here - sorry.

What a happy and interesting Thanksgiving you had. The hay ride sounded more like a rollercoaster ride! The food sounded (and looked) delicious - even the poor 'cake of shame' (surely it wasn't SO bad?!)

Thanks for telling us these Thanksgiving tales!

Diana LaMarre said...[Reply]

Very unique TG celebration. It looked like loads of fun!

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Kerri hello! just popped in to see that all is ok! havn't seen youout and about but I am sure you are winter can be like that carn't it. have a lovely day. Lee-ann