Letter from Los Angeles |
Thursday | 23 November 2017 |
Thanksgiving Tablescapes
Los Angeles, California: Tablescapes are
all I have to show for our Thanksgiving celebration. After the guests arrived -
including 4 additional children - all heck broke loose and my camera never made
another appearance.
As usual, Our Girl really knows how to set a table for a holiday.
The kiddie table:

The kitchen table was turned into a kid-friendly
(carpet-free) space for the five older (age 3-6; a visiting baby
ate in the dining room in a high chair) kids to enjoy an adult-free
Thanksgiving dinner. The placemats were ready to be colored with crayons and
the little turkey "cracker" favors held miniature Pilgrims, Native Americans
and gold paper crowns.

Things were a little fancier at the grown-up table.

Lisa used a natural colored tablecloth and placed greens and white pumpkins
down the center. Gold highlights were found in the cutlery, stemware,
candles, and a large antique brass wishbone at the center of the table.


The only thing missing from this Thanksgiving table was a
turkey. Lisa's family are vegetarian. She made wishbones from air-dry clay
so each guest could make a wish.
I wished for a roasted turkey.
Just kidding. I will roast one next week in Indio.

And a guest appearance by Lucy:

The party started with Bloody Mary's or champagne cocktails
and a cheese platter. And there was another Dip-Off: Lenny's Lipton Onion
Soup Mix dip versus my
Caramelized Onion Dip. The first time Lenny and I had a Dip-Off, he won.
(Lisa says it's the MSG that reels-in the votes.) This year it was a tie,
but one person had yet to vote. That person was DT. He refused to vote.
DT is a very smart man.
Next time, Lenny, you are going DOWN!
For the main course, Lisa roasted rings of acorn squash and stuffed the
centers with mounds of traditional stuffing - one for every adult. We also
had mushroom bread pudding, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy,
tossed green salad, green beans with crispy shallots and hazelnuts, pumpkin
rolls, corn bread, collard greens, spinach gratin, pumpkin pie, pecan pie,
and chocolate pecan pie. There were a lot of guests and everyone brought
several dishes. We forgot to put the cranberry sauce on the table.
The icing on the cake... or the whipped cream on the pie... Lenny's
Redskins won!
We learned our lesson - no driving back to Indio the weekend after
Thanksgiving... which requires driving past one of the largest outlet malls
in America on Black Friday. The first time we stupidly attempted the usual
two-hour drive, it took us six hours. And that means FOUR HOURS sitting on
I-10. Never again.
Until my next update, I remain, your stuffed correspondent.
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