Thanksgiving Madness/"I Will Sweep You Off Your Feet!"

Thanksgiving madness over here! But so much fun! Lots of work interspersed with fun conversation and ducking out for visits with people. Last night sat with Carla and Alan in their gorgeous lakefront mansion (nothing between them and the lake), was nourished by the fun conversation, the unauthorized martini and their amazing conversation. Mostly Carla and I like to talk about recipes and Alan and I like to talk about jazz. Great friends. Today is Lucas' birthday so I'll duck out and take her to lunch - she turns 40 today and her family is a little clueless about how to make her happy. I have a great present for her (not going to write it here in case she reads this before we lunch) and I'll also take her to dinner sometime this weekend with Convex.

And Luke.....he's stepping up.  "I WILL SWEEP YOU OFF YOUR FEET!" he declared last night in his loud, over the top, hyper-energetic way that makes me smile - I adore his enthusiasm for life - it's infectious. He might cancel plans to go to California to spend tomorrow with me instead. We'll see - that would definitely be sweepy.

Carmen is here today making the house gorgeous (my cleaning lady). Somehow I'll find the time to send her home with a pumpkin pie for her own holiday table. Shay and I had a good talk yesterday and there is harmony again (it was getting rough for a while). Elizabeth is coming over tonight to set the tables and Madeleine is coming today to pitch in too. Last night I arranged the flowers - gorgeous. In addition to the centerpiece each person will have their own personal arrangement above their knife - they are adorable - purple calla lillies, greens and spears of asparagus.

Here's my menu:

Orchard Cocktail

Parsnip Onion Soup

Beet, Pear and Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Vegetable Terrine

Roast Turkey

Sausage Bread Stuffing

Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potato Casserole with a Streusel Topping

Green Bean Casserole

Creamed Onions

Corn Souffle

Pear Walnut Jello Salad

Cranberry Relish

Cranberry Sauce

Pumpkin Bread

Cranberry Nut Bread

Parker House Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

Pecan Pie

Gotta run...time to mash the potatoes.  Oh, and your challenge? Have a wonderful Thanksgiving of course!  I won't write tomorrow - "see" you on Friday.

Peace,

Sarah

This year - it's all about family right?  See me? -  I'm in the right hand corner.