Thanksgiving ease

I had a very quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. I roasted a small turkey for my husband, who loves turkey sandwiches.  He's not crazy about the traditional holiday side dishes, such as dressing and casseroles, so I didn't bother cooking anything like that.  I did make the bread for the sandwiches in my bread machine, so it was fresh and delicious.  And we both love homemade cranberry sauce, so I made some!  It is my own special recipe, which includes the cranberries (of course), fresh squeezed pomegranate juice (in place of the water called for in the basic sauce recipe) raw sugar,  mandarin oranges, chopped toasted walnuts, and a pinch of cinnamon. It's basically a cranberry fruit salad, and it tastes best if allowed to hang out in the refrigerator overnight.  Even when you're just eating turkey sandwiches (and not the whole meal) you must have cranberry sauce on the side!  For dessert, we had a store bought pecan pie.

The whole day was easy, quiet, and relaxing. We raked leaves, took Ginger for a couple of walks, and watched movies. The weather was perfect--chilly first thing in the morning, warm and sunny throughout the afternoon, then cold again once the sun went down. I tried to capture the nice weather in pictures, taken at the park and in our backyard:

The trees at the park still have lots of green, since they are mostly oak and pine

Our blueberry bushes are just now getting their autumn color.

A young tree in our backyard, one of my favorites.

I love the mixed red and green colors.

Autumn is a long, slow season here in the south. Although our leaf change is well past it's peak, there is still plenty of lingering color to enjoy . It's also really nice to have such perfect temperatures and sunny skies so late in the year!

I'm really glad I spent Thanksgiving quietly enjoying it all, instead of doing what so many women do: stressing out, driving long distances, cooking/cleaning/entertaining for hours, and then finally overeating lots of heavy food.  I actually had the time (and energy!) to look around and appreciate all the things I have to be thankful for.  It was a nice way to kick off the busy holiday season, too.