THANKFUL...

Today was a good day. Usually, holidays with my family are not-so-good days. I love my family, don't get me wrong. They just get on my nerves.

We went to my mom's as usual for our Thanksgiving dinner. I took the turkey to Mom's house last night all prepared and brined and full of extra love for her to cook today. While there, I downed a bottle of wine but that's a whole nother blog post.

Today, I baked miniature pumpkin pies -- a special request by The Teenager. I also made turnips gratin, a recipe I found at The Pioneer Woman dot com (LOVE HER!). Little did I know, my quest to try new things would bring a tear to my mother's eye.

Evidently, when my mom was a little girl, her grandma would fix turnips every Sunday. Mom said she hadn't thought of turnips in years. It's just not one of those food items that come to mind when your racking your brain for the millionth time trying to figure out what to fix for dinner.

It moved her so much, she got Uncle Steve on the phone to tell him about it. He was jealous. I now have to make the dish again next time he comes to town.

So dinner went off without a hitch. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, green bean casserole, turnips gratin, macaroni and cheese, and buttered rolls. I know, way, way too much food. I think I brought home enough to feed the family for a week. "Flaming turkey wings!" (reference to an old, old Pizza Hut commercial)

After dinner, we rolled our full bellies into the living room and watched a movie! It was an amazingly, rare occurrence. My family, including Mom, Sam, my sister, her beau, and her twins -- all sat around and watched a movie together. Gran Torino...an oldie but a goodie.

It was a good day. And I'm thankful for it.