Thanksgiving Day, 2013

I hope your Thanksgiving Day

was as full of fun & laughter as

"The Gazebo House "was yesterday!

We were lucky to have my beautiful daughter &

her family join us for dinner….seven all together at

the square table in the sunroom.

I kept the placesettings of rustic brown & more elegant

crème  & gold trimmed  Lenox china rather simple with just

the minimum of accessories needed.

Bohemian crystal stems for either water or wine…

or Rootbeer, as in Ms. C.’s case! 

I used my Mother’s vintage cut glass basket,

filled with beaded & faux sugared fruit,

as a centerpiece until

the turkey platter took over center stage.

I used my new crystal butter dish for the first time.

I do seem to have an affinity for butter dishes!

I think this is #5.

This one can do double duty &

 be used upside down, 

with a deeper well for horseradish or

a sauce of some sort.

I also cooked my stuffing in my Ninja

for the first time & it came out great!

I ♥♥♥ my Ninja!

Desserts of pumpkin, pecan & French silk pie

were set up off to the side on

their own little table.

I forgot to take pictures of the food,

once it was in place.

It gets rather hectic when my very

lively bunch arrives!

 

I did manage to grab my camera &

captured the BLUE HOUR as my

son-in-love was showing my oldest

grandson how to dissect the turkey.

“Anatomy Lesson 101”

 I laughed as lots of technical terms were used..."tendons, cartilage, mediastinum"
(He’s a doctor...you could tell)

My Dad’s recipe for homemade rolls was a

BIG hit, especially with the little ones.
I think Ms. C. ate 3!!!

I’ll share that with you soon.

I’m too tired right now & I have

lots of dishes to put away!

Little Ms. C. slept overnight so I’ll have

a good helper today.

Thanks for visiting "The Gazebo House"…

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

I’m joining Cuisine Kathleen’s

Let’s Dish party.

My Mom's Pink Depression Glass for Mothers Day

I couldn't miss out on Cuisine Kathleen's theme of honoring our Mother's this week at her "Lets Dish" gathering. (Especially since it was MY idea! LOL)
Nothing like a good party to bring one out of the doldrums, huh?

The early morning light is coming into the dining room, where the table is all set with my Mom's PINK depression glass for our family's brunch after 9 am Sunday Mass on Mothers Day.
I'd much rather have my family come home to eat with us here, than be out in the maddening crowds at all the restaurants on this holiday.




I remember my Mom using these pretty PINK dishes to serve ice cream & cake for every birthday celebration when we were growing up. She had blue ones, too, that my youngest sister inherited.

By the way, she is making good progress in dealing with the loss of her husband & she & I both say "thank you" for all the wonderful & sympathetic comments last month. It helped us both a great deal to know that even people we've never met, shared her sense of loss & wanted to comfort her.




For Sunday's brunch, I'll be using a "make ahead" recipe for Belgium waffles that is WONDERFUL! Very flaky & light!
It has a yeast batter that you mix all together the night before serving & let it bubble & rise overnight. I have a flip-type waffle maker that I just ♥ & this makes it very easy to feed a crowd.
I'll post it on Friday so you can make it, too, if you'd like!


I found this set of pink & cream quilted placemats with the pretty scalloped edges at Old Time Pottery. I ♥ that place!
The dinner & bread plates are Lenox Eternal china.


The centerpiece of flowers, which, forgive me, I'm STILL working on, will go in this cream & gold compote.
It coordinates nicely with the Lenox & I have a few other gold trimmed cream items on the table to repeat the effect.



A little tealight candle holder from a friend, (who used to host "Partylite" parties) as well as matching faux teapot with the same battery operated tealight inside.


I prefer not to use open flames when the grandchildren are visiting. My Mom lit
her dress on fire while playing with matches when she was little.
Luckily, a neighbor saw what was happening & came to her rescue, rolling her on
the ground to put out the fire. She had a horrible scar beneath her one arm & she
instilled a strong & healthy fear of open flames in all 8 of her children!





The Arcoroc French Rosaline Durand pink swirl wine glasses will hold orange juice. I've seen them on Ebay, touted as "Depression Glass" but I know they are not, as I remember buying them sometime in the late 70's.

I love the reticulated edges on these two serving platters. There is also a similar edge on a big, round bowl. I think they resemble lace, don't you?

The open scalloped edges on the two serving platters that I have, as well as a big round bowl are of the Old Colony pattern, sometimes referred to as "Lace Edge" or "Open Lace". These were made by the Hocking Glass Co. from 1935 to 1938. They can range from $7 apiece for the divided platters that I have to upwards of $700 for a frosted vase in this pattern!

A great source for information about Depression Glass is the book titled "Collector's Encyclopedia of Depression Glass" by Cathy & Gene Florence.

I've used my Mom's flatware, the Wm. Rogers Oneida silverplate; pattern called "Always", made in 1958.


I thought the little floral motifs went well with the flowers in the placemats & upcoming centerpiece.



This little dish will hold rainbow sprinkles for Ms. C. to use atop her whip cream covered waffles.


The little compotes will be perfect for a mixed fruit cup of strawberries, fresh mint, grapes, blackberries & raspberries along with a splash of sweet orange juice & a dollop of whipped cream.


Here is a good view of the textured trellis pattern on them. I have learned they are the Normandy pattern, sometimes called "Bouquet & Lattice". It was made by the Federal Glass Co. from 1933-1940.

I'm experimenting with some flowers from the garden. Obviously, I need to go buy some baby's breath filler, but I think these might work well for Sunday morning.



I love how you can see the tiny veins in each petal.
Nurses like *easy-to-see* veins!!! LOL

I hope to get around to visit all you wonderful people who have left such touching comments recently. The death of my brother-in-law made it all the more apparent that I have a very limited time left to spend with my sweet husband. So I've been trying to be with him more & not spent as much time on the computer, lately.

I wish all of you a very Blessed & Happy Mothers Day!

I'm joining Cuisine Kathleen for Mothers Day Let's Dish.
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday.
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday.

*Good Earth* Tablescape

Today is Cuisine Kathleen's

*Let's Dish* Party

and this month’s special theme is

*Good Earth*

My table represents all the wonderful bounty

that comes from the *Good Earth*.

Starting with the centerpiece of

GREEN GRASS

that comes from the *Good Earth*

behind the garden gate.

That cute little gate container was a gift from

my older sister, Fritzie…Thanks Sis!

It contained these gorgeous ROSES

grown in her own garden,

in the *Good Earth*

I ♥♥♥ that CORAL COLOR!

My salt & pepper shakers are replicas of

ARTICHOKES that are

grown in the *Good Earth*.

The pitcher & matching glasses

are from Turkey & are hand painted

with FLOWERS

that grow in the *Good Earth*.

I thought they echoed the FLORAL motif

(from the *Good Earth*)

of my new placemats that

I found at Old Time Pottery

for $1 each!

I ♥♥♥ those scalloped edges!

Each place setting has either a PINK or GREEN

FLOWER (from the *Good Earth*!) pot with

a candle, as a take-home favor,

along with a pair of gardening gloves.

(which I tied with PINK ribbons AFTER these pictures)

The FLORAL (from the *Good Earth*)

napkins are by April Cornell®,

which I've used before and I

was thrilled to see how well

they matched the new

FLORAL placemats.

My dinner plates & matching

napkin rings are the Mikasa pattern,

"Silk Flowers" (from the *Good Earth*)

The CABBAGE (from the *Good Earth*)

shaped salad plates are by Bordallo Pinheiro

The coordinating pretty PINK CABBAGE bowls

(from the *Good Earth*)

are also by Bordallo Pinheiro.

I served homemade

Slow Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

(recipe HERE)

with ingredients of garlic, tomatoes & basil

(all from the *Good Earth*)

I used two of these large CABBAGE

(grown in the *Good Earth*)

shaped serving bowls,

one to hold a salad & one for the

side dish of four cheese RICE.

(also grown in the *Good Earth*)

My stemware markers all represent

items either grown in or used to dig & play in the

*Good Earth*

Dessert was pistachio muffins,

chosen to looked like GREEN GRASS

from the *Good Earth*.

Topped with DumDum sucker FLOWERS

(from the *Good Earth*)

You just fold a cupcake paper liner

into fourths & then cut a

curve into the top edge.

Poke the sucker stick into the middle &

it turns out looking like FLOWER PETALS!

(from the *Good Earth*)

If you recall, I have

LOTS
of cupcake liners

I thought the small nut cup sizes

looked the cutest.

I served ice cold Crystal Light®

Peach (from the *Good Earth*) Bellinis.

It is one of Crystal Light's® two newest flavors,

the other being "Margarita".

We liked the Peach Bellini much better

than the Margarita flavor!

There is still some left over...wish you could

stop by for a cool glass.

Our garden gate is always unlatched for YOU!

Thanks for stopping by The Gazebo House today.

Along with Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish,

I'm joining

Susan's Between Naps on the Porch for

Tablescape Thursday as well as

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays.

Oh & be sure to stop by on Friday

to celebrate the launch of

Michael Lee West's new book

"A Teeny Bit of Trouble"

where I'll share the recipe for

the entree I made...

*So Sue Me Grilled Garlic Shrimp*

They are so good, they should be illegal!!