Last night was our killer freeze for our GH this year! In the spring - when we cover the small plants with a frost blanket - we can protect the plants with outside temps as low as -10 degrees - without much heat. But in the fall - when the plants are large and close to the polycarbonate - the GH only protects them to an outside temp of about 20 degrees. It is also a function of how long during the night the freezing temps remain - it is cold for a much shorter period in the spring but lasts most of the night in the fall. Last night it was -6 degrees - a definite end to the season without heating the GH. We did pick our last produce before the fatal freeze though - great GH year!! Fresh tomatoes off the vine in Wyoming in the middle of November in zone 3 without heat - not bad - all things considered?!

It was the first one for us too. Really loved the many decisions we made during our reno. 1) The 36" wide deep zero radius sink with a low divider really came in handy. Its amazing how much stuff can fit in this thing with still room to wash/clean 2) The double convection wall oven worked all day. Everything turned out perfect. I have no idea what conspired to make the turkey perfect this year. I am sure I won't be able to reproduce the result next year if I tried 3) The 36" 6 burner bluestar Rangetop worked all day. All six burners were in use at times, but didn't leave anything to be desired. It slowly simmered a big pot of turkey stock all day while the other burners were used to do a variety of boiling, sautéing, and gravy making. 4) The biggest "wow what did we do without this" moment came from the touch activated Delta faucet. I wash my hands after every step, especially when processing raw meat. being able to wash every 15 seconds at times without having to fiddle with the control was awesome, and keeps everything sanitary 5) The quartz counters really helped. Never a worry about spilling or raw meat juices, or spices, or anything else sitting on the counters. They were pretty messy all day through a rotation of meats, and eggs and milk and flour and cleaned up without a hitch. 6) stone backsplash - Cant tell you how nice it is to not have to worry about splashes during the various activities. Everything wiped off easily, unlike last thanksgiving where I scrubbed the paint off my walls trying to wipe off some of the gravy splashes. Things I wanted more of but just not possible in our size kitchen: 1) More counter space or a big island. Our kitchen and layout of spaces around the kitchen didn't allow for more. Its perfect for our every day, but would be nice at holidays like thanksgiving. 2) A separate prep sink - Day to day, its never one of the things I regret not having, but would have been very helpful at thanksgiving 3) A warming drawer. Maybe I will get one installed one day. Not a need day to day, but would be nice to put things once done when you are making several items. My oven has a keep warm function, but since both ovens were being actively users, a separate drawer would have been handy

My family (and my husband's also) has always done holiday meals as a late lunch. We've never done dinner. Not sure why, maybe years ago family members had to travel??? Whatever. I really prefer eating around 2:00 and since I now host many of those meals, that's the time I set. Haha! For a big meal such as Thanksgiving, we are really not into appetizers, etc. Too much food. I prefer (and try steer others!) to eat the meal, then relax, visit, walk,etc. and have dessert later. However, if my MIL is here (and she often is), she thinks you should pull the dessert out as soon as the last bite of the meal is eaten. LOL! After eating we like to visit, at least part of us will end up in the sunroom, and as it's often still nice temps here we will spread to the outside area. While I always offer leftovers to take home, most will not eat again before leaving. Hubby and I often wait and have dessert later on rather than another meal.

I carve the turkey ahead of time, before the guests arrive, and cover the platter with foil so it won't dry out -- or even pile it in a Corningware dish that I can warm it up in a bit (it doesn't have to be really hot when you serve it, just warm or even room temperature, especially if you have gravy) and then move it to the platter just before serving. I strongly recommend doing it this way, especially as you anticipate a lot of company in the kitchen. Are you having a first course before the turkey course? (A while back someone asked everyone "Do you serve soup on Thanksgiving?" I was so surprised how few people do -- in our family, it's not a holiday meal without soup!) Anyway, figure that into your timing, too. Okay, so, your timing: in my opinion, it will depend on the food that you put out during the champagne time. If you only put out something very light, like olives and nuts, and everyone arrives pretty much on time, 20 minutes will be more than enough time before you call everyone to the table. If you want more "cocktail hour" than that, I'd serve heavier appetizers. You didn't ask, and I don't know how old the kids are, but I'd rethink a crafts table. If it's anything messy and they are dressed up in holiday clothes, their parents won't appreciate it. If it's too involved, it will be hard to get them to the table. Games would be fine. Parents of kids young enough to need it usually bring along their kids' favorite amusements anyway.