I spent last week, in summer temperatures, planting bulbs and watering madly. This week the temperature has dropped and it has been raining since Friday night. I hope we can still plant, though, since I still have a dozen Dutch iris, two kinds of lilies that Vesey's sent me by mistake, and one of these days I will get the two kinds of daffodils they did not send. They very kindly apologized for the error, and told me to keep the lilies. Actually, this is the first time I have had my bulbs in before Thanksgiving, and had all the kids not been coming, I might have put it off, waiting for rain. I see by the long range forecast the temperature is supposed to go up again next week, so housework, this week, and gardening next. About planting in layers, I have not found it very successful. The years that I have done it the weather decided warm up too fast, and all my bulbs were in flower almost at the same time, so the little ones disappeared. I tend to hide them around hostas where the leaves will cover up the straggly leaves after they bloom.

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

Well, it depends on your definition of wonderful. I've done similar meals, and I find it incumbent on me to have some decent protein for vegans/vegetarians. Gourmet nut cheeses are delicious, but not very nutritious, for instance. This is a recipe for Vegan Gluten Free Bean and Lentil Loaf which I developed and posted some years ago. It's a big bother to make the first time, but it tastes good and lends itself to gussying up. It would freeze fine (I can't remember if I've done it, but it should work). But it's probably too close to Thanksgiving to want to go there. In terms of protein content, I prefer saitan. It's gluten, however, rather than GF, but really is a protein, whereas beans and legumes are plants with protein in them (at the most 15%). :) Saitan should be made with soy (usually it's done with soy sauce) to have complete protein, or you could use Bragg's Aminos. You can grill (stove top or oven) saitan to get some caramelized seared edges and layer it up in a strata with long thin slices of pumpkin or kabocha, zucchini, carrots, parsnips, etc., fresh herbs, and make a binder from egg replacer, or chia, or a bechamel made with hemp milk, or whatever. I don't have a recipe, however, since I usually just cook. Speaking of "balls", you can make quinoa and cranberry balls, or quinoa and sweet potato balls. Quinoa gets really boring fast, but if you make it Thanksgiving flavored it could be a hit. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Vegans are used to being odd man out and eating the sides. As you've figured out with your spinach balls, most sides can be made vegan just by not using animal products. :) The hardest to replace is eggs, but it can be done. Apparently, the goo from canned garbanzo beans is an excellent replacement for eggwhites. I haven't had a chance to try it, but you're supposed to be able to whip it, and it's supposed to make decent glue for casseroles and such. Oh. Yummy vegetarian. In this context, I take that to be lacto-ovo. I make a really yummy pumpkin lasagna, but it has tons of cheese and eggs. And it also takes a long time to make, so I'm not going to bother posting it unless you really want it. It does freeze well. I've never tried to make a vegan version.

I started to go bed last night around 11 and decided to look out front. There were 4 boxed stacked on the porch. They weren't there at 8. Someone was working late last night. One had my name. OH MY, Susan. I love it. You have us all spoiled this month with these wonderful gifts.