Thanks Libby, and the same to you and yours.

Bon

That's lovely, Skibby. I wish the same for you.

Thanks, Skibby.

Cranberry Salad is made, Southern Pecan Praline Sheetcake is made, and Cream Raisin and Peanut Butter pies will be made in the morning. The family will congregate at my daughter's house at noon. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Thank you for that, Skibby! A happy Thanksgiving to all our RP readers.

When I was a child I considered Thanksgiving to be the most boring holiday on the calendar, not to mention the drawback of the mountains of dishes for my sisters and me to do after the meal. Even the television was boring that day, dull parades and stupid football. The only part I actually liked was the four day weekend away from school.

These days I have come to a time of my life when I rather enjoy Thanksgiving. I find the ritual of taking time to think about what is good in my life, and being grateful for it, to be a rewarding exercise. Without this holiday it would be easy to never pause and think.

However I still don't watch football.

All my understanding of Thanksgiving comes from watching movies which have the theme of getting home for the holiday despite the odds. People stuck at airports for hours, buses and cars breaking down but . . . at the last minute everyone being reunited into the bosom of their families.

Is there really such a tremendous amount of food preparation going on? Are many of you inundated with your relatives/loved ones, or do you take it in turns to host these huge gluttonous feats? And how many of you head for the shop the next day to spend $$$'s on items you probably neither want or need?

Was the 'day' more simple when you were young?

No Thanksgiving Day here in Australia but the canny retailers have got into the Black Friday Sales idea... I am being swamped with ads.

As I am on medication for a recently diagnosed A/Fib heart condition which is making me a bit woozy, I am not going to the shops and am being strong about not buying things online either! I bought enough "stuff" to last me for life when the US dollar was equal to ours, oh, so long ago!

For me T-day has become smaller and smaller......years ago it was celebrated with traditional dishes and family. Now we're down to a very small family of picky eaters who have slowly eschewed my traditional offerings and prepare their own version of the meal. Vee.....not mountains of food for sure. No gluttony....and absolutely no shopping. Anything I choose to purchase will be done from the comfort of my computer :0) I dislike crowds and traffic.

Vee, certainly movies are an exaggeration of what goes on, but not by an order of magnitude. It is a harvest festival, a celebration of family and plenty, and a day for gratitude, followed by the blatant orgy of spending on Black Friday. The Black Friday part is newish, and has grown over the years, in part to recall customers to brick and mortar stores in the face of online shopping. It was simpler when I was young, but wasn't everything? Sensible people stay away from stores on Black Friday.

Ann, I hope your medication stabilizes soon. It's not fun to feel woozy.

Plenty of gluttony at our dinner today. We ate about 12:30, and I'm still not a bit hungry at 7:00 pm. I do have leftover pie just in case and a serving of my sister's home-frozen corn and a new dish a niece brought of roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and maple syrup that was really good.

I forgot to say yesterday in response to Skibby's original question, one of my brothers is our designated grace sayer at our get-togethers. He does such a nice job that it became his by osmosis.

I'm another who doesn't poke my nose out on Black Friday. Unless you really, really want a really, really expensive item, it just seems silly to me. The traffic is awful, and the stuff will all be there next week. The stack of ads that came with this morning's paper was unbelievable.

Several of the younger family members came over on their way home and brought my Christmas tree and plastic tubs of decorations in from the garage, so I have plenty to do for several days now. I hear a lot of people talk about downsizing, but I love Christmas.

I don't do Black Friday and I don't shop on line. Having said that, in the US there is now a push for small business shopping this weekend, which I approve. There are so many small shops and boutiques here in downtown Charleston that are within easy walking distance. I don't buy that much but I do enjoy browsing for the occasional Xmas gift.

My late husband and I never made turkey dinners. We preferred stuffed Cornish hens instead, so that was what we prepared.

Many in America go to church on Thanksgiving and special thanksgiving hymns are sung; e.g. "We Gather Together." I like the harvest aspects of Thanksgiving in its original meanings historically, but not the modern commercial emphasis.