Preparing ...

So. Thanksgiving. Otherwise known as my absolute favorite holiday. Christmas without the consumerism, and with more gluttony!

{thanksgiving table 2009}

So far I have:
Procured the necessary groceries (except for Pippin apples, which are crucial to my favorite pie, and which I haven't been able to find - anyone in LA seen them somewhere?)
Chosen the wines (D picked the festive beers)
Purchased a gigantic office door that will serve as a table*

On Wednesday I will: 
Make pies
Roast sweet potatoes, assemble dish for reheating
Blanch green beans, refrigerate
Cube and dry bread for stuffing (20ish minutes in a 300 degree oven)
Make cranberry relish and sauce
Make dough for dinner rolls
Roast pecans, nibble
Post about my leaf project, if I actually finish it

On Thursday I will: 
Wake up early, drink tea
Make the drive home
Pick sage from the garden, chop and saute it with mushrooms, garlic, onions
Mix the stuffing together
Toss the turkey in the oven
Reheat sweet potatoes
Saute the green beans with shallots and garlic
Bake the rolls
Set the table
Drink champagne, revel

Last year I lead up to Thanksgiving with a little holiday sanity series, which I made sure to re-read this year. It's easy to swept up in the rush without stopping to slow down and actually allow yourself to feel grateful, to savor the little bits, to love your family even when close proximity to them makes you a little crazy.

Holidays, managed (part 1)
Holidays, managed (part 2)
Holidays, managed (part 3)

and for the pictures ... Thanksgiving last year

* You can squeeze in with 18" of space per person around the table if you all like each other - if not, you'll want 24-30" instead. We have 12 adults and one skinny kid - our current table was not going to cut it. A solid core office door came up on Craigslist and it measures 36" x 105". We'll rest it on sawhorses and cover it with the heirloom tablecloth and no one will be the wiser. We couldn't face carrying the door up to our apartment (it's going to my parent's house, so it would have to come back down in a few days) so we just padlocked it to the gate in our parking space. Classy. Fingers crossed that our landlord doesn't complain.