Friday, October 29, 2010

The Holiday Grand Plan

To my mom, the first of September signified more than my birthday. On this day, she would sit down at the dining room table and begin planning for the holidays using The Holiday Grand Plan. I'm not sure if this was a Martha project or from one of her many holiday celebration books or from a random website. In fact, it may have been a collaborative effort with the Hoosier Stitchers. Either way, it was a crummy way for a teenager to celebrate her birthday.

Of course, the Grand Plan began at the entrances of the house. She scrubbed the foyer fervently with hopes of celebrating the most wonderful Holidays. She would request wish lists for Christmas weeks in advance, and naturally, my mom would begin finding and fine-tuning recipes for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Last weekend as I perused my mom's vast supply of old and new recipes, I found last year's Thanksgiving menu. In her funny way, my mom always wrote in all caps to emphasize formality.





APPETIZERS
ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP
CROCK POT
DRINKS
COFFEE, REGULAR + DECAF, SUGAR HALF + HALF, SW + LOW
COFFEE CUPS, SPOONS

SPARKLING PEAR + CRANBERRY COCKTAIL


SODA + ICE

MAIN DISHES
TURKEY (S)


SWEET POTATOES + PARSNIPS


CRANBERRY/NUT/SAUSAGE STUFFING


THANKSGIVING KAMUT


CRANBERRY SAUCE

DESSERTS
APPLE CRANBERRY CRISP


COOKIES


PUMPKIN PIE




I won't be making any grand plans in the next few weeks, and I don’t know what this year’s Thanksgiving will entail. Frankly, I'm worried that our glue is gone. She synced our schedules and prepared the most delicious foods. It is sad to recognize that none of us will be able to match her enthusiasm, although she'd love to know we are celebrating. For the time being, I will be focusing on staying sane and continuing to stay in contact with my family.

3 comments:

  1. I love your posts Maggie. Its so sweet to think of you and Katie taking care of your Mom's stuff and going palms up about some of her choices. And, in case you need to know, the Holiday Grand Plan is the official name and here is the link http://christmas.organizedhome.com/holiday-grand-plan. Its an actual web site that sends out messages weekly,telling you what to do to prepare for a fabulous holiday season. Everything ready well in advance leaving time to actually celebrate with your family.

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  2. I am sure all of you guys are welcome at our house for Thanksgiving. No pressure though, I know it is a long trip.

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  3. @JP: Ha! You just want me to cook all those delicious foods!

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