On the Road

I just realized that Thanksgiving is VERY close. 

Now that the freezers are in order, the pantry is stocked, and Christmas shopping has begun, I am ready to get into the holiday swing of things. 

I admit, I get a little anxious for the holidays. 

Even with all of the predictable traditions, things have changed so much over the last few years.

 I long for the holidays to be like they were. I long for everything to be perfect. Every year, something else seems to change. It's not all bad, but these changes and the unexpected changes to come keep me on my toes. 

Growing up, I always said that Thanksgiving was my favorite. It used to mean getting together with family. Then it meant that my Grandma was coming to visit for a while. Now, it means getting together with a bunch of people that are like family. 

My Mom and I cook up the same meal every year. We have a unique menu full of foods that I absolutely love.

My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is spending the day in the kitchen with my Mom. It's by her side that I learned to cook.

We don't do everything the same and sometimes we even go back and forth over how something should be done.  Our Thanksgiving cooking time always reminds me of all the times that we used to cook together.

As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I do one more thorough cleaning and then it's time to pull out the Christmas decorations. The center piece of our Christmas decorations is the nativity set that belonged to my Mom's parents. 

None of the decorations are home and gardens fancy. Most of them are simply sentimental. They either belonged to my Mom's parents or have just been around so long that I can't imagine "Christmas" without them. 

I decorate with nativity sets, garland (green), red bows, white lights, nut cracker men, and snowmen. 

Someday I would like to change a few things up. I guess I'm just not in a hurry when it comes to that though. 

The days after Christmas lead up to our celebration of the new year and Epiphany. It truly is a season full of holidays! 
What are some of your favorite traditions during the holiday season?
What's your favorite food on the Thanksgiving table? 


Pictures taken from a drive I took last week when I visited my friend.