Although Will and I will be having a very simple Thanksgiving dinner, with just the two of us here, it will be all homegrown foods. You see, we are very thankful for the great bounty we’ve been given as well as our wonderful homestead, here in the Northwoods. Our family will be coming to celebrate with us on Saturday. Then, I’ll pull out all the stops and put on the big feast, also with mostly homegrown foods on the table. No, we are not butchering one of our own turkeys as this year, our hens just didn’t lay eggs. Therefore, no young turkeys, come Thanksgiving. Oh well, stuff happens. I got a nice frozen one, on sale, for 98 cents a pound. But, yes, Will gets his Hopi Pale Grey pumpkin pie plus his favorite cheesecake. Mason gets his deviled eggs, and everyone feasts on garlic mashed Bliss Triumph potatoes (the kind Grandpa Eddy brought from Florida during the Depression, starting the commercial potato growing in the Manhattan, Montana area. We’ll also be having a wide assortment of goodies: mustard bean pickles, watermelon rind pickles, Cowboy Candy on cream cheese crackers, roasted squash, and dinner rolls. I’ve got to get to baking on Friday to get it all (mostly) done as I only have two ovens, the wood kitchen range and the propane oven. It gets to be a juggling act at times.

These turkeys are escaping Thanksgiving dinner.
On Saturday, we’ll all be gathering again at the table. Can’t wait!

I hope all of you give thought to what you and your family are thankful for. Sometimes we get stuck on what we don’t have and forget all we do have. Happy Thanksgiving! — Jackie

39 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Jackie,
    Sounds like you and Will had a nice Thanksgiving and time with family on Saturday after Thanksgiving.
    I had Thanksgiving with my daughter and family. It was an enjoyable time.
    I’m so thankful for all God provides, for family and friends. It’s so important to seek to stay thankful even when things can seem a bit unsettling at times. We have so much that can be overlooked and not necessarily in things or monetary wise.
    Have the best evening.

  2. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My daughter and her partner came to spend the weekend with me. She visited with my ex-husband on Friday and brought back old pictures of my birth family that I did not know he even had. It was such a joy to see and connect through the pictures with my deceased family. It sounds like you had a happy day too.

    • How nice! Despite taking plenty of digital pictures these days, we do print quite a few. Nothing beats holding a picture in your hand IMHO.

    • Wow, isn’t that wonderful??? We love those old photos so much. We had a great Thanksgiving with family.

    • Thank you Debra. We always are so thankful for all the blessings we have, from health, family and our comfy home to all the food on our table that came from our homestead.

    • Sure thing Shondaj. Here it is:

      3 lbs jalapenos
      6 C sugar
      2 C white vinegar
      1/2 tsp turmeric
      1/2 tsp celery seed
      3 tsp granulated garlic
      Silce jalapenos. Add all ingredients but peppers into large pot. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 4 min. Add peppers. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 4 min. With a slotted spoon, remove peppers and pack into 1/2 pint jars, leaving 1/2″ of headspace. Bring syrup to a hard boil and boil hard for 6 min to thicken. Ladle over peppers, leaving 1/4″ of headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

      • Thank you.
        Now on to Christmas.
        Bad storm heading my way tomorrow.
        Not snow but rain in high winds.
        God Bless.

  6. Hi Jackie. Our Thanksgiving here in Canada was in October, but many relatives live in the USA, so Iā€™m wishing a very Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are celebrating today. You are so right- in these times it is so important to be thankful for the things we have. Good food and family and friends to share it with! Blessings to all of you.

    • Thank you Robyn. We enjoy our Thanksgiving, no matter what day we get to celebrate it on. It could be any day as we are so truly thankful for what we have; family, health and a wonderful home in the woods.

  7. Happy Thanksgiving…we celebrated last Sunday with family. Leftovers gone after 2 days so today was snacks and football on TV.
    Thanks for all you do and the information you share.
    Katherine Jordahl

    • Thanks Katherine. We really don’t care what day we get to celebrate on; it’s the thought that counts. Plus food and family, of course!

  8. Happy Thanksgiving Jackie & Will and family. Going to neighbors for turkey dinner. I thank the Lord for all he has done for me and my family. I enjoy your pictures and your seeds are the best.

    • Thanks Ruth Ann. We are truly thankful every single day, but especially when we get to celebrate with family. We love our seeds too!

  9. Some of my family drove from Fairhope, AL; and we will celebrate on Friday. They are visiting around Tennessee with other in-laws from both sides. While they stopped yesterday to drop off puppy for us to babysit, I had my normal troop of wild turkeys come strolling through the yard. I counted 24; so none have been shot by hunters, thank goodness. My granddaughter was in awe as they are quite large; but non violent. I think they were curious to see if anyone had a few chips or leftover cornbread to snack on. We have about 60 acres of soybeans in surrounding fields so they get really big; but they seem to like tortilla chips in my back yard the best of all. Everyone have a great Thanksgiving and remember most of all, WHO to be thankful to, from up above.

    • We were so tickled to see “our” wild turkeys show up, on Thanksgiving morning, nevertheless!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving on Saturday and are always very thankful for all our blessings.

  13. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your wonderful family! I am thankful for good, solid foundation people like you who have inspired me and so many others to do better in this world, to appreciate this great Republic and the beautiful earth the Lord made just for us. Oh, the many, many blessings we enjoy as Americans! ?????

  16. Happy Thanksgiving. Especially
    Thankful for your family. You have
    Provided the seeds for our whole
    Extended families to have food
    Security in these challenging times
    I start my turkey roasting the
    Evening before. Put it in 325 oven
    About 7 PM with extra water. Cover
    And in the AM is fully cooked and
    Then taken out and use the oven
    For other baking. Sweet potatoes

    We are gathering on Saturday as
    Well. We can be grateful for our
    Blessings and Gods mercy any
    Day and every day.

    Always glad for your homestead
    Photos to enjoy from this homesick
    North Dakota gal during holidays

    • The best part of our little seed business is sending our little seeds off, knowing they can help countless families put good food on their tables. We are so very thankful we get this chance and for all the blessings we enjoy.

    • We did, indeed, have a very wonderful Thanksgiving feast together, sprinkled with lots of love and laughter.

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