Lucky

As I sit in my lawn chair, with the sun peeking through the trees, I think back to last night and the dinner I had. Man, am I ever lucky. My husband prepares amazing meals, we have a ton of outstanding friends, loving family and good health. In life, what more could anyone want!? And I do not take any day for granted, ever. Today I am thankful for all of life's little pleasures. And I am especially thankful for my husband, he completes me and I would not be the woman I am today without him. And my mother, who always did so much for me. The older I get, the more I realize how much that actually is and how she always hid her challenges with a big smile.

Last night my husband served up the most incredible spread. Mouthwatering and rich maple smoked ham (he first brined the ham for a few days and then smoked it all day), a juicy 20lb turkey – golden and crisp on the outside, heirloom carrots, potatoes, squash, heavenly homemade stuffing, almond green beans, beets, cranberry sauce, pickles, confetti squares and pumpkin pie. Oh! And a new addition to the spread this year – glazed onions. An absolute must for next year.

We got the cranberry sauce (sweetened with maple syrup and honey) and maple syrup (for the ham) from the Lansdowne farmer's market.

Thank you Charlotte for all the fresh veggies from Acorn Creek Farm, and for the beautiful flowers. Gina thank you so much for the pumpkin pies, chocolate and soap. Lara thank you for the delicious almond green beans and yummy homemade pickles. Alan, the confetti squares were to-die-for. Colinda thank you for the delectable beets and homemade raspberry gin. Donnie for the Amarone and Andrew, for the plethora of wine - and everyone for all the yummy wine! And of course my husband, for making it all happen.

As usual, we got our ham from Aubrey's. Thank you for making it so easy to get local meats. (But no thank you for the dirty little trick you pulled, not allowing us to use our coupon. There was no small text when we bought it that excluded Thanksgiving. It's ok though, I'll keep coming by.)