Thanksgiving 2025

It was NOT a “normal” Thanksgiving!

Yeah, I am non-weight bearing on my left foot, some sort of heel injury. We don’t know what caused it; my MRI is scheduled for the 16th. No, it is not plantar fasciitis. It hurts when I put weight on it. Fortunately it does not hurt at all if there is no weight. It could be a lot worse!

Thanksgiving dinner, and the meals for the following 2 days, were prepared with me scooting around the kitchen. This was approved by my Podiatrist. It did have its drawbacks:

Red light therapy was needed! Temporarily I am 89 years old.

Of course I had a plan and a menu:

Thanksgiving 2025 

Thanksgiving meal aps:

Sausage balls/Honey mustard
Cheese ball/ Triscuit and Wheat Thins
Caprese skewers/Balsamic reduction
Queso/chips

Mains and veggies:

Brisket/Horseradish, Chipotle, gravy from brisket
Ranch potatoes/buttered cornflakes
Coffee carrots
Roasted Brussel sprouts/Parm/Balsamic
Pineapple casserole/Ritz topping
Jalapeno poppers with panko

Genl:

Chicken salad
Green salad
Cheese/cracker trays
Pantry chocolate
Protein chips

Kids:

Berries – blue, black, straw

 I did pull back a bit – no pies. I LOVE pies, as does my family, but geez, they are a calorie load! I am burning a mere 1500 calories/day or less on my scooter, so I was not keen on pies. Instead, I bought some exquisite, snotty, pretty chocolates and everyone got to pick out their own desert each meal. It was just perfect! It felt special and each person chose their own. It was different, and each glorious little chocolate was 50 scrumptious calories. Done!

I also avoided the usual Raclette or Ham. I wanted something different, yet something that would feel special. I found a fabulous recipe for a whole dry braised brisket and it was out-of-this-world delicious:

Meat photos never look that great, but trust me, this was divine! I put a mustard rub on a whole brisket (that is a LOT of meat!), then a thick layer of spices. The brisket cut has a lot of fat; it self basted the meat and the spices formed a stunningly delicious crust. The fat was easy to cut off as it was just on the outside of the cut. I made a Chipotle as well as a Horseradish sauce, but the real star came from the drippings. I defatted and thickened them; oh. my. It was gooood! The Brisket was cooked upon a “rack” of very thick cut onions, so that added even more to the flavor.

I don’t post photos of my Grands for safety reasons, but they really are so stinkin’ cute! My Grandson is almost 5 and my Granddaughter is almost 18 months. She is toddling around and it’s so fun to have a GIRL! I wish I could show a video of these precious moments:

Grandson’s treasures are put in here and pushed all around the house. The wheels are wooden, on a hardwood floor, so they are noisy, which of course just adds to the pleasure. Note all the percussive noise-makers as part of his treasures. There will always be a truck or vehicle involved also.

What sweetness! Granddaughter is toddling very well but still hesitant to walk alone. This is her collection of treasures – “unnecessary” shoes, bracelet with a dumpling and a key chain stuffie. So. Cute! She pushes with great concentration and diligence.

The cute moments were when Granddaughter would lead the parade of all the wheeled vehicles: her pushcart, Grandson’s pushcart and then Gramma pulling up the rear with her scooter. We went round and round and round! “Some” people were trying to watch the game and you couldn’t even hear yourself talk!

A few sweet vignettes that warm a Gramma’s heart:

It was a wonderful weekend, just the Best Ever. The weather was icky, just foggy, dreary, NO sun. The forecast each day said there was going to be sun in the afternoon, and each day it was NOT.

This is the day they left, of course:

I did manage to complete a charity quilt:

I completed another which I forgot to photograph. It’s a low bar, but I try to do 2 a year.

It was such a soul filling Thanksgiving. I hope yours was also. I’ll be linking up:
Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday