Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some Thanksgiving goodies, to bring you Thanksgiving cheer!

 

 

 

 

The picture above cracks me up. One gal is pouring a glass of wine, while the gal in the middle (using the pot lid as a hat) looks as though she's already had her share.

 

 

There are so many wonderful things about the little card above.  The little red coats with hoods, the old boot covers that go over the little girl's shoes (look at all those buttons to hook!), and the second little girl peeking over the fence rail.  Too cute!  And look at the size of that bird!  I wonder what the families did with the bigger turkey feathers?  Did they keep them or throw them away?  Did they make them into fans?

 

 

I'm cooking a small turkey this year and am a little nervous about it.  What amazes me about this picture is, LOOK at the SIZE of her stove and oven!  Even though it's not very big, she seems to be managing quite fine, with every burner covered with some sort of pot full of delicious food.  So, If she can do it...I should have NO trouble!

Below, is an old grocery store advertisement for a week of Thanksgiving values! (found on Pinterest).

 

 

Looks delicious.  I hope all of my blog friends are able to enjoy their Thanksgiving with friends and family.  I won't even step up on my soap box this year about the terrible trend of "Gray Thursday" that's happening throughout our nation.  I'm in too good a mood. ha!

 

That's all for today!  Until another time, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my followers! 

Here is a hodge-podge of little pictures from past Thanksgivings in our family.

 

Last year's Thanksgiving table at my house.

And here are my Mom's little Pilgrim People wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.  They used to be cardboard wall decorations from Hallmark (Remember those?  She had some for every holiday!) Dad glued them to some ply-wood and then used the band saw to cut around each shape.  Now they will last forever!

 

Mom's pilgrim people.

One year, I had it in my head that I was going to quill everyone a place card.  I think I made a total of two.  They were so difficult!  Fun, but difficult.

 

Attempt at quilled place cards.

Blue Turtle wants Thanksgiving dinner too!

 

And finally, my Momma's cute corn bowl.  It's only for the cutest corn.  

 

 

This year, we start a new tradition in our family. Most of the family (on my Mom's side) is headed to my cousin's for Thanksgiving.  It's hard to believe how time flies, seems like just a few years ago she was graduating from High School, now she has a beautiful home and family and is hosting holidays!  Until another time, count your blessings and enjoy Thanksgiving Day 2014!

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in 1940

With Thanksgiving just around the corner (and because Thanksgiving is slowly being squeezed out by Christmas), I'd like to do some Thanksgiving posts.  Yea!! 

 

 

As I've mentioned before, in previous blog posts, Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday.  Thanksgiving is a time to count our blessings, enjoy the company of family and friends, without all of the greed and stress that comes with the Christmas Season.  Not that I don't like the Christmas Season.  I do love the Christmas story, going to candlelight service, listening to Gene Autry's Christmas CD and hanging out with family.  But let's face it folks...Christmas ain't what it used to be.  It has become SO commercialized and over-the-top.  Whatever happened to children getting one or two gifts from the Sears Wish Book.  Whatever happened to an orange at the toe of a stocking being a treat!?  (heck, with the price of oranges being what it is up here where I live, they are still a treat *wink*)  Anyway...back to Thanksgiving.

 

 

This first post is actually about a Youtube video of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1940.  The balloons are most interesting!

Take a minute to watch (it's only 2.5 minutes long).

 

I find the clown balloon a tad creepy and the Superman balloon looks mighty serious, but I'll bet the kids LOVED them!  Apparently Superman had just come into being in 1938, so it's pretty impressive that he had a balloon already.

And of course, at the end, we see a Santa balloon and Santa in his sleigh!

 

The blog "The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit" did a neat article about the Superman Balloon HERE.
 

That's all for today.  Until another time, have a happy vintage day!

 

 

 

 

I'm Not Into Black Friday...And I Despise The Idea of a Gray Thursday!

As much as I love Thanksgiving Day....I don't like what's happening to it.
It seems that Thanksgiving is becoming synonymous with black Friday. I don't like the words "black Friday" either...it brings thoughts of plague, dread, dust, and death even though I know it has nothing to do with any of those things. Black Friday is actually about money, stores making a profit, and being "in the black".

For the last 10...maybe 15 years I've noticed this black Friday phenomenon boom (some say it's been around since the mid-70s). I've read news reports of people being shoved, bruised and even trampled to death (yes, to death) by eager shoppers rushing through the doors of a discount store to do what?  Save 10$ on a blender?  Really? This is where we are headed as a society?

I didn't mind so much when the line between Thanksgiving Day and black Friday was clear. Ten years ago or so it seemed that sales usually started at 5AM Friday morning (long after the turkey coma had worn off).  This didn't seem greedy, it seemed good for business, good for the economy, and good for people who like to get their Christmas shopping done early.
But now the line has begun to fade...stores want to be open earlier to gain the hard-core bargain shoppers.   And now, it is greed. 
A few years ago one well loved discount store even started to open their doors ON Thanksgiving. Now, more and more stores are following suit. Soon we'll be glossing over Thanksgiving completely, lumping Thursday and Friday together as one giant day of greed instead of thankfulness. How opposite can we get.

I'm reminded of the dad in the movie, That Thing You Do and his quote about the local discount store, Telemart.  "Open Saturday ten to ten. Open Sunday twelve to six... open on Sunday from twelve to six! You know, I don't believe I want to live in a country where you have to stay open on Sunday to business. You shouldn't have to work on Sunday to support your family."

I feel the same way about stores being open on Thanksgiving.

This quote was floating around Facebook the other day and pretty much sums my feelings towards black Friday.

It's meant to be cheeky, but it really does say it all...doesn't it?

Again, our grandparents who lived through the great depression and the years of WWII would probably click their tongues in disgust if they knew the chaos of black Friday.

Tomorrow's post will be more cheerful (I promise) I just HAD to get that off of my chest.
Until tomorrow,
Have a Happy, Vintage Day!

Thanksgiving Books for Children

Here are some wonderful children's books for the Thanksgiving holiday ahead.

Yesterday, I posted about the song "Over the River and Through the Wood" and now, here is a beautifully illustrated version of the book by L. Maria Child and Matt Tavares that I found on Amazon.com.  If you follow this Amazon link and then click on the book you can view the pages inside!

Here is one that Autumn and I like very much.  And even though she is older now, we still grab it off the shelf to read it every week before Thanksgiving.  The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing, and Illustrated by Tammie Lyon.  You can see it here at Amazon.com.  The book is all about the hustle and bustle that accompanies Thanksgiving for the family in the book.  They bake, watch a bit of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, play with their cousins and finally eat. 

 

 

Here's another cute one for Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Is For Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland and Illustrated by Sonja Lamut

 

And finally, this is one of my favorite books for the fall and winter season.  It's not necessarily about Thanksgiving but it does make a person thankful for the folks who have braved the prairies back in the 1800s.  We are here because of their hard work and perseverance.
It is a My First Little House Book called Winter Days in the Big Woods.  It was written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Illustrated by Renee Graef.
You can take a sneak peek here on Amazon.

These are just a few of my favorite books to read during the time before Thanksgiving and  I hope you enjoy them too!  I'm sure there are many many more that I haven't discovered yet!
Until tomorrow,
Happy Reading!