Thanksgiving is coming any day now!!!!

Psalm 107:1 "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever."

We are having a fairly large family gathering at our house this year. At least I think that's what's happening. I sent out e-mail invitations, but the response back was not as complete as I would have hoped for. I know that for my family we will have about 13 of us. And for Brother #1's family there will be four, that's not so many from that section. Brother #2 never never gives and answer, but this time he did. He sent me a somewhat cryptic e-mail that seems to say they will be here. Brother #3 said they can make it for dessert. Brother #4's little family thought they had e-mailed me to say they are coming, and then they realized they hadn't and quickly remedied the overshite. Brother #5 has just adopted two young boys and at first they were 85% sure of coming, but now it's for sure. Brother #6 will most likely be there, at least for most of the event. And my sister lives in LA and will not be here. And of course Mom and Dad are coming. I finally contacted brother #7, and he and his two daughters are coming. Brither #8 has eluded me so far, and I really hope they can make it, but we'll see. If they come it's nine in all there. So let's see .... I have been getting answers, so the the for sure number is 38. So even though I wrote several days ago that I had heard from many, I have now heard from them all and they are all coming!

The maximum that can be considered is as follows:
Molly and Riley - yes
Corey and Annie and Heidi, and Christian and Emily - yes
Kirstin and Kyle - yes
Sarah and Zac, and Laura and Ken Enoch - yes
Bill and Jill, and Ian - yes
Mom and Dad - yes
George and Ariel, and Tachu and Tatsu - yes
David and Lauren, and Sophie - yes
Craig and Beth, and Jonathan and Justin - yes
Michael - probably
Hian, and Jane and Erica - all but Tran
Peter and Debbie, and Jennifer and Tristan - dessert only
Quah and Mimmi, and three children - yes

15 over 36
11 young people, out of high school
7 older children, over 8
5 younger children, under 8

I can seat 10 in the back room, 6 in the kitchen, 12 in the dining room, 6 in the front hall, 4 in the upstairs hall, 6 in the library, and Bob's your uncle. But maybe people will find it very strange to have dinner on the second floor. The young people might do that best. The tricky bit with the kitchen table is that it is needed for prep. But it could maybe be set in a hurry after things are ready. Or what if I made place cards and randomly set them about. That would probably cause a terrible uproar. There does need to be some directives, or something will surely go wrong.

Well enough fretting about who's coming and where will I put them. I need to think about the menu. Of course if you don't know how many people you are feeding it's a little difficult. Now I don't want to just about kill myself, but I usually do. It used to be that my daughters were a tremendous help, but since they grew up and they don't respond to my "commands" very well, they tend to not help as much. But they are always great pie makers. I feel really good about that, because most people can't make a decent pie. My daughters make wonderful pies.

A TENTATIVE MENU:

roasted turkey
turkey gravy
stuffing
barbecued turkey
fresh made French bread
my special from scratch British Green Bean Casserole
smashed potatoes
brown buttered orzo
sweet yellow rice
peas (a long standing tradition)
peppery glazed carrots
candied yams and sweet potatoes (not too sweet)
cranberry sauce from scratch
1 can of cranberry jelly for brothers who like this

DESSERT:

whipped cream to go on everything, some with brandy, some not
pumpkin pie
rum pumpkin pie (Annie)
pumpkin pecan pie
pecan pie
chocolate bourbon pecan pie
Chemeketan pies - Heidi
grateful pudding with lemon sauce for the pudding
tarte tatin (maybe)
apple pie (maybe)
Marlborough Pudding (maybe)