Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian friends and family!

Thanksgiving 2016

  Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends!  

Thanksgiving has come and gone in Canada. We celebrate it on the second Monday of October, this year it was on October 10.

Here are pictures of this year's Thanksgiving display.

This photo shows the entire display. I don't own a lot of Thanksgiving items so I have stretched the collection by adding in anything autumnal.

All of the background material goes up first and this year I wanted to have an easy transition into the Hallowe'en display so the needs for Hallowe'en were also being considered. A mix of various faux autumn leaves went up and over the mantle mirror. In with the faux leaves were added some bare branches that I had made several years ago. The colours of the trees in and around Victoria were my inspiration for the abundance of faux foliage that were used.

Here is a close-up of the left side of the mantle. The turkeys, pheasants, and roosters, are almost hidden in the foliage.

This scarecrow was made about 30 years ago for our oldest boys scarecrow birthday party, two place card holders from the party are on the scarecrows left beside the dill pickle horn that he is holding. The crepe paper zinnias are vintage, possibly 1950's. Gurley candles stand beside turkey, grouse, and chicken salt and pepper shakers.

The rest of the mantle is filled with more turkeys, chickens, pheasants, ducks, squirrels, I love squirrels, and acorn related items, I love oak trees.

Here is a look at the display below the mantle. The vintage stools add interesting height variations to the display.

The large stool features a wood carving by a French Canadian sculptor that my parents bought in the 1970s I believe. That large ceramic turkey is also among my favourite Thanksgiving items. A large plaster plaque with a horn of plenty and a raised inscription saying, "GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD", is in behind the farmer and his turkey.

Salt and pepper shakers, turkey florist vases, and a turkey cookie cutter are on the small green stool.

My collection of Thanksgiving postcards are in a large plastic fruit dish made in England. The dish is a large oak leaf with acorns that mimics a hand carved wooden dish, it is quite beautiful.

These earlier blog posts here, here, here, and here, show most of the antique Thanksgiving postcards.

On the mantle ledge in behind the wooden carving of the farmer with his scythe are some nut cups, two Gurley candles, and two squirrel nodders. The small squirrel nodder is an early plastic while the larger squirrel is composition made in Japan. He has a rabbit fur tale that is a little tatty, but he is delightful none the less.

This last picture shows a group of squirrels on top of the tall green florist vase. On top of the fireplace screen and in front of it are various paper table cloths, seals, and other paper items.

Don't forget, everything in my Etsy shop from November 24 - 28 is 50% off. Spend a minimum of $25 and get 50% off of your purchase at checkout, shipping is not included in the discount.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Everyone!

Have a great weekend. Enjoy your family, your friends, and the food. Happy Thanksgiving!

This Year's Front Door Urn and Thanksgiving Mantle

Here we are again almost at the end of another year. I know it seems early to say this but just watch how fast the year will go ripping by! It doesn't seem all that long ago that I was at last year's Hallowe'en and Vine show and that has come and gone already.

Here is what I have done to decorate the house for this year's Thanksgiving. Yep, Thanksgiving comes early in Canada, two weeks or so before Hallowe'en. I will be putting up some Hallowe'en decorations this next week.

I love decorating the urn by our front door. I do an autumn arrangement that does double duty for Thanksgiving and Hallowe'en. I leave it up until the middle of November and then do a winter/Christmas arrangement.

As the days go by we add any squash and pumpkins that we buy. We also take out squash to eat as well so it is always looking slightly different. I have already added two more squash since photographing this the other day.

Here is a full picture of the mantle. We don't have a lot of space to display things so it is cheek to jowl tight for everything on the mantle.

Click on the images for a closer look at the items on display.

I decided to drape an old embroidered rayon bedspread on the mantle, swag it back with some 8 inch green bullion fringe and some 2 inch bullion fringe. The corn husk garland swoops down and in behind the folds of fabric. The rest of the fabric hangs down at the back in behind the hen on the ledge.

I added an old wooden stool on the side to create more display space but also to visually add another level to link the hearth to the ledge above.

The scarecrow was made for our oldest boy's 10th? birthday, it was part of the table decoration. By his left arm just above the ceramic turkey wearing a Pilgrim hat you can see two small scarecrows that are tipped over, these were some of the place card holders that I made. The scarecrow was inspired by a scarecrow in the Rupert Children's Annuals, his name was Oddmedod.

I love Autumn, it is possibly my favourite time of the year. I love Thanksgiving as well, I suppose it sums up the season in one holiday.

My computer is telling me "Autumn", unless the context is poetic consider 'autumn' instead of 'Autumn'. I cannot help it I like Autumn with a capitol "A" I do feel very poetic about this time of year. It influences the colour and style of the Hallowe'en items that I create as well but that is another post for another day.

I picked up that large ceramic turkey 10 or more years ago for $25.00, he is a beauty.

I added the lights because it is so dark at night along the mantle. I also tuck small tea lights in behind the display to add a bit more light.

I love that large wood carving of a farmer, my parents bought it many years ago in Quebec I believe. The little pig going to market with a basket in each arm and the farmer Peter Pumpkin I felt were appropriate as well even though they are not exactly Thanksgiving.

The green pickle on the white ledge is a working party horn. The silver item beside it is an ice cream mould in the shape of a pumpkin.

I couldn't find my Thanksgiving postcards this year, they are tucked away somewhere to be discovered next year.

Check out these links to see a few of the postcards I have here, here, here, here, and here.

We don't get a lot of composition holiday items on the West Coast of BC so I collected salt and pepper shakers with a veggie theme, squirrels of any sort (I like squirrels), acorns and oak items (I like oak trees), and poultry of various sorts. It all comes together and looks very seasonal and Thanksgiving-ish.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving to All of my American Friends

I am always amazed at the strength of the American woman. This turkey is balanced on her thumbs and forefingers with amazing ease and agility. Are American turkeys a special breed of light meat therefore they fill but don't weigh that much? In a famous painting by Norman Rockwell titled "Freedom From Want" the mother/grandmother of the family is placing an even larger bird in front of her husband with equal ease and lack of strain. The bird at our Thanksgiving dinner is no light weight and as one person takes it out of the roaster another person is there with the platter to make certain that it arrives on the plate safely ready to be carved and then put on the table.

Don't talk back or get into an arm wrestling competition with your mother she will always win!

Conjecture aside; have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone.

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 10 - Thanksgiving Postcards (Turkeys)

Today is marked on the calendar as Thanksgiving Day. Our dinner went well yesterday. The two best things about the day after Thanksgiving is to be able to relax and leftovers. Leftover turkey dinner is the best.

As I promised today’s posting will feature turkeys.

This card shows quite a beautiful white turkey. Are there white turkeys? I did not know that there were. It is a truly majestic bird. If anyone knows anything about white turkeys let me know.

Turkeys are quite a majestic bird but evidently not that bright.

Using the wishbone as a design element for the postcard is very interesting. Two people holding the wishbone and snapping it to see who gets their wish granted because they have the long piece of the bone is one of the long held traditions associated with eating turkey.

How to make Turkey Stock

We carve our turkey in the kitchen and then bring it to the table so there is no wishbone for two people to break and see who will get their wish granted. All bones go into the stockpot. Like leftovers this is another of the perks of turkey dinner. Put all of the turkey bones into a large stockpot and fill with water. Throw in about 6 washed carrots coarsely cut, 3 or 4 large onions with the skins on but make certain that there is no mould under the skins and all of the vegetable water from the vegetables that wasn't used for gravy. Cook this slowly for several hours. Strain through a wet and thoroughly rinsed tea towel. A wet tea towel helps to remove some of the fat. Let cool, skim of any excess fat, put into individual containers and freeze for later use. It is a great for base for soups. I also like to use it for risotto.

I love that brick wall in the background. We have seen similar walls on old estates.

Pink is not a colour that is associated with Thanksgiving. Note the use of the wishbone used as a design element on either side of the church at the top of the card.

I don't know if I could kill my bird, gut it and rid the carcass of its feathers ready for cooking. I like to be removed from all of that process and buy our turkey at the supermarket.

This is an elegant and understated postcard. I like the stylized tracery of the branches and the scrollwork framing the turkey and wheelbarrow.

What a wonderful bird! This is the quintessential image of a Thanksgiving turkey.

If you have had your Thanksgiving dinner already, enjoy yourself today. If your turkey dinner is today have a lot of fun with your friends and family.

"Happy Thanksgiving. Get stuffed, we did!"

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 10 - Thanksgiving Postcards (An Interesting Assortment)

I am never certain if Sunday or Monday is Thanksgiving. The calendar says Monday but a lot of people that we know have Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. When our kids were young we would have three Thanksgiving dinners; one at my wife's mother's home, one at my parent's home and our own turkey dinner. We like turkey and it is always interesting to see how others prepare their feast and to taste it as well.

This postcard is very charming and shows yet another area to thank God for, the grain harvest. Most of my postcards show fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Grain is pretty basic to human survival.

I will be posting turkey postcards tomorrow but this card and the following one I had to post separately, the colouring is so beautiful. You may have noticed that some of the postcards are not in the best of shape. I don't mind the damaged cards as I use them for reference. It would be nice to have collector quality but I buy what I can find and as I said I don't mind.

I love the rich colouration of this card. The deep blue is not a colour that you readily associate with Thanksgiving but it makes all of the other colours that much richer in intensity.

I LOVE THIS CARD! I have seen Santas in an airplane but never a turkey. The image is beautifully rendered, the colours are great and it is funny. This turkey is the patron saint of vegetarians; he only dispenses out fruit and vegetables!

I believe that I posted this card and a few others last year. I like the richness of the yellows and browns. It may be damaged cards but I have this wonderful image.

This was posted last year and is one of my favourite cards. I like realism and I like humour; it has both in this card. You will notice in my own work that I am fairly realistic in the sculptures and there is always an underlying humour.

Dover Books has used this image in their clip art collections. I would try and get this pumpkin home as well it just the perfect size.

Here is the last card in today’s series. It has the Victorian ideal of the perfect children in a bucolic landscape with the tame (?) turkey being walked home. It is romantic and sentimental but the turkey is going to his death!

To all of my fellow Canadians that are having their Thanksgiving dinner today, "Get Stuffed!" Have fun with friends and family and have a "Happy Thanksgiving".

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 10 - Thanksgiving Postcards (Thanksgiving Preparations)

The day before Thanksgiving is filled with preparations. Outside of the cook and those who help with the clean up most people don't realize the amount of work that goes into Thanksgiving dinner. I have a few postcards that show the preparation of the wonderful dinner. It is a lot of work and it is wonderful.

This card shows the pie. Hey, it's an apple pie! Where's the pumpkin pie? There would be mutiny at our house. I wonder what that big red ball on the plate to the left of it is; it might be a plum pudding sort of thing.

The maid is playing with the food. Maybe this is the family pet because it is too late to serve him for dinner. This card looks more like a Christmas postcard that has been had Thanksgiving greetings added to it, a very common practice at the turn of the last century. Who has plum pudding for Thanksgiving? There is still no pumpkin pie!

Now this is getting more like it: a dead turkey, not one prancing about with the help. The celery is there ready to be used in the stuffing, not at our house though; we use an Edwardian recipe for bread stuffing. I didn't realize that it was Edwardian until I traced the lineage of the recipe down the family tree. There is a trug full of cranberries ready to make cranberry sauce or jelly or both. A trug is a traditional English wooden carrier similar to a basket but made from strips of wood.

And finally we have "THE BIRD" or as the postcard refers to it as "Thanksgiving Joy" and if they aren’t referring to the bird I wish you “Thanksgiving Joy”.

I have to go now; today is a full day. We forgot to buy Brussels sprouts, so off to the store for those and the peas that were also left off of the shopping list. We weren't very organized for that last trip to the grocery store. I have to make pumpkin pies. There didn't seem to be any postcards with pumpkin pies in them but there will certainly be pumpkin pies for our Thanksgiving dessert.

If you go to my post from last year Thanksgiving Will Be Here Soon dated Sunday, October 12, 2008, there is our pumpkin pie recipe and our stuffing recipe. Have fun everyone, Happy Thanksgiving and get stuffed! That sounds so rude but I had to say it. Everyone overeats at Thanksgiving so as I previously said "Happy Thanksgiving and get stuffed!"

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 10 - Thanksgiving Postcards (Autumn Vistas)

I have three more postcards for you to enjoy. Each of these cards has a bucolic vista as the centre of interest.

The copper orange of the ribbon on the wishbone adds a touch of elegance. This is a beautiful and romantic card, very nostalgic. The recipient would be taken off to those memories of peaceful happy walks with a loved one.

Peace and contentment reign in this riverside town as everyone waits to dig in to dinner, or have they already eaten?

The final card shows the bounty of the field, garden, and orchard presided over by an unsuspecting turkey. God has blessed this town with a bountiful Harvest.

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 10 - Thanksgiving Postcards (The Sort of Spooky Ones)

I realize that my Thanksgiving postings may seem a little premature for all of my friends in the US but Thanksgiving in Canada is this weekend. Oh... the smell of cooking turkey and the taste of dinner and then the pumpkin pie. Or should I say "Turkey and stuffing and pie, OH MY!"

I have been scanning my postcards and came up with a few that will fit in with all of the Hallowe'en preparations that are going on down south and here for that matter. Two holidays in one month, can it get any better?

I love the image of the pumpkins stacked around the teepees of corn stalks near a split rail fence with a full moon shining down on the vignette below. The colours appear more Hallowe'en than harvest. The soft blue of the twilight sky sets off the other colours.

This is a similar image only more abstract. The colours sweeping from the bottom left side of the picture and up to the top right side give a sense of the wind blowing in the field. The colour combination would be very interesting and unusual in a Hallowe'en candy container.

This last card isn't that "spooky" but it seemed to be very appropriate for Hallowe'en.
I will be posting more Thanksgiving cards in the next few days.