This week the long suffering husband went ahead and bought his "ancestral" Michigan lake house. I am trying to reserve judgement on the wisdom of having a house that is two days drive away, but, at present, the one positive thing I can say is that I now have a closet in which to store all the detritus and family memorabilia one collects in life - make no mistake this is a big deal if you live in a one bedroom apt in New York.
It's not clear however that I need such a closet anymore. In a most inauspicious start to this venture, while packing up the car - to drive up to Michigan's frozen tundra to ensure the heating was on and the pipes won't freeze and burst - a gale-force wind suddenly whipped down our buildings driveway - sending the luggage cart, bearing all the goods and chattels I've carefully saved over the last 30 years crashing onto 37th street.
The long suffering one appeared in the doorway contrite and bleeding from cuts to his hand from the broken crockery. To make amends he announced that he would return to New York for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
This is the major family holiday in the USA when everyone is supposed to gather around and eat turkey in good old Norman Rockwell style. This year I decided to get into the spirit of it and dress up the table. Unfortunately the straw turkey centerpeice I was after was immediately sold out so I got a pair of pinecone pheasants instead.
We have lacked a gravy boat for the last thirty years. This is because I'm from the industrial North of England where we like swimming pools of gravy on our mashed potatoes and so I've never really been able to find a gravy boat that was big enough. But this year I googled "BIG gravy boat" and up came a number of amusing options.
The most substantial one that could probably accomodate my families level of gravy consumption was the "The Titanic".
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Then up popped one that would appeal to my dear demented cat-loving sister, who keeps four smelly felines.
Then I found one, from SailorFineArt on Etsy, that fits this quintessential American holiday perfectly - The Mayflower Gravy Boat , complete with Pilgrim salt and peppper shakers!
Having solved the gravy problem I just needed to replace the turkey platter that was smashed to smithereens on 37th st. China of all types is dear to my heart because I come from a region that is a stones throw from the Staffordshire Potteries. Growing up we all got bronchitis every winter from the kiln smoke blowing over the Pennines and collecting in the hollow of the Cheshire Plain. Many neighbors were skilled china hand painters and my first job, aged 13, was to help my mother paint Bosson's heads - classical slave home labor at 10p each. My first choice for a turkey platter was this lovely hand painted peice of Royal Cauldon china.
But, beautiful as it was, the $400 price tag put paid to that idea. Then I found "Washington Crossing the Delaware" . Although this event took place at Christmas rather than Thanksgiving it seems to fit the bill for a transatlantic family - depicting a scene that is dear to the American heart on a plate that was manufacutured in Staffordshire ....
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