Canadian Thanksgiving Year Two

Last year we hosted our first big Canadian Thanksgiving dinner at our new home and welcomed 22 of our friends and family here for an amazing meal. This year our numbers swelled to 32 and I like to think we honed our skills a little more with this being our second attempt at having such a large gathering.

As with the first year we did a sit-down meal. Moving our furniture outside onto the decks and moving rented tables in to accommodate the numbers. Guests brought side dishes and we did a 23lb turkey, a salmon and tri-tip and many many potatoes. I hired two local high school students to keep the kids entertained so parents could eat and enjoy themselves. It worked out very well. I only saw a brief glimpse of Austen who was having the time of his life.

People came from near and far. We had four of our guests drive and fly up from LA (7-8 hour drive) and my brother flew down from Vancouver. Lots of folks clocked in several hours driving from around the Bay Area with littles in the car to get here too. Quite amazing to have people put out all that effort to make this year such a success. Hats off to my brother, Adrian who did an amazing amount of prep work with us in the days prior. We could not have made all that food happen without him.

Maple cookies (my little baking contribution)

One of the tables set for dinner

Easter in the Red Dot

Making cookies with our friends and discovering that Martha Stewart
once again set the bar too high. I think we should get points for trying.

The usual Easter breakfast with the addition of Dragonfruit

Feast time!

Tea for Two or 25...

I love tea and over the past year I've realized that pretty much everyone we know is a sucker for a fresh scone and a steaming cup. I decided to throw a spring tea party and serve a full English tea spread with finger sandwiches, cakes, Devon cream and of course scones. Nancy and I began searching every Goodwill, Sally Ann and Antique shop we could find for mismatched bone china cups and saucers which eventually yielded an impressive and eclectic set. No two are alike and we're sure they all must have a story. As the day of the tea party neared several neighbours donated teapots, tables and chairs and quite a few friends channeled their inner Julia Child and added wonderful food to the spread. The result was a delicious day of eating and drinking (I think the mimosas might have over-taken the tea). Cheers to a great day in the sun.