​I considered Lynne, my sis-in-law’s sister, as my Second Mom.  She was also famous for her pecan pies.  She always made two, as she claimed not to know how to make just one!  Needless to say, no one ever lacked for a dessert choice at Thanksgiving.
     When I was in high school and college, my older brothers had long since married and lived in other states.  They often came back home for Thanksgiving, but some years our big house was fairly empty.

     My parents started at new Thanksgiving tradition. Three of Mama’s sisters (Aunts Bernice, Annie Belle, Bessie) and their husbands would come to stay for a few days of Thanksgiving. 
​     They filled the house with laughter and stories.  The night before Thanksgiving, they would play Bingo.  Mama would spend days searching for little prizes for the Bingo winners!  I still have one of mine – Daddy won a cup with Miss Piggy on it and gave it to me because I collected pigs!  Dancing was also popular – it was the 70’s and one year, ​

      My uncles were special.  Uncle Shel was married to Aunt Bessie; they married late in life, after losing their spouses.  Uncle Shel gave Aunt Bessie the most beautiful diamond ring that he had made for her.   
​     One Thanksgiving, a few years after his death, Aunt Bessie, Mama, and I were sitting around the dinner table talking after the Thanksgiving meal.  Aunt Bessie suddenly presented me with her beautiful ring, the ring I had always loved from the time I was a little girl.  She said she wanted me to have it and enjoy watching me wear it while she was still alive!  We all burst into tears, as it was a sweet and sentimental moment filled with love.  Daddy came into the dining room and found all three of us crying.  He was shocked and said, “What the heck happened here?”  I held up my hand with Aunt Bessie’s ring on it and he immediately understood and gave us all a big hug.​

     ​A near-disaster occurred the year Mama got a bit tipsy on the wine.  Now mind you, she never imbibed except on holidays or when on vacation!  We must have all been tipsy, because no one noticed when she placed a huge turkey on a cookie sheet for baking!  Turkeys produce quite a bit of juice, so before not too long, the smoke alarm alerted us to juices dripping down into the oven!  Turkey was rescued and everyone was safe.  No more wine before turkey cooking! After my dad died, we still had lots of Thanksgivings at Mamas – tipsy turkey and all.

     After my other brother, Charles, moved to Houston, we had a very special Thanksgiving.  Charles and and Pat were married on Thanksgiving day.  It was joyful time and we still got to eat turkey while feeling all the love!  This was definitely a first for the family.

     Once I was married, my husband and I moved to the Hill Country of  Texas.  We went to Mama’s in Mississippi for Thanksgiving for a few years, but after she moved close by, it was up to us to host Thanksgiving again.  Our son, Tom,  our niece and her family, and Austin friends were included!  We started a new tradition of including the recipe for Red Cabbage from my husband's grandmother and one for homemade cranberry sauce, from his Aunt Giesla. 
     The tradition of inviting those who didn’t have family nearby also continued, which is cause for my expression and Tom's in the photo above.

     That year we had recently met a single guy who lived in the area.  As he had no family nearby, we invited him for Thanksgiving dinner. What a fiasco that was!  We were crowded at the dinner table and so I skipped giving everyone a bread and butter dish at the place settings. We had no sooner sat down for the meal, preparing to say grace and share our thankfulness, when he piped up and said, “Where’s my bread and butter plate?” 
     Really, dude? After a couple of gasps, silence ensued as family and friends waited with baited breath for what I would say.  (I’m sometimes noted for speaking my mind.) 
     I politely asked him to put his bread and butter on his dinner plate, as everyone was doing.  When he started to argue and whine, I shut him down with my best “teacher look.”
​     After the meal, everyone went outside to our vegetable garden to pick the last of the tomatoes.  I stayed inside to clean up and was glad I did.  Apparently, he pissed off my niece – who is even better than I at speaking her mind.  She told him to go on home to his goats, because he was acting just like them.  (He did own goats, as do many people in the Texas Hill Country!)  We never did see that “old goat” again.

    One year, ​we spent Thanksgiving in California with my brother and sis-in-law , Charles and Pat, before we moved from the Hill Country.  It was my first Thanksgiving at a restaurant - a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner at a hotel in San Francisco! 

     The next year, 2013, was my very first Thanksgiving to be away from the United States, and I was in Uruguay.  My husband was in Texas, so it was also my first Thanksgiving to be with no family or close friends present. However, when life gives you opportunities, make blueberry cobbler!  Several new friends and I went blueberry picking at a farm. The blueberries were as big as grapes and the sweetest I've ever eaten.  I was over enthusiastic and picked 8 kilos - great until I got all those berries home and had to decide what to do with them. Turns out champagne is very good with frozen blueberries floating in it!   (See my blueberry recipes below!)

     Thanksgiving is, of course, nonexistent in Uruguay.  Not to be deterred, a group of our friends from the States (and we even let the Canadians in) got together for several Thanksgivings at our friends' ranch, surrounded by good food and new friends.
      We expats somehow managed a Thanksgiving meal complete with everything but the turkey. (Turkey is not a popular dish in Uruguay.  You can find small frozen ones imported from the States.  However, they are very costly - around $75.  Um, nope!)   Chickens were on the menu instead.  My pumpkin cheesecake and my gluten free cornbread dressing were popular with this crowd!

     Our hosts were always so gracious to have us.  Every year was a treat.  One year I met a baby donkey!  Another year, I rode on a mule.  (Not a live mule, but an all-terrain vehicle!)  I sat in the back seat drinking wine from a sippy cup, eating chocolate chip cookies, and laughing while our host drove through streams, up and down hills, and all around the countryside.  Sometimes new traditions are unforgettable too.