Sunday, November 29, 2015

Leather Britches/Blue Jeans-THANKSGIVING!

 
 
My father is now 88 years old and is and always has been a hard working man. He has been retired for many years now but he still works very hard.  Look at that photo above...those are green beans that he grew in his own garden and he has picked them and strung them up to dry.  They are called leather britches.  I believe that this was done in the days before it was economically feasible to use glass jars to preserve vegetables. (My Dad just did it to see if he still could, I suppose, and also to show us and his grandkids what they are like.) 
And yes, my Dad is amazing!
Speaking of glass jars, he canned over 500 jars this summer...yes, that 500 figure is correct!
(And you know, my Daddy shares some of that homegrown food with me!)
 

We enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving on Thursday!  Funny thing, I noticed that I wore the same blue jeans to our Thanksgiving dinner that I wore on this walk in November from two years ago!  I didn't need the pink jacket this year, but I had it in the car just in case I did.  (The jacket is a terry clothed lined jacket, made in England, that I bought on the Eastbourne seafront years ago.  To my English readers, do they still make those? I love that jacket!)  So you see, that photo above is just what I wore to my Thanksgiving dinner with my family, even the same navy blue top!  One more thing was added to this, my brother had had some fun with a tie dye kit that he had bought at a craft store...he had tie dyed the bandana that he was wearing with HIS navy blue shirt. When I admired it, he took it off his neck and GAVE it to me.   "Here", he said, "if you like it, you can have it, I can make another one.".  Isn't that wonderful?  Talk about a guy who will give you the shirt off his back!  Thanks, Scott!!  I love the colors!







Looks like everyone decided to copy me and pose beside their white cars! That's my Dad's golf cart at the far right, it's white also, but it is a hard working vehicle like my Dad so it is not as clean as the cars!  (And look at that sky! It was a beautiful day!)  We had our Thanksgiving at my brother's this year, which is just across the street from my Dad, so it was just a hop, skip and a jump away for him!
Thanks, Dale & Ellen!


Steve -my niece's fiancé, Kyle-my nephew, Daddy, Christopher, my son, and Dale, my brother...showing off their beards! (Brother Scott missed the photo.)

 


I think Christopher wins for best beard!  Don't you?
 
Jan, Pam and Kay...the three Stooges, I mean sisters!  HA!  See my tie dyed bandana? I love it!



Christopher rescued these frogs that were trapped in the filter in my brother's swimming pool. He released them into a small pond.  Hope they are okay now!  Good for you, son!



You don't want to see us act like the Rockettes, but I will show you anyway! HA!
 
Thanksgiving was brilliant!  Only thing, my sister in law, Ellen, asked me to say the blessing, the prayer before our Thanksgiving meal.   It was only short but I became choked with emotion and almost started crying. You know me, it was from the heart!  I am thankful for everything.
 
P.S.   I somehow got the photo of my son and my Dad on here twice, but I think I will leave it.  I love them so much and perhaps it was meant to be here twice to show you that!

47 comments:

  1. You are so lucky to still have your Dad, mine made it just short of 81 and has been gone 12 years now.

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    1. Very glad that he is in fairly good health also. He has more energy than I do!

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  2. What a wonderful post, Kay! It always warms my heart to see families that are happy together, just like mine (only yours is a lot bigger). So many reasons to be thankful for, indeed!
    I would have done the same twice: 1. become emtional in saying the blessing for dinner, and 2. rescued those frogs.
    Love the fun pictures of the "beard contest" and the "Rockettes" :-D
    If I were Christopher, I think that picture of you and Richard would become my favourite picture of my parents. Two beautiful people in a beautiful moment.

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    1. Thanks, Meike! And thinking about it, Richard took all these photos except the one where he is pictured with me, and C. took that one! So I will let him know the last line of your comment here and I thank you for it!
      HA! Glad you like one with the guys stroking their beards, that was my idea, as was the one of us kicking up our heels!

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  3. I could sense the joy and love Kay, you did have a great Thanksgiving. You are so blessed to still have your father with you, I can tell you love him very much. My father lived to be 70 and passed away in 1987.

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    1. It was a joyful time, glad I could convey that in my post! Sorry for the loss of your father, I know that many of my friends have lost their parents now and feel the loss a great deal at the holidays. xx

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  4. Oh yes! You definitely had a great Thanksgiving. I LOVE that bandana and it looks fantastic on you. Your brother is truly talented. 500 jars??? Oh my gosh! What an amazing guy. He looks like a lot of fun! And yes, Christopher does have the most distinctive beard. : - )

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    1. Hey Kay!
      It was a great day. Food, fun and family!

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  5. What a lovely family time you have had! And i want canning lessons from your Dad!

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    1. I think my Dad should give canning lessons, he is an expert!

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  6. That looks like it was a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was as well, only it was with good friends (our family of choice) since our families live all over the country and in Europe. You are a very beautiful family!! And love those strung up green beans!! xoxo Silke

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    1. I am sure your Thanksgiving was lovely. I saw your post showing us your lovely table with the blue candles!
      Those leather britches! I know now why they are called that, when Daddy cooked them, they were a bit tough! But hey, I appreciate that they would have been wonderful if you were hungry and needed vegetables during the cold winter. They would have been most THANKFUL! xxx

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  7. Kay, I am blown away...I did not know anyone knew about leather britches....not that I have ever eaten them..my sister in law who lived in Virginia told me about them when I was about twenty . Your dad must be one hardy fellow. ...canning like that. My son-in-law cans at his their home. Yes, your son's beard is the best. LOL. Blessings, xoxo,Susie

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    1. Hardy! Yes, I even wrote about that word recently! You have nailed it! :-)
      Glad someone else has heard of leather britches, I know quite a few "mountain" kind of things from my Dad, but I am only a small town girl myself.

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  8. It sounds like you all shared a wonderful, happy, loving Thanksgiving...and that's what it is (or should be) all about!

    You're so very lucky to have such a fine man as your father in your life, Kay. I could say cherish every moment you have with him, but that would be redundant, because I know you already do.

    I can see why you love your newly-acquired bandana!

    You have a lovely family...and never be embarrassed about becoming emotional in moments of expressing your feelings.... :)

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    1. Thanks for your kind words, Lee. I started not to tell you how close I came to tears, y'all don't have to know every little goofy thing I do after all!

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  9. A tender post about family, Kay. I don't wonder that you were emotional when saying the prayer - it looks like you have much to be thankful for. That scarf is a treasure - very becoming on you!

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    1. Thank you, Barb! And you are right, we all have much to be thankful for!
      The scarf that my brother made! So tickled it just took it right off his neck and handed it to me, a very kind thing to do.

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  10. A family get-together is such fun. I can see that you all had a good time.

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    1. It was fun and we were all glad that our sister Pam came from Colorado to be there!

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  11. Your dad is amazing, and such a cutie. :) What a lovely family gathering.

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    1. Thanks, Sue! And the header photo is of the Grist Mill at Stone Mountain Park, Georgia!
      And Sue....it is just a little chilly and I have your robin egg blue wrap around my shoulders! I love it! xx

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  12. Lovely blog and thanks for sharing your wonderful Thanksgiving with your lovely family. Very interesting about the leather britches.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, I don't think too many will mention leather britches on their Thanksgiving posts! :-)

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  13. What a fun time with your family!! You are very blessed. We had our family.. small though it is..and 5 grans. They are the light of my life. We live in Clemson,SC and I've enjoyed a quilting retreat in Tocca for the past 9 years. What a great time!

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    1. Oh! A quilting retreat, that sounds wonderful! I come from a long line of quilters, my grandmother lived to 96 and she made a great many quilts in her lifetime! I don't quilt and neither do either of my sisters but that brother who made the tie dyed bandana? HE is a great quilter!!
      Thanks very much for you comment, please visit me again. You could call yourself the Classy Lady from Clemson! :-)

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  14. Hello Kay, thank you so much for your comment left on my blog, lovely to meet you and your family! I too have a son Christopher though he has been Kit since he was about 4! Look forward to getting better acquainted! Lxx

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    1. All his friends call him Chris now but his family still calls him Christopher!
      And I am happy to have found you on Lucy's blog, look forward to knowing you! :-)

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  15. Being able to still fit in old jeans is always a plus in my book, especially after a hearty thanksgiving feast! I'm glad you had such a wonderful time with your family, and I agree that your dad is a badass.

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    1. You are correct about fitting into the same jeans after that big Thanksgiving meal! And you are also correct about my Dad! LOL.

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  16. What a wonderful Thanksgiving you all had. Interesting you all have white cars there. I do remember my grandmother stringing up beans to dry. Your Dad is an amazing man. A belated Happy Thanksgiving from my house to yours. I'm very thankful too.

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    1. It's hot in Georgia and white cars are cooler, they really are! And I don't mean cool as in trendy cool, I mean cool in temperature! I have told folks that for years but I love it when the world catches up to my wise ways! LOL. I know you are thankful, MA, and if you can't see the bright side of life, polish the dull side! Love your blog, my friend, LOVE it.

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  17. Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving with your family. The photos are stunning.

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    1. Thank you! Richard took all the photos except the one where he is with me! I will tell him you said so!

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  18. So glad you had a great time! Your Dad is amazing preserving all that food, you are all set for winter though! xx

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    1. Guess what, we just had one of his jars of green beans tonight, and it had lots of SHELLIE beans in there too! Just great! I look forward to them all winter, you bet!

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  19. Hey, Kay. Looks like you and your family had a great time together. You are so lucky to still have your dad with you. My daddy passed away a few years ago, and I still miss him like crazy, especially this time of year. Hug your dad tight! Sounds like he's a gem for sharing some of his 500 jars.

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    1. And not only does he share the canned goods, he shares the produce straight from his garden! I am grateful, you can be certain of it. xx

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  20. Your Dad sounds super amazing! He has a fun twinkle in his eye! The beard pic was so cute and then when you and your sisters were posing I was hoping you weren't showing any beards! Ha! Looks like it was white (car) Thanksgiving and fun time. You look lovely by the way! Now on to December...holy cow this year has flown by!

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    1. I hope no beard photo with the sisters! LOL! And you are right about this year flying by, hope you have a peaceful and joyful December. xx

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  21. What a lovely and heart-warming post for Thanksgiving. Your father is incredible, and I love those beans!

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    1. Thank you, Patricia! You would love my Dad AND his green beans! :-)

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  22. You certainly have some wonderful men in your life, Kay! I am especially impressed with your Dad and all that he does! An inspiration!

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  23. I surround myself with wonderful men! :-)
    My Dad calls me sometimes and says "I am working on a little project". Sometimes, it is something he has never done before, maybe that is the secret to staying youthful, always being curious and open to new things.

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