A Bounty Of Blessings

Welcome my friends! November holds within its 30 days a special day to count our blessings. Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November occurring on the 26th of this month. Before we blink, it will arrive! Have you made your plans?

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”
Psalm‬ ‭100‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

I am excited to join thirteen table stylists for a Thanksgiving Tablescape Blog Hop hosted by my lovely friend, Rita from Panoply. You will find all of the links for tabletop ideas and inspiration at the bottom of this post.

My heart rejoices when I think of the bounty of blessings that God has given me. How could I ever complain when He has blessed me with His abundance. A bounty can be defined as a rich supply. God supplies all our needs according to His riches which will never be exhausted!

Our Thanksgiving is filled with sweet memories that I cherish and keep tucked into my heart for safekeeping.

My menu basically remains the same every year. However, this year our son will smoke the turkey and I will add all the trimmings. I will never forget the first Thanksgiving after my beloved Mother passed away and it was up to me to try and duplicate her dressing. Mother’s dressing (not stuffing) was legendary among family and friends that were guests at her table. She never used a recipe, but I had watched her make it so many times that I was somewhat optimistic that I could handle the task. I will always remember my sweet Daddy giving the dressing the highest compliment when he took the first bite. He said, “You got it perfectly, it tastes just like Nanny’s (our son’s name for his grandmother)!

Traditions are very important to me. The Spode ‘Woodland’ pattern has graced our Thanksgiving table for more than twenty years. There are eight different game and waterfowl plates that are framed by the British Flowers border which dates back to 1831.

The mornings are the best time to photograph my dining room table. It has been several months since I shared a tablescape from the dining room, probably in the early spring! When the garden is in bloom, I love sharing tablescapes outdoors.

I know you have heard me say many times that I love a tablesetting with memories attached. The gold napkins were used at our son’s and daughter-in-love’s wedding reception.

I chose not to use a tablecloth but to enjoy the warmth of the wood tabletop. Each place setting features pheasant feather placemats, plaid chargers, and Spode ‘woodland’ dinner plates!

“Counting is a mathematical process where we are typically using addition. Perhaps when we can consider counting our blessings, multiplication should be incorporated!”
~Butch Richardson

“I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭69‬:‭30‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

Rather than a centerpiece, I decided to use a natural runnner of pumpkins, dried okra, nandina, maple and crape myrtle leaves, mini mums, and deer sheds. It was so easy to assemble and is low enough to not hinder conversation.

The sunlight played magic on the amber stemware. They were purchased long ago from my favorite department store where my Mother and I would shop often, especially at Christmas. They even had a small bakery with delicious birthday cakes and the best rum cake. Unfortunately, that store closed as so many others have over the years.

“Thanksgiving is a product of remembering, complaining is a product of forgetting. Both have the same origin, and travel the same path, but then comes the fork in the road.”
~Butch Richardson

A little sparkle from the napkin rings gifted to me by a dear friend many years ago!

The candle holders were turned upside down to use for votive cups. They are part of a set of six faux antler candle holders. My RM made the suggestion. I thought it was an excellent idea and probably wouldn’t have thought of it myself.

Gathering around the Thanksgiving table with family is truly one of life’s bountiful blessings. We will share fond memories and stories of those dear ones who are not here physically, remembering their loving presence which graced our table and warmed our hearts so many, many times. And, we will joyfully count our current blessings which will include 4 precious grandchildren, Seth and Allison, and the two of us as we gather around this table once more to celebrate God’s goodness!

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)