A Northwest Thanksgiving

I know I'm a week late on Thanksgiving, but I can't move on to Christmas decorating until I get this out.

First the color

I bought the napkins last year and then saw the same fabric at the big box store, so I bought enough to make a tablecloth. It was already the perfect width for our table, so all I did was zig-zag across the two cut ends and toss it in the washer and dryer to help the edges get fuzzy and texturey.

Sunflower napkin rings got recycled from last year (see Thanksgiving Color Feast), and the little pumpkins and squash in the centerpiece got recycled from my friend's Goodwill box.

Duane got recycled, too. Here he is a year later savoring a fresh oyster and a glass of Northwest bubbly.

There was NO TURKEY at this feast (except for Dave and Duane). We stayed true to the Northwest and had salmon and fresh oysters, fall veggies from our garden and a LOT of wine from Washington and Oregon.

Here's Dave with a beer, a steak, and two salmon filets on the cedar plank covered with rock salt before baking. The thick steak is for a guest who mainly likes steak and brownie batter (college student, female).

Dr. Dave says you can never get enough salt, steak or beer. But what does he know? He only puts people to sleep. (Intravenously, with beer.)

We tried to be fairly healthy with the appetizers. I filled endive spears with hummus and roasted red pepper strips. The other tray has rosemary crackers, brie and fig spread. Paula brought the bowls of spiced nuts -- one spicy and one sweet.

The thank-you card Paula sent goes perfectly with the Thanksgiving flowers!

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving. Now, onward to December.

Have a colorful day