Traditionally our family has the "big" Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night. It was a tradition I grew up with and it has remained. There have been some changes made over the years, some more significant than others. For instance, my parents always served a huge roast ham, glazed with pineapple and served with sweet potatoes, cauliflower with cheese sauce and followed with anything but pumpkin pie. (My mother hated pumpkin pie!) When we started to do the Thanksgiving "thing" at Grandview in 1988 all that changed because there, we served turkey and all the trimmings along with pumpkin pie and ice cream. It was a logistical manoeuvre because we went from feeding about a dozen people to serving over 10 times that and it was easier for the chef to prepare turkey en masse than ham.

In 1995 Rick and I became "vegaquarians" (vegetarians that eat fish) and as a result when I prepare Thanksgiving dinner, I now serve fish. Overall, with the exception of Jamie, it has been accepted by my immediate family quite well. This year was no exception and today, we enjoyed stuffed salmon, along with lots of side dishes followed by a chocolate and caramel fondue. As usual, we had too much food but part of that was because there was a shortage of people in attendance as there were only four of us. We had a wonderful time and we realized that in a short while with the addition of a baby, Karley and Ian will have some Thanksgiving traditions of their own to start.