Sister's Choice Quilts

My interests are quilting, reading, cooking, family, decorating, and matters of style. I post regular quilting tutorials and book reviews of current fiction.

Happy Thanksgiving 2019

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Well, this was quite a day.  I was juggling a number of activities and not attending totally to any one of them.  Sara came over and brined the turkey while I was decorating the Thanksgiving table.  I tossed the giblets in one of my husband's precious copper pans and promptly forgot about them.  Sara left to go to work, and I got a notion to run out to buy some new candles. While I was buying the candles, a friend called and asked if I could meet her for coffee at Starbucks.  I did, and we had a lovely chat that lasted an hour.  I got home and was flabbergasted that the house was full of smoke.  Oh.  Right.  The giblets on the stove.  The $200 copper pan my husband loves was charred, the contents incinerated.  The house was still standing, although it was very smokey.  In my hurry to get every window in the house open, I tripped over the lamp cord next to the sofa and the lamp crashed onto the floor and smashed.  Well then.  What else could possibly go wrong?

Did I mention we are having an Arctic cold snap, with temps down to the 30s and snow expected?  And I had to have all my windows open for a couple of hours to air out the house.  Sara arrived four hours later and said "What burned?"  Sigh.  Guess that wasn't all that effective.  Maybe the stench will be gone by Thursday?

Well, my centerpiece looks nice.  That fan-shaped thing is actually a dried mushroom.  Cool.  I used a combination of real chrysanthemums and a few dried natural ingredients and a couple of faux decor pieces.  I used a block of that stuff called "Oasis" that you can stick the flower stems in and arranged it all in a ceramic pumpkin I had on hand.  It turned out pretty well I think.

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Instead of making cranberry sauce I spent an hour and a half trying to clean the gazillion dollar copper pan.  I got the outside all shiny again, but there are still scorch marks on the sides of the inside of the pan.  Not sure how to fix that.  Maybe someone with more strength in their arms can scour it off.  What a disaster.  At least it doesn't look as if the pan is ruined, even if it isn't quite as pristine as it was.

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This is the little vignette I have on the buffet.  Click on the photo to enlarge it and see the detail. My son in law is part Native American, and I hope the romanticized version of the Indian couple doesn't offend him.  It probably won't, but what do you think?  The figures remind me of the Thanksgiving story I was taught in school in my childhood, and I liked it, even if it isn't realistic.

I am just grateful I didn't burn the house down today and can't think about anything else.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

48 responses to “Happy Thanksgiving 2019”

  4. Glad the house and your lovely things were fine. Did you think to call the manufacturer and see if they can recommend anything (other than purchase a new pan). Glad you still have your sense of humor. Happy Thanksgiving.

  5. Glad the house and your lovely things were fine. Did you think to call the manufacturer and see if they can recommend anything (other than purchase a new pan). Glad you still have your sense of humor. Happy Thanksgiving.

  6. Glad the house and your lovely things were fine. Did you think to call the manufacturer and see if they can recommend anything (other than purchase a new pan). Glad you still have your sense of humor. Happy Thanksgiving.

  10. Look at it this way- One more thing to be thankful for! Seriously though, I’m really glad to hear that aside from the lamp, some smoke and a scorched copper pan, there wasn’t any “real” damage. Some of these suggestions may hep with the pan- https://m.wikihow.com/Clean-Burnt-Copper . Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

  11. Look at it this way- One more thing to be thankful for! Seriously though, I’m really glad to hear that aside from the lamp, some smoke and a scorched copper pan, there wasn’t any “real” damage. Some of these suggestions may hep with the pan- https://m.wikihow.com/Clean-Burnt-Copper . Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

  12. Look at it this way- One more thing to be thankful for! Seriously though, I’m really glad to hear that aside from the lamp, some smoke and a scorched copper pan, there wasn’t any “real” damage. Some of these suggestions may hep with the pan- https://m.wikihow.com/Clean-Burnt-Copper . Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

  16. Oh my, that was quite a day. You may not want to try this until after Thanksgiving, but here is how I clean anything scorched on a pan (and I work in a volunteer kitchen where this is not a rare occurrence). Fill the pan with water to cover the scorched food and set it to boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn it down to a low boil and sprinkle generously the scorched areas with baking soda – this will bubble and spit a lot, so be careful. Once that stops, turn off the pan and let it sit to cool. Much of the scorched on food will usually come off pretty easily, although a repeat round is sometimes required. If it is more marks in the pan, Bon Ami and Barkeeper’s Friend are good, but rinse them off immediately because they contain an acid that shouldn’t sit on a surface. If you’re trying to get the copper shine back, that’s a job for a cut lemon half and table salt as a scrub. This takes elbow grease, but really brings back the copper. Hope there’s something useful here.

  17. Oh my, that was quite a day. You may not want to try this until after Thanksgiving, but here is how I clean anything scorched on a pan (and I work in a volunteer kitchen where this is not a rare occurrence). Fill the pan with water to cover the scorched food and set it to boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn it down to a low boil and sprinkle generously the scorched areas with baking soda – this will bubble and spit a lot, so be careful. Once that stops, turn off the pan and let it sit to cool. Much of the scorched on food will usually come off pretty easily, although a repeat round is sometimes required. If it is more marks in the pan, Bon Ami and Barkeeper’s Friend are good, but rinse them off immediately because they contain an acid that shouldn’t sit on a surface. If you’re trying to get the copper shine back, that’s a job for a cut lemon half and table salt as a scrub. This takes elbow grease, but really brings back the copper. Hope there’s something useful here.

  18. Oh my, that was quite a day. You may not want to try this until after Thanksgiving, but here is how I clean anything scorched on a pan (and I work in a volunteer kitchen where this is not a rare occurrence). Fill the pan with water to cover the scorched food and set it to boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn it down to a low boil and sprinkle generously the scorched areas with baking soda – this will bubble and spit a lot, so be careful. Once that stops, turn off the pan and let it sit to cool. Much of the scorched on food will usually come off pretty easily, although a repeat round is sometimes required. If it is more marks in the pan, Bon Ami and Barkeeper’s Friend are good, but rinse them off immediately because they contain an acid that shouldn’t sit on a surface. If you’re trying to get the copper shine back, that’s a job for a cut lemon half and table salt as a scrub. This takes elbow grease, but really brings back the copper. Hope there’s something useful here.

  19. Nothing like “jumping” through hoops to get ready for family to come for dinner. It looks lovely in the end and your “story” can be put to rest with laughter. Your son-in-law maybe won’t be put off by the Indians in your vignette. Most Americans probably forget they were even there and you actually have given them a nod. Happy Thanksgiving.

  20. Nothing like “jumping” through hoops to get ready for family to come for dinner. It looks lovely in the end and your “story” can be put to rest with laughter. Your son-in-law maybe won’t be put off by the Indians in your vignette. Most Americans probably forget they were even there and you actually have given them a nod. Happy Thanksgiving.

  21. Nothing like “jumping” through hoops to get ready for family to come for dinner. It looks lovely in the end and your “story” can be put to rest with laughter. Your son-in-law maybe won’t be put off by the Indians in your vignette. Most Americans probably forget they were even there and you actually have given them a nod. Happy Thanksgiving.

  25. What a stressful day! Your centerpiece looks great and I’m sure everyone will enjoy the celebration. Happy Thanksgiving.

  26. What a stressful day! Your centerpiece looks great and I’m sure everyone will enjoy the celebration. Happy Thanksgiving.

  27. What a stressful day! Your centerpiece looks great and I’m sure everyone will enjoy the celebration. Happy Thanksgiving.

  28. You know I’m wondering about Ozzie! Was he home by himself in the smoke-filled house?? I’m thankful the only casualties were a lamp & a pot. Robby H. had some great suggestions for cleaning that copper pot! Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family! 🦃

  29. You know I’m wondering about Ozzie! Was he home by himself in the smoke-filled house?? I’m thankful the only casualties were a lamp & a pot. Robby H. had some great suggestions for cleaning that copper pot! Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family! 🦃

  30. You know I’m wondering about Ozzie! Was he home by himself in the smoke-filled house?? I’m thankful the only casualties were a lamp & a pot. Robby H. had some great suggestions for cleaning that copper pot! Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family! 🦃

  31. Scary story. I’m glad that things turned out well. For that pan you might want to try Bar Keepers Friend. My husband swears by this product!

  32. Scary story. I’m glad that things turned out well. For that pan you might want to try Bar Keepers Friend. My husband swears by this product!

  33. Scary story. I’m glad that things turned out well. For that pan you might want to try Bar Keepers Friend. My husband swears by this product!

  37. one other thing, I use the boiling water and baking soda technique to clean mt Dutch oven. Soaking it isn’t enough. I’ve found that I still have to scrub with a wooden spoon while water is still hot.

  38. one other thing, I use the boiling water and baking soda technique to clean mt Dutch oven. Soaking it isn’t enough. I’ve found that I still have to scrub with a wooden spoon while water is still hot.

  39. one other thing, I use the boiling water and baking soda technique to clean mt Dutch oven. Soaking it isn’t enough. I’ve found that I still have to scrub with a wooden spoon while water is still hot.

  40. Have always used Worcestershire Sauce to clean up copper, sprinkle on and rub with soft cloth. May need more than a single application, but have managed to clean some dubious pans!
    Happy thanksgiving in more ways than one.

  41. Have always used Worcestershire Sauce to clean up copper, sprinkle on and rub with soft cloth. May need more than a single application, but have managed to clean some dubious pans!
    Happy thanksgiving in more ways than one.

  42. Have always used Worcestershire Sauce to clean up copper, sprinkle on and rub with soft cloth. May need more than a single application, but have managed to clean some dubious pans!
    Happy thanksgiving in more ways than one.