At Our Family Table Blog - The Blog of Heather Hartman
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The Kitchen Table
    Everyday
    Special Days
    Kitchen Sink Reflections
    The Project Table
The Coffee Table
    Books
    Book Club
    Discussing the Arts
The School Table
    Read Aloud
    Curriculum
    Philosophy
Our Moveable Feast
    Being a Traveler
    Destinations
    Comfy Camping
At Our Family Table Blog - The Blog of Heather Hartman
  • The Kitchen Table
    • Everyday
    • Special Days
    • Kitchen Sink Reflections
    • The Project Table
  • The Coffee Table
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Discussing the Arts
  • The School Table
    • Read Aloud
    • Curriculum
    • Philosophy
  • Our Moveable Feast
    • Being a Traveler
    • Destinations
    • Comfy Camping
Books, Discussing the Arts

Things I Love This Thursday: Paris edition

I just wrote a long post about Paris and Ernest Hemingway in the 1920’s.   It starts with a little bit…

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The Hartmans

We are becoming more and more convinced that most of what is wrong with our increasing fractured world can be solved as we gather. This is our invitation to join us for the food, fun and fellowship at our family table. More About Us...

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Welcome to the Table

Hi, I’m Heather and I want to give you a big Southern welcome. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you will grab a cup of coffee or a glass of sweet tea and stay a while so we can talk about the things that bring us together like good food, good company and big ideas.  These are the real things, the foundations of what makes us who we are and help create a life worth living.  I can’t wait for you to make yourself at home and join the conversation around our table today.

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atourfamilytable

Instagram post 2194426967972170727_4297964893 There is a little boy with a tape measure in my room this morning.  He is desperate to dive the go cart for himself.  So he wants me to measure him to see if he is tall enough.  Him: Mom how tall was I yesterday? 
Me: 53 inches
Him: Well, you grow in your sleep. Did you know that? 
Me: I have heard that too. 
Him: Let’s see if I grew 3 inches last night. 
Me: ok
Instagram post 2186603596920387204_4297964893 Here is something really funny:  I’m reading this book,  which is a love letter to nature and home, while I’m at a super commercial, absolutely cacophonous amusement park. There’s a little discord in this situation but I’m just happy to have a few moments to myself, a pair of earbuds and a good book. It’s all I’m asking for from life right now.  One last funny thing, I’m using a straw for my bookmark. What’s the oddest thing you have ever noticed marking your place in a book.  #atourfamilytable
Instagram post 2185824662473631772_4297964893 Let’s talk about shortcuts. I am minimizing and working ahead this year to avoid overwhelm on Thursday morning. I have three big tips: - 1- precooked bacon
2- butternut squash and sweet potatoes peeled and diced from the produce department
3- make ahead side dishes using crockpot liners so they are ready to go in the crockpot that morning and easy to clean that afternoon

I have three sides ready to go.  The turkey is in the brine. 
What are your best shortcuts?  We all need all the help we can get.
Instagram post 2183684971196391190_4297964893 Let’s talk about Thanksgiving. My life is so overwhelming just now. We have doubled our kids which somehow works out to ten times the laundry. I’m not sure how that math works out but it’s real!  I was dreading the work of Thanksgiving on top of everything else.  So I needed a plan to have great meal and a great weekend without the stress that leads to a cross attitude and broken relationships.  I asked myself some questions that helped me minimize the amount of food I’m making and take inventory of the tools I have that do some of the work for me. These are the questions I asked myself:  What side dishes are really essential? 
How many side dishes are realistic? 
I have three crockpots can I do the sides in the crockpots with liners so that they are ready to dish at the last minute and easy to clean? 
What can I prep and make ahead of time? 
What do I want the table to look like?

What can I fold into the plan to make sure we have yummy food all weekend without so much work or mess? 
This is my list of doable stuff for a wonderful thanksgiving meal and lots of rest afterward. It’s not too late to get a plan together and make a wonderful memory full of good food and sweet relationships. 
Here are the main points of my plan

Three crockpots-three side dishes prepared ahead of time and ready to plug in after the turkey goes in the oven. 
Use a baking bag for the turkey and liners for the crock pot. 
Set the table the night before. 
Make a detailed time line with all the smallest action items listed for each day and an hour by hour timeline for thanksgiving day. 
I am a last minute Lucy by nature but this year I can’t face the weekend without a plan.  Do you have a plan for thanksgiving?  Did you write it all down in your happy planner?  Go make your plan if haven’t.  Now I’ve got to get to the store for some yellow placemats.
Instagram post 2183038354273506553_4297964893 I’m thankful for a few things today!  1- the wool socks my mom bought me at a Christmas market in Europe. 2- a long talk on the phone with a good friend that helps me sort things into the right the right categories. 3 - a trip to the park after school 4- my maple tree has one great day a year and today is the day 5- my bedroom is clean dusted and vacuumed. I’m going to sleep really well in there tonight. #atourfamilytable
Instagram post 2180062278295342290_4297964893 So I talk a lot about the sweet parts of this foster care journey.  But it’s not all sweet. You need to know that.  We are coming off a really hard week that led into a really hard weekend.  But life goes on as this one is learning to drive and chauffeuring us around town. This is the second Monday in a row that we have stopped off at Great Harvest Bread after drop off. We got something really good for us the first week. This week we are medicating ourselves with cinnamon rolls.  Im trying to remind myself when  life is not sweet there are cinnamon rolls and daughters and goodness all around if we will look for it.  What goodness is encouraging you today?
Instagram post 2178168512349279853_4297964893 She is 18 and she has her own life.  It’s a good one with friends that take her to the symphony and new restaurants downtown. Then she comes home and lays down at the bottom of my bed and tells me all about it. How She loves Hungarian music and Italian restaurants that take cheese and sauce and homemade bread seriously.  She is really interesting and I’m glad I survived all the years before this moment so that I get to hear about her adventures.  I wasn’t so sure this was how it was going to go.  I wonder now why was I so afraid?
Instagram post 2174434325133803918_4297964893 I’ve loved being a girl mom all these years. They have been fun, funny and full of personality but never once has a little girl given me this sincere warning: “mom, be careful when you take those brownie out of the oven. And never put something hot in the fridge.  That’s how you make tornadoes when cold air meets hot air.” I love the things that go through a little boy’s head.
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