Thanksgiving was a wonderful time at the Mary Theotokos Spiritual Retreat Center.
It all began back in the spring with the arrival of our baby turkeys which many of you saw on older blog posts.
As the holidays grew nearer we were able to butcher our own birds, as humanely as possible and use much of the product to supply local families and a food shelf with Thanksgiving turkeys, weighing in between 25 and 40 pounds.
Here are some pictures of the event.
Where it all started, and where it went!
Could a new job title be: “Turkey Farmers for God”?
An interesting side note, when these bird where butchered for the holidays, every other bird on the farm from meat hens to ducks started laying eggs. Apparently, upon seeing their fellow feathered barn yard resident disappear one by one, the other birds wanted to make sure we understood that they had other talents!
The hungry guests arrive!
It was truly a group effort. Friends helped with the preparing of the birds, a Mother Superior did the cooking and food prep, more friends came to set tables and serve. All in all a wonderful collaboration for an evening filled with blessings and fellowship. All of us counting our blessings as the evening went on.
Getting this 40 pound “Tom” from the oven to the carving table was a task in and of itself that required a stretcher type litter and two men!
Once the “Tom” reached the table, without being dropped along the way, (the weight of this bird broke two carrying forks!) it was time to sing a meal time blessing.
Carving this enormous bird did require careful consideration and
some larger tools than expected!
But once it started, it didn’t stop!
This “Tom” was never juicier!
Meanwhile, back in the dining area the tables stretched around the corner of the room.
But there was room for all.
Full plates and full hearts.
And after the dessert, conversation and clean up comes the favorite part of all,
for some of us,
nap time with friends.
Truly an evening filled with Blessings from God.
Visit this blog again to find out, did John make it down from the icy roof repair job in one piece? (Is that a pool ladder he’s using?!)
And find out what happens when goats realize their horns are weapons!
AND, will the Walkers survive another Vermont winter at the end of that
roller coaster dirt driveway?
Will the plow truck start running in time?
For the answers to these and other crucial questions,
visit this blog again!
Till then,
Pax et Bonum
and Happy Advent!
From
The Mary Theotokos Spiritual Retreat Center
