Thanksgiving - An American Holiday

This Thursday, November 22 is the Thanksgiving holiday in America.  And it is this weeks theme at ESN so. It is tradition to have turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, cranberry sauce and then whatever else has evolved to become individual customs.  America has celebrated Thanksgiving as far back as at least 1621 when the pilgrims finally had a decent harvest thanks to the locals, Native Americans, but back in the day were called Indians.  President Abraham Lincoln declared in 1863 the last day in Thursday of November to be a "Day of Thanksgiving".  Over the course of about 75 years other presidents declared national days of Thanksgiving, but who knows what day any of those guys chose, so it must have got confusing for the general public because in 1941 Congress declared the 4th Thursday in the month of November as the official day of thanksgiving.  And, well, thankfully it was settled!  No one is truly sure of what that "first meal" consisted of, but rumor has it that the Indians brought deer, and perhaps a few wild turkeys were there as well.  Corn, squashes, and perhaps other veggies were available, but no potatoes, the pilgrims didn't know about them then, so no "mashers" on the first Thanksgiving! Of course being in Massachusetts and on the coast there must have been some pilgrim fisherman so I expect there was fish, crustaceans and other "fruits de mer" (fruits of the sea). Le Petit Marché doesn't have anything actually depicting Thanksgiving as such, but here's a cute set of dishes you might like for your next year celebration.  It's a Hallmark Expressions Decorative Flowers Dishes

Make your own custom with these dishes filled with nuts, olives, bits of cheese, dipping oil for a lovely bread or whatever new custom you would like to create for your own family!  Bon Appétit, et
Je souhaite une bonne santé! à la prochaine!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone, wherever you are!

Bursting with Color

Autumn (commonly referred to as "fall") has commenced in Colorado and even down here in the low altitude (5,763 ft) the leaves are changing color and the brilliant yellows, reds,oranges and light greens are so vibrant.  The days are still warm but the nights are already cooler.  You really know it's fall when it's time for the annual elk rut (breeding season).  There is nothing quite like it and this year is no different.  Estes Park (7,522 ft) will be celebrating the 14th annual Elk Fest this week-end with Native Americans dancing, storytelling and to teach about the "wapiti" (native american word for elk).  Elk are everywhere in Estes Park, just watch out for the bulls, their antlers can be dangerous!  It's going to be a great week-end listening to the bulls with all their different sounds to get the females to notice them.  There might even be a few bull fights (head butting, entangling antlers, very LOUD and kind of scary too, I've seen a few).  Le Petit Marché doesn't have any elk stuff or other autumn colored things in the store but it still bursts with color with this cute colored floral top. I guess it's got some fall kind of colors.

West End Colorful Floral top

Also bursting with vibrant colors for Christmas is the lovely sleigh.  Look at it overflowing with all it's colorful contents!  What a fun decorator piece for the holiday. Stop on by my store, Le Petit Marché, and see what other colorful clothing and Christmas items I have!

Heritage Mint Ltd. Santa Sleigh