I planned to write this the day before Thanksgiving, but as so often happens in our lives in the words of Robert Burns “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.” All sorts of things conspired to keep me from following my plans until today. So here I am at last able to reflect on what there was and is to be thankful about my life here at Kendal at Granville. One real big thing for me in connection with thanks giving is the very special way in which the Thanksgiving Dinner is handled here.
Our meal is served from eleven to three that day making it possible for us to eat a very leisurely meal. The menu is fabulous. So much so that when someone asked my daughter-in-law where she was going for Thanksgiving Dinner and she said she was going to eat with her mother-in-law who lived at a CCRC, and that person said, "Oh that's too bad," my daughter-in-law replied, "Oh no, it's a wonderful place to eat for Thanksgiving, we love the food there. It was our choice to eat there instead of at home.' The fact that my family which includes my son, his wife and two sons - one just beginning college and one a sophomore in high school, all of whom like to come here so we can enjoy the meal together has a lot to do with making it something I'm very thankful for.
Our menu offered two soups - one a wonderful crab and corn chowder and the other a delicious roasted butternut squash soup. In addition to the usual mixed greens salad with assorted dressings there were four special salads - broccoli cole slaw, a fresh fruit salad, lemon Seven Up salad and a tomato avocado salad. The main entrees consisted of honey glazed ham, baked filet of sole with seafood stuffing and white wine sauce, and the traditional roast turkey. My daughter-in-law told me the sole was really scrumptious and from the number of helpings my son and grandsons had of the ham I know it hit the spot. The sides included mashed potatoes, praline sweet potato casserole, corn bread stuffing, green bean casserole, creamed pearl onions, and cranberry sauce. Of course, there was plenty of gravy. My daughter-in-law also told me that the sweet potato casserole was very tasty.
As if all that were not enough for desser we had a wide assortment of pies and cakes crowned with a luscious chocolate cherry cobbler and warm bread pudding with caramel sauce. As always cookies and ice cream and assorted beverages were on hand. Who could ask for anything more?
One of the nice things that the dining department does is check ahead of time to see who has family coming. Tables are then set up and reserved so that when a family comes in they can be seated together without a great deal of rearranging of tables to get all of the family together. There are also dining personnel available to help those who need assistance and to keep the tables cleared of used dishes.
Oops I almost forgot to mention that the dining room also makes sure that the tables are set with tablecloths and special cloth napkins. In addition the dining room is decorated so that you don't feel like it's an institution but a very special dining spot suitable for a family gathering. Add i tall up and you can see that the Dining Department is one for which I am very grateful here at Kendal
The many other things I'm thankful for here at Kendal are the convenience of housekeeping and maintenance services, drivers to take us to medical appointments, the caring staff, and the chance to live with a community of people who believe in the Kendal values.
No comments:
Post a Comment