Bush to celebrate holiday in TexasCRAWFORD, Texas (AP) — This year, the traditional pecan pie on President Bush's Thanksgiving table will be made with nuts from trees on his ranch.
Bush is celebrating Thanksgiving much like he always does — alongside family members, enjoying a traditional feast of turkey and fixings.
The president arrived here Monday night after spending a day at an Army base in Colorado. On Tuesday, he attended a series of events in Las Vegas and Phoenix before returning to spend the rest of the week in relative seclusion at the sprawling Prairie Chapel Ranch.
He was clearly relishing the prospect of the time away from Washington as he appeared before GOP donors Tuesday in Las Vegas and described his morning on the ranch with his wife, Laura.
"We went for a 3 1/2-mile walk together across the countryside, had a little time to visit outside the bubble in Washington, D.C.," Bush said wistfully, still many hours away from returning to the 1,600-acre property outside this tiny central Texas town.
The president's twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, are visiting for the holiday, as are his parents, former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara.
On the table was to be a free-range turkey, turkey cornbread dressing, chipotle sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, asparagus and a salad of Texas grapefruit, toasted walnuts and greens, White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan reported Wednesday. Alongside the "Prairie Chapel pecan pie" would be another classic dessert: pumpkin pie, she said.
Buchan remained mum on the First Family's other guests, and on their non-eating plans for Thanksgiving Day.
On Sunday afternoon, the president and Mrs. Bush return to the White House to get the Christmas and Hanukkah seasons under way. On Monday, the first lady receives the official White House Christmas tree, which will arrive at the North Portico in a horse-drawn wagon.
There will be only three days to decorate it, as Mrs. Bush previews this year's holiday decorations throughout the White House residence's public rooms on Thursday.
