Thanksgiving 2014

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. The roads were good, the food was tasty, and the company was the best. Katie brought a couple kinds of herb bread and ginger cookies from Great Harvest, Mark brought a pot of Swedish meatballs, and Mom brought her famous homemade pies, both apple and pumpkin.

The turkey turned out great! I roasted it at 425 degrees for 3-1/2 hours, the skin turning crispy brown and the meat moist and delicious. It worked out so well that I'm going to roast it the same way next year, but I've already decided that I'm not going to obsess so much about the reading of the meat thermometer.

Life is good, and we have so much to be thankful for! Practicing gratitude is the way to go.

Thanksgiving Eve

I'm feeling more organized this year. Thanksgiving dinner is tomorrow at our place, and I've already done a lot of the prep. Potatoes are peeled and waiting in cold water to be cooked and mashed tomorrow. Cranberries and gravy are done. Green bean casserole and candied yams are put together and ready to be popped into the oven. The relish tray will need to be assembled, but the carrots and celery are cut up and ready to go. Turkey is thawed in the fridge! Oh, my. Sparkling cider is chilling. House is basically picked up, I think. That leaves the actual roasting of the turkey, making the stuffing and corn, and putting out things like bread and lefse. Mark is bringing Swedish meatballs and Mom is bringing jello and pie.

We're still waiting for Katie to drive home, and I'm hoping she picks a time when the roads are okay and she's not exhausted from working. Jake drove home last night. The cats are readjusting to having more people around, and I do hope they behave themselves tomorrow. Like that will happen!

I'll let you all know how the turkey turns out, too. This year I'm going to attempt roasting it at a high temperature, which is supposed to make it really moist and delicious.

Grandma Gloria's Birthday

Grandma Gloria turned 87 years old today. Sunrise seems to be a good fit for her, with staff who seem to enjoy her, and take good care of her. She still loves to dance, eat sweets, and hold her babies. 💗

Wordless Wednesday

Winter Season

The days are getting shorter, darker, colder. I have to resist reacting to them by thinking that I'm just getting older, they are what they are. Just another season in life to live through. I am enjoying the sun when it's out, and enjoying being inside after dark, sitting by the fire and sipping tea with the animals close by. Winter will pass!

Wordless Wednesday

Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries

Debbie and I went to IKEA over the weekend, pretty much just to eat the Swedish meatballs with lingonberries. It was fun to look at everything there, although the place is huge and it felt almost impossible to find the exits! The checkout lines were long, too, which made us extra glad that we didn't find anything we needed to buy. Debbie said she'd probably just order online in the future and have it delivered to her house. I'm thinking that's probably a good idea.

Cozy Inside

It might be cold and blowing outside, but it's warm and cozy in the house.

Some places received over 12 inches of snow today, with plenty of icy roads to drive on, too. I made it to work, and decided to brave the roads to drive to Curves, not knowing what tomorrow might bring. Then I made a pork chop dinner for the family!

There's really nothing like home sweet home when it's cold and blowing outside.

Wordless Wednesday

Visit With Mom and Dad

We went to Mom and Dad's last weekend, to take a look at the basement of their old home and brainstorm ideas as to what to do with the floor. New carpet? Paint the thing? And, there's still the funky built in aquarium on one side of the room to deal with. Or not. I don't think any decisions were made, but it was fun to visit.

Mom and Dad picked up some KFC for lunch, which was really good since it's been forever since I've eaten some. Mark graciously offered to bring Swedish meatballs on Thanksgiving and BBQ meatballs on Christmas Day, and I won't turn that offer down! Plus, Peaches and Patches were agreeable to having their portraits taken. I'd say the afternoon turned out quite well.

Halloween

We had about twenty trick or treaters come by this year. I had thought there might be more since a lot of new families with little ones have moved in recently, but twenty is not bad for us. Debbie said they had more than a hundred stop by!

Jessie barked every time the doorbell rang. And then she kept us awake all night with her whining, pacing and panting. I don't think it had to do with the stimulation of Halloween, though, I think she's changing as she's aging. Poor old lady dog. Hopefully tonight we all get more sleep.

We do have a lot of candy left over, though I'm not sure that's a good thing...