Thinking About Thanksgiving

As I mentioned in my last post, I need to think about Thanksgiving. It will be a busy time for me as my Mother will be here for 2 weeks. That's in addition to having my Mother-in-law, and of course, my daughter. So I think this will be the last post until December.

A friend did a meme about Thanksgiving and it seems appropriate for here since I have nothing to mention regarding knitting.

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving is as special as our's will be.

1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere?
While I prefer cooking at my house, visiting family/friends is good also.

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird?
Typically frozen turkey breast. Any other part is wasted in our house.

3. What kind of stuffing?
I'm from the south. Cornbread dressing with loads of sage. ;)

4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie?
Normally neither. We always do a sweet potato dish that doesn't include crust. However, my daughter has discovered a love of pumpkin pies so I am making one. My Mother, however, wants sweet potato pie and she can taste the difference in the two. I'll probably buy one since I have never made one before - or Mom has to coach me. :)

5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing?
That's the point!! After all that work, there should be something left to show for it. haha

6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu?
Green beans. I have no idea why that is a tradition for my husband's family but he makes a point of mentioning it if I forget to do them. And deviled eggs. That's a must have for him too.

7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock?
I don't buy the whole turkey so no carcass.

8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier?
Talent for cooking! That would make it much easier. I mean, I'm a fine cook but I have no "sixth sense" for it. Luckily I have a husband who does and can "fix" anything I mess up. :)

9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour?
I do not like "crack of dawn" for anything! But I do if I have to. Normally I try to get some of the work started the night before. But I do like having dinner ready early afternoon that way there's plenty of time for a 2nd helping before bed.

10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring?
In the past, I have made cheese cakes to take to friend's house in California. I know, not traditional. But we're the folks who have been known to BBQ ribs for Thanksgiving so our tradition changes year-to-year. haha

11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house?
That darn green bean casserole. It's been overdone IMO.

12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see?
When either my or my husband's family gets together, there drama of some sort. Sad really. But this year, it should be Mothers only. Small and intimate gathering of elderly where the worse problem should be lack of hearing aids. haha

13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu?
Pecan pie! I don't care if we're having sweet potato and pumpkin....I want pecan pie!! And I'm the chief cook....so there.

14. What are you thankful for this year?
This year, I will count all my blessings from 2009 - looking on the bright side and not necessarily in order...

• Husband and daughter top my list of blessings always.
  
• No surgery was needed for my broken ankle
• Our house survived the April wildfire
• Mother-in-law is healthier now that she is in assisted living
• I met the deadline for my next publication
• We've reconnected with extended family now that we live closer
• My Mother is coming to stay with us for two weeks during Thanksgiving
• Many things I haven't thought of yet.
  

I am especially grateful to all the men and women who serve our Country. They have been on my mind a great deal with the news of Ft Hood shootings. Being a veteran, I know how stressful it is to serve overseas but that was during peace times. I can't imagine the stress of serving during war/conflict. Thank you.

Norman Rockwell

Family Sunday

Lovely day spent in the company of my two most favorite people - husband and daughter. We enjoyed an afternoon movie -




- Monsters Vs Aliens. Yes, we are kids-at-heart but still weren't the only adult-types in the audience without "little people" in tow.

After the movie, we had a scrumptious meal at Zio's Italian Kitchen in Bricktown (downtown Oklahoma City). Delectable Artichoke Spinach Dip and a Caesar salad - yum!

Must do again soon.

Wordless Wednesday (equation)

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Yum!

I had a good weekend (hope yours was the same!) We saw the Order of the Phoenix but most of the time, we hung out around the pool.

And we made one of our family favorites.... spinach dip.


It's too hot to oven bake it so I put it in the microwave and serve it with toasted sourdough bread and/or celery sticks. Really yum!

36 hours....

...and we're off to Texas to visit family. We're travelling in our motorhome which is a really relaxing way to travel.

Do you still call the place you were born "home"? Recently I realized that I do that from time to time. I wondered why since I haven't lived there since I was 18. Since I will be 50 this year, it's been a very long time! I guess it's because Mom is there. We'll be there for her 84th birthday, get to see old friends as well as family, have BBQ at Bob's, and catfish at the Duck Inn.

FO news! I've been loom knitting over the past week. One of the projects is a loofa soap bag. The e-wrap knit (twisted knit stitch) gives the cotton yarn just enough "roughness" that it really feels like a loofa.


I'm so ready for summer. So I did these flip flop toppers on the loom.



Both are scheduled classes at Michaels in June. If you can't make the class, check back for patterns. They'll be on my website as soon I get pictures added to the patterns.

Notice that they're quick and easy projects? The majority of my time recently has been spent test knitting cardigans for Knit Picks. The zippered cardigan is now on their website (go peek!) It's an easy pattern and the yarn is nice to work with.

We should have access to the web during the trip, so check back for patterns. CYA on the road!

Counting

I always mean to blog more often but there are times when I'm busy with exciting stuff like doing laundry, dirty dishes real life stuff which really isn't fun to write or read about. I've also been busy with counting...

...stitches and rows for this test knit I'm working on.



...cholestrol in the dishes I'm making since my cholestrol count is up again. I found the recipe for this crab and pasta salad that is low cholestrol.



It tastes great!

...the amount of money I spent on yarn recently. The local Hancock Fabrics is closing and has marked yarn down so much that I finally talked myself into Lion Brand's cashmere blend.



...the number of projects I have going and patterns I need to write. Hopefully April will be the magic month for finishing touches on these!

....and I'm counting the number of days I have left before the article I'm writing will be due. Stay tuned for that!

Favorite Restaurant

Do you have a favorite restaurant? Our favorite Italian restaurant is Miceli's on Cahuenga in Los Angeles. The food is excellent but the atmosphere is what makes it special. There is a piano player in the evenings, and the waiters/waitresses sing. Yep. Special.