Another Thanksgiving

My sister Roberta and I take turns hosting the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We've done this for years, since way back when her children were very small.

(I just realized this means we've been doing this for at least 35 years.)

This year it was my turn to do Thanksgiving dinner. For some reason, I always think of Thanksgiving dinner as being much more work than Christmas dinner.

That's a silly idea, of course, because both are a lot of work. Instead, it's important to be thankful that we can put on such lavish dinners.

And besides, I had much help from Roberta, her husband Buzz, and their son and his wife, Kevin and Rachel. Roberta brought a carrot side dish, a pumpkin pie, and the wine. Rachel brought cranberry creme brulée tarts and a sweet potato side dish.

The minute Miss V arrived, she settled right down to the coloring "assignment" I gave her. She takes her coloring very seriously. As she colored, she'd say, "Nana, What color do you think I will choose next?" If my sister replied, oh, let's say, "Red," Miss V would say, "Yes! That's right! I'm going to choose the red crayon next!"

Then she'd say, "Aunt Jean, Which color do you think I'm going to choose next?" I'd say, for instance, purple, and she'd exclaim, "Yes! That's right! I'm going to choose the purple crayon next."

She almost had us believing we were psychic, I swear.

My brother-in-law once again agreed to make the gravy. I can roast a turkey like no one's business, but oh, do I hate to make gravy. Buzz has kindly agreed to do this task for years.

Finally the food was ready and the seven of us sat down to eat. Today we have another Thanksgiving dinner under our expanding belts.

Day-after-Thanksgiving recipe

This is the dish I serve the day after Thanksgiving, for obvious reasons. It's quick and tasty. The only change I make is to leave out the curry powder, because I don't care for it.

Turkey Divan

1 pkg. frozen broccoli or asparagus

2-3 cups leftover turkey

1/2 cup stuffing mix

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Sauce:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Prepare vegetable according to package directions. Spread on bottom of greased 9X13 baking dish. Add turkey, cut into small pieces. Cover with sauce. Sprinkle stuffing over sauce, then sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes. Delicious served with rice.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Former student

Yesterday, at a concert, I ran into and sat with a former student who confided that she's 51-years-old.

Now how is that supposed to make ME feel? She was 14 the last I knew.

Geez.

Thinking Green

"All I ask is that one post be devoted to how you try to take care of the planet by living green and being more environmentally conscious. Do you recycle, eat more local foods, avoid plastic bags to name a few. Grab the award and link back to Rambling Woods."

Ken and I have been "green thinkers" for years. We shut off lights where they're not in use; we use low-energy bulbs; we recycle paper, plastic, aluminum, glass; we grow many of our own vegetables (although this summer's garden gets an "F.") we combine shopping trips so as to limit the number of times we need to be consuming gasoline; we chose our last new car (a Honda Accord) specifically because of its high mpg. I use the dishwasher and washing machines only when I have full loads; I hang clothes outside to dry when the weather cooperates. When the weather doesn't cooperate, I partially dry the laundry in the dryer, then finish the drying on a drying rack. Finally, we use canvas bags when we go shopping, and we put all food wastes into a compost bin.

I feel each of us on this earth has a right to a small share of its resources, but overuse, with no attention to how much we're using, is inexcusable in this day and age.

Fresh from the Department of Stupidity

True story: Yesterday a man in southern Maine walked into a store, filled out a job application, and dropped it into the application box. Then he noticed a money-collection jar on the counter, dashed into the restroom with it, emptied it, and returned it to the counter.

He neglected to notice the surveillance camera, apparently.

The police retrieved his job application from the box, noted his address, and promptly went to his residence and arrested him.

It's time to pack a shoe box

This is the week for dropping off shoe boxes filled with gifts for a deserving child in a less fortunate country.

Samaritan's Purse sponsors this project, called Operation Christmas Child, each November and designates times and places for dropping off the boxes.

I first learned about this project last year, from my niece Cheryl. I've had fun during the past few months selecting gift items as I've been out shopping. The box contains: soap, toothpaste, a tooth brush, a pencil box, pencils, markers, crayons, a small purse, a small calculator, a stuffed animal, a tablet, stickers, a bag of hard candy....

I've designated this box of small gifts for a girl five to seven years of age. I've enclosed a small note and a photo of Ken and me, to give the box a more personal touch. I've also enclosed a check for $7 to help defray shipping expenses.

This afternoon we'll take the box to a nearby church, and it will be sent somewhere in the world to a deserving child. I hope the gifts lighten her life a bit and let her know others care.

A thoughtful gesture, a major frustration, and (sob!) a death

The thoughtful gesture:

In August I gave my good teaching friend's daughter, M, a colorful Baby Surprise Jacket and matching hat when M's daughter was born. I'd hoped throughout M's pregnancy that the baby would be a girl because I'd chosen what I thought was rather feminine-looking yarn for the sweater and hat.

M, who's in her mid-twenties, promptly sent me a lovely thank-you note, saying she loved the sweater set and knew little E would love it, too.

Last weekend I received another note from M. Before opening it, I thought, "Oops. M must've forgotten she's already sent me a thank-you note."

I was wrong. This was, indeed, a second thank-you note, but enclosed was this photo of her baby daughter, E, wearing the outfit. M's note said the outfit fits perfectly and she just had to send me a photo to show me how cute baby E looks in it.

This was such a kind and thoughtful thing for M to do. I mean, she's a young mother, but yet she knew how pleased I'd be to see a photo of the sweater set being worn by her baby. And really, can anyone look at this photo without smiling?

I immediately fired off an e-mail to my teaching buddy, thanking her for raising her daughter to be so thoughtful and appreciative.

Second: A frustration.

I've finally mustered the courage to "open an Etsy shop," as they say. I registered for it on Sunday and spent the last four days convincing myself this was a good move and I just might sell some of my handknits and other little needlework items. I sat down this morning to post the first item (another Baby Surprise Jacket, it so happens), and discovered my photos of it are too large to be uploaded. I've tried everything I can think of to reduce the size of the photos, and nothing has worked. I've been able to get them down to 500 or so kb, or whatever it's called, but I can't seem to get them to the required maximum of just over 400. I'm at the end of my rope.

And last: I guess I spoke too soon when I wrote so glowingly of my beloved crock pot a few weeks ago. On Saturday I prepared a chicken and dumplings dish, placed it in the crock pot, waited a few minutes to feel the outside getting warm, felt nothing, jiggled the cord where it connects to the pot, felt no warmth, jiggled the cord where it connects to the outlet, felt no warmth, waited awhile, tried again, felt no warmth, waited....

After an hour of firmly believing the crock pot would heat up any minute now, I admitted defeat, removed the chicken mixture from it, got out another crock pot (which had been waiting in the wings for years, waiting for just such an event), placed the chicken mixture into it, gave my beloved red crock pot one final washing, and set it by the back door. I couldn't bear to take that final step of removing it from the house, though.

Yesterday I heard Ken pick it up and carry it into the garage, for disposal. End of an era. Rest well, my lovely. Thirty-five years of service isn't bad, but I'm gonna miss you.

Time to go look at the photo of Baby E again. That'll calm me down.

Simple (very simple) Fair Isle hats

I stumbled upon a quick and easy hat pattern the other day. I'd gone to the Knitting Pure & Simple website to see if perhaps the designer was offering a new sweater pattern that I'd want to knit. I love her patterns because they're neck-down knitting with no seams, if you can imagine such a thing. Also, her patterns are well written and easy to follow.

I didn't find a new sweater pattern, but I did notice she now offers a few free patterns. I do so love free patterns! The "Simple Fair Isle hat" caught my eye because it's so colorful. What a neat way to use up bits of leftover yarns.

It really is a simple pattern: You just cast on 80 stitches, knit most rows but purl a few, and do a "double decrease," which isn't complicated, to knit the top of the hat.

So I've been cranking out Simple Fair Isle hats since last Saturday. I've used various combinations of colors of wool yarns, and I've experimented with needle sizes 7 through 9. Oh, and I've used both worsted and heavy worsted weight yarns.

Just thought I'd share this find with anyone out there who loves knitting and has plenty of leftover wool yarns that they don't know what to do with.

The Pioneer Woman Doesn't Disappoint

Are you familiar with The Pioneer Woman? I love her recipes and have tried many of them in the past couple of years or more. I've never tried one that wasn't a hit.

On Sunday we celebrated four birthdays here: for a 4-year-old, a 41-year-old, a 43-year-old, and a (a-hem) 64-year-old.

I'd found a recipe from The Pioneer Woman weeks ago and decided it looked quick, easy, and tasty. These are my three requirements when I'm preparing a meal for guests. There's nothing I dislike more than being trapped in the kitchen while everyone else is relaxing and having fun in the livingroom.

Early in the morning I prepared the sauce for the Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes, so that saved me even more time when the guests arrived.

I decided, however, to go back to The Pioneer Woman's website one more time, after the sauce was made, to make sure she hadn't included a vital tip in her narration that she had left out of the recipe itself. I should know by now she wouldn't do such a thing, but anyway....

When I went back to her site, what should greet me but another irresistable-sounding recipe: Buttery Rosemany Rolls. Before I could say, "The guests will be here in less than two hours," my bread machine was set up on the kitchen counter, cranking away at the dough for the rosemary rolls.

What intrigued me about the rolls is that they're baked in a cast iron skillet. I happen to LOVE my cast iron skillet (and my cast iron Dutch oven), so any excuse to use it is enticement enough.

I knew the meal was a hit when Miss V, the 4-year-old, said as she ate her Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes, "This is yummy."

A four-year-old liking something other than macaroni and cheese? Amazing.