Thank You!!!

A very sweet and creative friend gave me this beautiful little "chick-pin cushion" for Christmas. Isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen? (Well except for my grandchildren.) She saw it in a shop and came home and copied it. And I think hers is cuter and "blingyier". I had to share. I love the beads and the adorable little chicky toes! Close up.

The back is just a cute as the front! Maybe I will experiement after the holidays.

The best gifts really are from the heart.

Thanksgiving with the Harrells!

Okay, so my pictures are a little backward, I am getting used to blogging again! It has taken a back seat to Facebook, but here goes.

For Thanksgiving we flew out to Tennessee to see Dave and Valli and (especially!!!) baby Madeline. I can't resist this picture of her at her baby blessing in Dave and Valli's ward. She was so precious. And so sweet and quiet and everything. And Valli dressed her in the prettiest little dress (minus the sequins!). As Valli said, "It's a blessing, not a prom!" Agree.The grandparents can't resist getting their mug shots with the baby.

And the proud parents. And the beautiful Madeline.

Hiking along the creek that runs behind Dave's house. It's a lovely area that was previously used for milling. The old buildings are still there and the land on the other side has very large old houses on the property.

Dave's goose is cooked! And it was delicious. We had mashed potatoes, gravy, cooked apples and pears, carrots, rolls, leftover pink stuff, and some wonderful pies. Go Chef Dave.

The bird!

Thanksgiving dinner was shared with friends of Dave and Valli and here is Chef James deep frying the bird. It was my first fried turkey and it was good. It also cooks faster than baking. I would definately put it back on the menu anytime. It was a wonderful weekend.

Megan and Valli during out lunch at Logan's, David's favorite steakhouse. We couldn't quite talk grandpa into shushi.

We hope your holidays were just as fun and memorable as ours were. It's all about family and friends! And winning the games!

In Case I Forget to Tell You ....Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Every year the Maplewood LDS chapel serves as one of the pick up points for the community free turkey dinner giveaway for those who qualify for it. So for days leading up to it I am bombarded with phone calls surrounding the event because my office is listed in the phone book and the chapel does not. And we share a parking lot. Which becomes chaos. Which some how means that I am supposed to know everything about this, which I know nothing because it's not even a church sponsored event.

So today a woman calls and wants directions to Maplewood Street from downtown and as I attempt to give her directions, she informs me that I don't know what I am talking about and she wants to speak to some who does. Excuse me?

Her: I live downtown on (some street) and don't know how to get to Maplewood.
Me: (Gives same directions I have given to a dozen other people with no complaints.)
Her: NO, that's not right, that's not the right street, it's this other street.
Me: Well, I don't live downtown so these are the best directions I know of for this area.
Her: Are you sure there isn't someone else there that I can talk to who knows what they are talking about because I don't know what you are talking about. What you are saying just doesn't make any sense.
Me: (You want another answer? Call another number.)
Me: I'm sorry but I can assure you this is the correct street and the correct intersection.
Her: More of the same.
Me: (I'm thinking about the fact that people who are getting a free meal shouldn't be so rude and that I don't think she even deserves a turkey at this point and how much more of this crap am I going to listen to before I hang up on her.)
Her: Well. I guess I'll just have to drive around and see if I can find it.
Me: Happy Thanksgiving, click.

Some people. I hope the turkey turns out or Butterball is going to be sorry!

Maybe we should call it Thanks-getting!

Paella

I saw an easy recipe for paella in the October issue of Everyday Food. I was a little skeptical because Dick has eaten paella in "the" best restaurants in Madrid, and is a bit of a food snob, but I figured, what the heck. So I cooked it up this morning for lunch and it was judged as being "wonderful". Even fit for company! By the time I decided it might make a good blog post we had already dug in, so it's not a pretty dish at this point, but I'm sure a team of photographers could do something with it. The mussels are missing because the grocery store was out. Next time. We could also Alaskanize it by adding a little smoked salmon or some halibut. Maybe a bit of crab. The saffron blends so well with everything. If I can find the link to the recipe I will come back and post it, otherwise it should be on Martha's website.

Conference Weekend

Breaking with tradition, I didn't quilt anything this conference weekend, although I have several projects I should be working on. I decided that I should do some baking and decorate the house (a loose term) instead. So Dick got homemade cinnamon rolls and cocoa for breakfast on Sunday for the first time since last conference, I think. On Saturday we rode over to the local pumpkin patch (that would be the Eagle River Wal-mart) and selected these cute little ones for baking pies. I had never done this before, but we cut them in half, scooped out the seeds and baked them face down for an hour. The skins literally fell off the fleshy part and now we have lots of fresh pumpkin for pies and bread.
I took all of about 30 minutes to decorate the tree and add some trim to the mantle. Mission accomplished. Fall is officially here. It was a cool, foggy, wet day, but still beautiful.

My newest ornament - a black cat walking toward you means good luck, walking across your path is bad. Now we just need to watch the Halloween scene in "Meet Me in St. Louis" for the full autumnal effect.

Happy October! It is the best month!