And Now It's December

Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was wonderful! Ann, Eric, Cameron, Keaton and Daniel came to stay Wednesday night and thus began a fun-filled (and food-filled!) holiday.  We relaxed and, as we say, fell in a heap that night and then popped up Thursday morning to get things ready for the big dinner.  Fortunately we are creatures of habit, or maybe I should say traditionalists, so the menu is never an issue.  Turkey, stuffing, gravy and all the other standbys.  Mmmm...

The one thing we've changed in the last few years is our potatoes.  We switched to the Pioneer Woman's decadent recipe for mashed potatoes and as Ann says, we've never looked back.  When it came time to make the potatoes, I had plenty of help!

Kitchen crew at work!

The dinner was a success and we were blessed to have our niece Kirsten, her husband Tim, and little Taylor joining us.  Our table was full and so were our chairs!  

We spent the rest of our days relaxing, reading, visiting, napping and putting a puzzle together.  And, of course, one night we all watched Home Alone 2 as a prelude to the Christmas season.  Even after all these years, the Home Alone movies still make us laugh.  

Saturday morning the guys all helped Dan change out our tires to snow tires, inspired by the light snowfall of the night before.  They worked together, with a team of two on each vehicle and the work went swiftly.

Dan and Keat on the pickup

Eric and Cam on the car

Even Daniel got in on the act when it came time to air up the tires.  

He had to borrow some gloves and tennis shoes from me, hence the pink hands and pink shoelaces.  Yes, this eight-year-old wears the same size shoes as his grammy.  (And why, you are asking did he have to borrow?  Simple.  He came in his shorts--note the bare legs--and his slides.)  ♥

A Little This and That

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we had a wonderful day down at my parents'.  We broke tradition and had ham instead of turkey and it was delicious.  Of course we had mashed potatoes, gravy, squash, and pumpkin and mince pies.  As usual, everyone complained about eating too much, but that's to be expected.  

On the Monday before Thanksgiving we enjoyed an overnight visit from grandson Keaton.  His school was out for the week but brother Cameron's was not, so Keaton was looking for a little "vacation" for a day or so. He and Papa Dan cleaned and filled the hot tub and Keaton enjoyed being the first one in this year.  (I suspect it wasn't quite as fun without a brother to splash around with, however.)  

In the evening I introduced him to a favorite site of mine, especially during the holidays.  Jigzone is an online jig saw puzzle site with many categories of puzzles, but my favorites are, of course, the Christmas ones.  You can change the cut and go from six pieces to one with about 276, so even if you've done a puzzle before, you can still be challenged by it.  Keaton loved it.  

Aebelskivers were requested for breakfast and this grammy was kept busy at the stove making strawberry jam filled yummies.  

By the time I was done it seemed as though a bomb had gone off (I seem to have dirtied every bowl and scraper in the kitchen, not to mention the liberal use of powdered sugar), but as Dan said, no one was hurt in the explosion.  :-)  We all ate until we were stuffed. Mmmmm....

Of course the trains came out and covered the living room floor.  Dan and Keaton were even able to diagnose and fix a problem with a special train I'd gotten for Dan years ago, and Keaton loved sending it chug-chugging down the track.  (It actually made that sound once we found a 9-volt battery to revive it's "voice".)  

Meanwhile, in the sewing room I came up with a little project to be used in this month's embroidery club that proved to be a hit.  We machine embroiders often have designs we love but just can't figure out what to do with. I was pondering this and all at once came up with an idea: stitch out a row of them, frame them with simple borders, and you have a perfect little accent for a wall or table.   I have a different one on display at the shop, but here's one I finished here at home.

This particular design is from an OESD pack called Holiday Luster.  Each design in the pack is one color, which makes it perfect for quick stitching.  

And last, in house news, we ordered the carpet for the stairs today!  They said there'd be no problem getting it done by Christmas!!  Yay!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving dear friends and family!  May your day be filled with special times, good food, and most of all, thankfulness to God who has so richly blessed us all. 

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; 

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

I Ch 16:34

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. We here at the resort are giving thanks to God for his many blessings to us.

My pies are made, the rolls are rising, and the salad is just needing to be mixed, then we're off to Ann and Eric's for a meal with friends and family.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting
Give thanks to the God of gods,
For his lovingkindness is everlasting
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindnes is everlasting.

--Psalm 136:1-3

Blessings on you all!