Thankful, Grateful, Blessed

It's almost time to say a lovely goodbye to November. I really hate to join the Cliche Club, but wow! time sure does fly by when you're having fun! We had such a warm and happy Thanksgiving (inside, though it was quite chilly outdoors!)

My son slept in while I did the usual things --- making the turkey and fixing up the tables, cooking the sides... having cups of Cranberry Harvest tea.  It's from Bigelow, and while I'm usually a Harney girl, I have to say this is wonderful. So pretty and red and clear. 

I made a Fall journal for a dear friend's birthday. She was sixteen years old the day President Kennedy was shot.  She said her grandfather died that very same day. I know she waited until her 70th birthday to have the huge party she had planned for the sweet sixteen since, of course, it was cancelled. It was one of the last things I was able to attend, and it was wonderful! She is a Fall Lover, as well....  and I put little family photos tucked in everywhere.

My Millennium Honeycomb turkey made his annual appearance. I ordered him from China on Amazon for Mom in 2000, and he has been perched in first one place and then another every year. Pretty smug faced for an old gobbler in November, don't you think? He must feel pretty secure.

A very dear friend stopped by in the windy cold on Wednesday to drop off this gorgeous centerpiece.  It is filled to the brim with real flowers, and it really set off our table to a t.  I am so grateful for dear, dear friends.

Confession. With the cozying in  of our home during the Pandemic, we have all but abandoned eating at the table.  It is so fun and comfy to grab a plate and go to our little nest chairs in front of the telly and watch something fun.  Right now we are trying to start Seinfeld (spelling?) and watching Hart of Dixie. It is a little too girly for my son, but he's such a good sport.  I heard there is a new season dropping today of The Witcher, which we both liked. We watched Clarkson Farm for the second time and finished the fourth time (for me and second for him) of watching Everybody Loves Raymond.

My gramma's turkeys (or my Mom's. I have seen them on both tables, and I always thought I had two pair...  Lost in the shuffle I guess and probably you know where!) I love these old guys who were evidently for sugar and sugar...  Both lids come off, so ????  Cranberry Sauce and jelly?  Lol... They, too are safe every November unless I drop them...  knock on wood that I don't. 

Still not framed, this piece made just a small showing on Thanksgiving to remind me that I could finish something huge and cross stitched.  I really am slow at it, and it seems like a process others can do while they think or watch TV...  If I do that, the silly thing just goes to pieces and I am lost! I am quite dyslexic like my father...  especially when I'm tired, and cross stitching makes me tired so fast.

We are living in the tomorrow for which they wrought!  That is the phrase that caught my eye and captured my heart.  For that I decided to stitch this monster! We set sail on the project in a Facebook group the day the pilgrims set said, September 6 or 7.  And we landed on the day they landed.  I was two days early, for goodness sake! Lol...  I'm not usually early on much.

Most evenings I can be found reading a little of one of Mom's diaries. I love to think back and listen to her talk about the times we spent, the places we went, and the good things we always enjoyed. She didn't write much each day, but I am blessed to have about a dozen or more of these pretty books by Mary Emmerling. I gave them to her each Christmas, and she filled them up most days...  She really never let me read them during the years, but I see such a positive attitude in them. Mom was a positive pessimist, really.  She dreaded the bad so much, but she tried like a warrior she was to promote the positive. She often said she didn't want to get her hopes up... She was always prepared in case she had to face disappointment...  as if that really fools anyone, least of all, ourselves. Daddy was a positive optimist.  If anything bad happened, he was immediately all about trying to remedy it as soon as possible.  

Mom embroidered the old way, with little stamped guides and perfect stitches. I love these samplers and I am so glad she framed them under glass. They do glare, but I can safely say they wouldn't be fit to hang on the wall if she hadn't after 50 years in my house.

I made (and ate more than my share) of this pecan pie. Well, yum! Today I have dyed my hair ...  it was really needing it! and of course, laundry.  I hope to start decorating a little more for Christmas and work on some gifts and cards. Have a lovely end of November and a beautiful December!

Whimsy and Hugs!

November Comfort Food

I have a new recipe

Last night we tried this Cordon Bleu Casserole from. The website called THE GIRL WHO ATE EVERYTHING. It was really good, but do not believe the 5 minute prep time. It took me over an hour to get it in the oven! 

Cordon Bleu Casserole

INGREDIENTS

• 5 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken < I cooked some tenders>
• 2 cups cubed ham

CHEESE SAUCE:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purposed flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard <I used spicy brown mustard>
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder <I used real minced>
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, (add more to taste)
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese, (5 ounces)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

PANKO TOPPING:

• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted <I skipped the butter>

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. < I mixed this all together in a giant bowl so I skipped to step 4 and added the sauce and then topped with crumbs>
3. Layer the chicken on the bottom of the casserole dish. Layer the ham on top of the chicken.
4. For the cheese sauce: In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour on top and cook for 1-2 minutes or until mixture gets dry and clumpy. Whisk in the milk slowly. Add the mustard, lemon juice, garlic powder and salt. Simmer for 3-5 minutes whisking constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the Swiss and Parmesan cheese. Taste and add more salt if needed. Pour evenly over ham and chicken mixture.
5. For the Panko topping: In a small bowl, combine the Panko breadcrumbs and melted butter well. <my sauce was really runny so I skipped the butter> Sprinkle over the casserole.
6. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown and casserole is bubbly. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes then serve. You can serve this by itself or over pasta or rice.  I served with broccoli. 

I've been creating a journal for a friend's birthday. And this weekend my Thanksgiving cards go out... 

We celebrated a tiny bit my son's one year anniversary with learning German on Duolingo.  I've refreshed my Spanish for about 200 days... Duolingo is an app for the phone or computer. 

I got him a little apple pie.

Had a couple bars of German chocolate bars from Aldi's.

---<---<-- I<@

Think I'm almost ready to start 🎄 Christmas decorating, but I will wait until after Thursday!

Falling Back...

I'm one of the few who like to admit we enjoy the whole spring ahead/fall back thing! I really like the falling back, but how could we have one without the other? So many things are like that.

I am sitting here in the light of my pink Autumn tree getting ready to watch some more midnight YouTube videos about papercraft, stitching, and lifestyle. I guiltily admit I have a mini pack of cookies and a cup of decaf coffee with M&M creamer.. It smells like a bag of candy and has a lovely hint of chocolate... yeah... not really on my diet, but today was one of those cranky days and I finally decided to just cave and spend my extra hour doing something fun! 

I used to do that! I can remember a few Autumn's ago I went on a midnight run to SuperWalmart... Now? Haven't been to Walmart since my cousin and I took my little Mama Christmas shopping in 2013...  we lost her zipping around in the aisles on her electric store cart ... and finally decided we spotted her when we saw a cart coming at us loaded so high we couldn't even see her head over her loot! She had so much fun... she made life fun... 

Well.... that's my goal. Make life fun. It has become even harder to find fun-loving people during these Covid years... I get it! Fear, loss, mistrust, did I say fear?, fretting, and just the general aging of my posse of friends--- all weigh heavily. I just won't find that carefree, healthy, light-hearted crew still buffered by another generation in front of them. Most of us ARE the senior generation or we are all too aware of the precipice looming in front of our parents. 

I'm not writing this as a Downer type of post... I mean, I have a cat asleep on my lap, a happy son with a pretty exciting movie evidently playing in his room, cross stitchers waiting to share their goodies, snacks,  a sweet and cozy home.... what more could I want?

I get to have my followup via phone with the cardiologist..I've had no more symptoms and things seem ok.... Then after that if all goes well, good Lord willing, and the creek don't rise, I'll not see anyone until I  repeat all the tests in December 2022... and so it goes... 

Falling back is fun, but Springing Forward promises new opportunity... I want to be up for that! I really need to Carpe the deium... and the night, do the Mary Engelbreit snap out of it routine, and flourish... 

Happy Daylight Savings Day Farewell!

November Nuance

Hello, there!  I guess everyone made the transition into this golden month of November! I have been packing away most of the fall and all of the Spooky decor. It seems I just can't bring myself to put away all the fall yet... and I also can't stand so much out.  You guys might have warned me if we could have sat and had coffee together.  I put this out mid or early August, huh?  And then there's the fact that I am decorating for two... only. lol (Who am I kidding:  One.)

Today a lovely friend stopped with a huge fall rose bouquet, some REAL Pumpkin Spice creamer (it is delicious!), some Italian cookies, and a ton of Pioneer Woman Autumn paper goods!  It was so sweet of her. Too chilly for her to tarry on my porch for a visit, but really a kind and thoughtful gesture.

I have plans for that apple cider!  Isn't this a pretty sight?  I love Beverage dispensers.  So far, not much need of one, but I have had a couple around here for a while. This one would be fun for water with fruit in it, too... 

Have you guys been prepping any for an if or when situation with the stores?  I am not getting political here, but just feel the indicators are out there we may have some items go missing for a while.  I am one of those types who prep in my mind but not in actuality, so I probably won't have much stockpiled in an emergency.  Last year I did happen to have a huge stash of toilet paper at just the right time. And this year I have bought all the sides that are stable for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  You might know I'd be ready to cook! 

I focus on the positive as much as possible. Would prefer we have some kind of backup heat source, but we really don't. I grew up with a fireplace, which is still here.  We need to get it checked out and probably reline the flue... And I've waited too long I think for this winter. Everything likes to cost a lot!  Right?  What do you all have?

So, here I sit with my phone by my side and a cuppa decaf with Pumpkin Creamer.  Not too shabby for a Thursday afternoon!

What's for supper?  I think we're having salads and chicken again.  That's a go-to with us.  However, my personal choice would be some fire roasted Hot Dogs and Sweet Potato fries. I am basically a 50's girl. My dad rigged up a hot dog cooker when I was little.  It set on a huge tripod, plugged in over the mantle, and rotated in the fire with prongs for six hot dogs...  I can still hear that motor whining and see his eyes shining.  He loved kinda techy things for his day. He called it the "Gayla Cooker."  I was little enough that I didn't mind one bit that my name was associated with some kind of fattening, unhealthy food!  lol...  

I made the journal as a birthday gift for the same friend who just brought me all these goodies.  And another dear one has given me this sign, which I LOVE!  (below)...  It will be going up soon, not to come down all year long...  The other three seasons will just have to suck it up! Ha ha! Take care and have a Lovely Sweet November...

Whimsy and Hugs!