'Tis the Season

Well, holiday baking and decorating is afoot. Even Callie has her own Santa bowls (even if they are the same all year round with the Santa face to the wall!!!

I awoke to the sight of some eyes staring down at me...

So luckily I ducked under the cover as she pounced down on the bed.

Our tree is a peppermint Christmas this year. I decided to go with a change from long-time favorite ornaments. I used both red and white lights on our buttercream tree...

Mr. Owl and Mr. Cardinal flew in from Jo-Ann's Fabric.com.... And the whimsical ribbons. 

I am doing a simple Christmas this year I think...  

I went for a little breakfast in bed this morning...  Toast and peanut butter and honey with Cranberry hibiscus tea...  Then I got busy creating lunch for a couple of hungry guys! Homey comfort foods sounded good today: Polish kielbasa with cabbage and corn chowder made with the corn I put in the freezer the first day of Summer from my sister/cousin's garden. It was a hit!

I love to freeze or preserve garden for us on upcoming holidays so I write myself little notes as I put them away in the summer.

On Thanksgiving we had lasagna. Just a rebel this year...  but we had the corn I had planned. 

Below are a series of pancakes, my attempt at pancake turkeys on Thanksgiving. Mom was a pretty good batter artist, always pouring up a cat or ghost when we had guests. I did not appear to inherit that talent!!!

I saved the best for first although it looks more like a duckie...

My son made a crack about this being a different kind of bird. I got the joke hours later!

I have no idea...

 Loch Ness Pancake...

Enjoy the final days of November. I will be back...

The Party

A "few" years ago in the small town of Bevier, MO, a young girl of 16 awoke on the morning of her 16th birthday. This beautiful teen was excited to go to school and then end the day with her first big party, a Sweet Sixteen party at her home. The plans were made; the refreshments planned. It was to be a true celebration, not the usual "cupcakes for the class" she had experienced for her earlier birthdays.  Well, enter a series of unfortunate events, and her dreams for a party were banished. First, the date was November 22, 1963. For any of you history buffs, yes..  on that date in Dallas, Texas, our President was assassinated. John F. Kennedy died while this young lady was at school. Then on a much more personal tragic level, her own grandfather passed away that day, as well. Needless to say, the family cancelled party plans, and that birthday was memorable, but just not in the hoped-for way.

Fast forward through the years as this girl, Patty, had many private celebrations of her special day... but still no grand, planned event...  UNTIL SATURDAY NIGHT!!!

Oh, my goodness! We were invited to an Italian-themed birthday party to celebrate Patty's 70th birthday, and her welcome said it all, "This party is dedicated to my high school classmates and to my family and friends," she said. "It has been 54 years in the making!"  Let me say I would need all 54 years to get such an event organized, cooked-for, and decorated. 

My son took me and stayed the evening in the celebratory vintage building, bedecked with Italian colors, delightful streamers, and absolutely delicious and beautiful food. The place was full of laughter, friends, DJ sixties and newer music, played by one of her former classmates, and an array of Italian foods.

The table of cheesecakes, cupcakes, and bread pudding was stunning.

It is difficult to say exactly how many yummy pizzas they cut and served. She also sent home some pizza with a lot of friends and family.

Whimsy and Hugs!

Turkey Flew the Coop

Good Morning! Sunshine today and lovely cooking going on for an early version of Thanksgiving here. My extremely small group of four suddenly turned into the regular delight of my son and a friend who often comes on Sunday, so my still rock-solid frozen turkey jumped back into the freezer for Christmas or later in the season. Today will be all the delicious sides I had planned to make and a roaster chicken.

I made a craft this year for a few of my friends and family who regularly host holidays. I thought of my dad's assessment of his daughter. Mom reported to me that he'd come home to her and announced I was  "Sitting on top of a mess with a hot glue gun and some craft."  Oh, that's so me. I do love to make things with felt and stitching or hot glue, with paper and all the magical accouterments of paper craft...  But oh, honey....  I DO have a MOUNTAIN of mess...

We have a cat-sanctioned addition to the living room. I found a couple of dark green and cranberry or eggplant couches on Swap Shop. Callie approves 100 percent.

If I weren't cooking today, it would be a beautiful day to visit the lake. Although the trees didn't  get long to flaunt their glory, they were beautiful.

Antique turkeys take their turn in the "sun."  I have always seen these on or around my Thanksgiving table.

Happy Thanksgiving Week. Thursday will hopefully find me with hot, homamade lasagna and Hallmark Christmas movies for a part of the day. I'm making lunch for my son, but we may eat it late because he has other places to go first...  Have a blessed and beautiful Thanksgiving with your family, friends, or your precious self...




Whimsy and Hugs!

Sweet November

Halloween has passed, and we are WELL into the month of clouds and winds, chill and coziness inside. I adore November with all the bluster and disagreeable weather. I thought I would share the photos of a Trunk or Treat my son and I attended at his work. 

We joined other cars with open trunks circled around a parking lot. They had games and hot dogs and popcorn, punch, and general harvest fun...  People obviously decorated Pinterest-style!! I will show you the rest of our caravan. 

I warn you. What you see next is our version... Our trunk is NOT all pumpkins and light. It is not inspired by Pinterest... I left my son in charge with the missive to grab something fun, cheap, and easy for decorations at the Dollar Tree. I should have known his version of  "fun" would be scary! Anyway, the price was right, and these skeletal guys were a hit. As for easy....  Voila!  We had several "brave" fraidy cat boys about six or less years old who revisited our trunk about five times. Each time, they  looked at me shivering there beside the car (It was the night the temperature dipped to 28 degrees, but it was about 40 in the sunset that evening)--  "Would you hold the monster back there in the center?" one Batman wannabe kept saying. Another little Iron Man could only look at me with his huge brown eyes and ask me to.... nothing.  He couldn't speak, just revolved a little wet finger he had stuffed in his mouth--  That meant to turn the big monster ghoul around to face the back of the trunk. One brave girl begged and received a skeleton of her own, as well as her candy. 

So here we are at our Castle Skeletor~Grayskull....  with spider perched ready to pounce. 

We actually had a couple skeleton garlands to cut apart and tie up our treat sacks at home. We had only four little "trick-or-treaters" here. 

They loved the skeletons more than the candy...   I guess the rest of the families who used to visit have all grown up. Last year I think a lot of them came to say hello and thank you to Mama, who had been their go-to for a lifetime. I will have to build up my clientele! I was glad to welcome the ones we had... and I really loved the Trunk or Treat experience.  I have long been the one who declared NO SKELETONS...  but I guess I "ate" my words this year...  That treat can't go to waste, can it? 

The Great Pumpkin appeared to help me cook breakfast on Halloween for my son! As I see it right now, that gal looks a lot like I do early in the morning...  Diet Coke and all! 

Thanks for being so brave to visit today! I will return soon with a sweet update on my home progress...  (what there is of it!)