Sunday Stealing

 I'm joining up with Sunday Stealing. Bev stole these questions from League of Extraordinary Penpals.

1. People I'd like to thank and why - oh my goodness! That list would be so long. I would like to thank my parents. I would like to thank Inez Lane and some of the other ladies in the church where I grew up. I would like to thank Charlotte and Ronnie and Linda and Jimmie and Carol and Clayton. I would like to thank Mr. Onimus who taught me so much but was such a crazy person. I would like to thank Mel. He was so good to me. I would like to thank Becky. She put up with and puts up with so much. I would like to thank Phella and Laura and Marietta and Terrie and Linda and Kevin and the list would go on and on. I would like to thank Brian who has taught me so much and helped me learn about grace. I would like to thank Mark who has put up with me for 39 years and my mother-in-law for teaching me how to cook and for being such a good role model. I would like to thank our kids and in-laws for being who they are and for producing such wonderful granddaughters. That is just a tiny list. There are so many more. I would like to thank the Hoover firefighters for coming to fight our house fire and for all of our neighbors and their patience and for all of those folks who sent money and gift cards and drove me around town. I imagine if I continued to work at this list, it could be pages and pages of people I would thank.

2. Something I rebelled against as a kid. I was a straight A kid whose main infraction was talking too much in class because I finished my work quickly and then wanted to talk. Then my mom died when I was a Sophomore in high school and I rebelled against everything for several years. I did everything I was taught not to do. It is amazing I'm still here and that I grew up into a fairly decent person :-). 

3. What I need to accomplish before the end of the year: I need to purchase Christmas presents. I need to host supper club at our house. I need to help put together gift baskets for some folks coming to meetings at work. I have a quiz and a final. The list goes on.

4. Guilty pleasures right now: Sugar free fudgesicles don't sound like a guilty pleasure but that is all I can think of . . .

5. Local landmarks: Vulcan, Moss Rock Preserve

6. Cause or purpose I deeply believe in: I believe in God and try to love ALL people.

7. Things I never learned to do: I've never been snow skiing.

8. Seasonal traditions I’m always excited for: I am looking forward to Thanksgiving food and time with family. 

9. Something I’d like to be mentored on: I'm always asking for advice on politically correct terms . . .could someone mentor me?

10. Exotic animals I wish I could keep as pets: I would love a big cat or two.

11. Something normal to me, that might be odd to others: Twin toes. Webbed toes. These toes are genetic through my husband's side of the family. Many of them have those toes including one of our twins.

12. The last book I quit reading and why: I thought I was going to have stop listening to Demon Copperhead. It was so darkly depressing. I'm glad I stuck with it.

13. Right now, I appreciate...the lovely weather we've had yesterday and today. We've had our door open to the screen porch.

14. When “the holiday season” starts for me: I laughingly told someone it starts at Labor Day. I feel like we are on a downhill slide all the way to Christmas. I guess the holidays actually start at Halloween since Halloween is such a big deal in our neighborhood. On November 1, I move into Thanksgiving season. We pause for mid November birthday celebrations and then on the day after Thanksgiving, I start thinking about Christmas.

15. Holiday foods and treats I love the most: Dressing and gravy. You might call it stuffing. We make cornbread dressing - you make cornbread and then crumble it with all sorts of other goodies and add some eggs and broth and bake it in muffin tins or in a 9 X 13 pan. Serve with gravy.

16. “Terrible” movies that I actually like - we don't watch that many movies but I do love Christmas Vacation and Four Christmases. We will watch both of those during December. I'm sure those qualify as "terrible" movies to someone out there. Mark was quoting Four Christmases the other night, "You can't spell families without lies."

17. Cooking all day for holiday dinner vs. ordering carry-out: My sisters-in-law and I divided up most of the food for Thursday. Our son is making one side so none of us will be cooking ALL day . . .just part of some days. I'm going to have to finish my cooking by noon on Wednesday because I have an all afternoon doctor's appointment. Since I'm changing ENT's, I have to be re-tested . . . that involves a lot of needle sticks on my back.

 

18. If I were trapped in a holiday movie, I’d pick...

 

19. Which holiday tradition I wish lasted all year long

 

20. Favorite books, music, tv, movies and music this month

 

 

 

Happy Birthday!

Our daughter-in-law and our kids all have November birthdays. We gathered at our house between the two birthdates for a family dinner.

We also had a friend come over to take our family photo for our Christmas card. 

The girls and I took some time to color Thanksgiving placemats.

It was a rainy and slightly cool day so we had a fire in the fireplace.

The girls and Pops played with Barbies.

I had purchased sunglasses/crowns for the three birthday folks but the girls took them immediately.

I did manage to get one photo of Glenn and Lauren with theirs on.

There were lots of folks blowing out the candles.

Yes, there is a male Barbie on the table.

His name is brother.

On Sunday, we gathered at Mark's mother's house after church for a family lunch. We were having a tea party and a bunny was serving us.

 It was a great weekend filled with time with family!

Cakes and Charcuterie and Food, Oh My!

My mother-in-law, now 98 years old, was an incredible baker. She was a wonderful cook and prepared Sunday lunch for all of us until she broke her hip in 2021. She was beginning to forget things at that point and so her skills weren't as good as they had been . . .but she was still amazing.

I didn't know how to bake from "scratch" when I married into the family. My mother-in-law shared her recipes with me.

A family favorite is her homemade German Chocolate Cake.

When she made it, she put the chocolate icing all over the whole cake with the filling only between

the layers. My daughter-in-law and I both love the filling.

I made the cake for her birthday earlier this month and I doubled the filling recipe.

It is a three layer cake.

It has lots of pecans which we love! It has

lots of eggs AND I used a lot of dishes.

Here is the finished cake. I used the fudge icing on the sides. I used a lot of filling between the layers and I used the filling on top.

It was the first cake that I've baked in the new Wolf Oven! I'm still having to learn how it cooks.

We went to our regular supper club. We've been together since 2004. I made a charcuterie board. The host/hostess is in charge of the main course and each couple signs up for one of the other components. I signed up for the appetizer obviously. The hostess made a shrimp/corn chowder that was so good and so filling.

We celebrated the three November birthdays (daughter-in-law, son, and daughter) a week ago and I made Sweet Potato Casserole using my sister-in-law's recipe. I doubled the recipe. I baked a plain sweet potato for me because there is so much sugar in this yummy recipe. My family loves it.

Mark and Glenn grilled the steaks and I made the sides. I roasted asparagus and heated up  Lesueur Peas because my son-in-law likes them.

For dessert, I made a pumpkin roll.

It turned out beautifully.

We served it with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Last weekend involved lots of eating! On Sunday night, we went to our neighborhood supper club. The hostess cooked pork tenderloin. She is 84 years old and was such a sweet hostess. One person brought two sides - roasted brussels sprouts and carrots WRAPPED IN BACON. Yes, I meant to use all caps. Another person sent her fall salad which was yummy. She and her husband were unable to attend because her sister was very sick and they were driving to check on her. I need to text and see if she is ok. I took the appetizer which was Club Crackers WRAPPED IN BACON. I then sprinkled a little brown sugar on each one and a tiny sprinkle of red pepper. You bake them on a rack. They are yummy but they do not look pretty.

What have you been cooking lately?

 

It Is What Day Hodgepodge?

I'm joining up with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond for the weekly Hodgepodge. Who knew there were so many days designated for so many things?? 

1. This week's Hodgepodge lands on National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. Is yours in need of a cleaning? Will you get that done today? How often do you tackle this particular chore? Yes! My refrigerator is in desperate need of a good cleaning. I won't be doing it today but I will hopefully clean it over the long Thanksgiving weekend!! I clean out food at least once a week but I only give it a wipe out a few times a year. Let me clarify - if we spill something in the fridge, I clean it up then. Otherwise, two to three times a year. My favorite fridge cleaning story is from August of 2005. Our daughter was at Auburn for the beginning of her Freshman year of college and was participating in Sorority Rush. She actually experienced a very good week and ended up in a good sorority BUT one night she called all upset about something. Just FYI - after she told me all about it, she slept soundly BUT I DIDN'T. I literally cleaned out our refrigerator and freezer in the middle of the night.

2. November 15th is also National Philanthropy Day...tell us about a charity (local or otherwise) you like to support when you're able.  I've mentioned The Hub before -- it is our "ministry hub" for our church. We have all sorts of ministries including ESOL classes for people from all over the world and a food pantry which feeds about 400 families a week. We also partner with Homewood Helps to build beds for kids in the community who have no bed; we make backpack bags every week for those in our school system who have food insecurity; we have a store with clothing (for free); we are having a Christmas store where families can shop for their children (free). I wish I could help in more ways but since I'm working full time, I bought presents for the Christmas store from our Amazon wishlist. Mark, on the other hand, is retired and he works on Mondays and Tuesdays. He has a pick up truck which he drives to a particular Publix and picks up their give aways. He also picks up at a Dollar General and he does a big pick up at the Food Bank. He helps sort the food. He loves the camaraderie and has gotten to know so many people.

Another charity that I have supported over the years is Heifer International. I've also helped build several Habitat for Humanity houses.

3.What in nature inspires you and why? For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth, over and around us lies . . .that line from a hymn just popped into my head so I guess that is what inspires me!

4. What's something you own that makes you feel cozy? Hoodies! I love hoodies!! 

5. Who did you thank today? Who thanked you? I thanked two of our maintenance staff at church on Tuesday and told them that they were doing a great job and I really appreciated them. My boss thanked me yesterday (it is 5:30 in the morning . . .I have only grunted . . .I haven't talked yet). Some of the young adults thanked me last night for the dinner.

6. Insert your own random thought here. It is way too early in the morning for random thoughts ;-). Actually, my allergy doctor is retiring so I'm headed to see the doctor that did my sinus surgery in 2022 to see if he can take over my allergy care. I hate changing doctors of any kind.

Photos from my phone

I loaded these pictures at least a week ago so I decided to do a quick post. I actually have a lot more photos that I need to load and document just so I can remember!!

Hannah, on the right, has helped me on Halloween night for several years. We have so many trick or treaters that we set up outside because there is no time to go in and sit down between groups. I bought 1330 pieces of candy plus 400 fireballs (to go along with the theme). I pulled out about ten packs of peanut M&M's for Mark. The first 400 got a chocolate and a fire ball (if they weren't a toddler). from 7:55 to 8:20 or so, we gave out two pieces of candy. We had at least 1,000 trick or treaters - maybe more.

Lindsay, also in our Tuesday night group, came this year to help. Mark doesn't enjoy sitting out there but I love Halloween. Hannah loves Disney princesses and she dresses up as one every year. She teaches high school Spanish and we have lots of Latino/Hispanic/Mexican/Columbian trick or treaters so she can speak with them.

Lindsay was dressed as a woodland fairy (I think). Of course, we had record warm days prior to Halloween and then it was so cold and windy that night!!

I really appreciate them and so enjoyed spending almost 3 hours together.

There were people everywhere. It feels like we are in the middle of a movie!

On Friday following Halloween, Mark and I went

to an 84th birthday party for our friend who

is now living in skilled nursing due to

Parkinson's and his fall risks.

Fairhaven is a local Retirement Home

along with skilled nursing and more.

They had the nicest room for the party!

Mark is sitting beside Stephen.

One of our retired pastors is behind Mark.

Stephen's girlfriend, Lynne, is behind

him and Jamie is beside her. Small

world - Jamie is next door neighbors

to Mark's twin brother!

More people came but I

failed to get anymore pictures!

 

Sunday Stealing All about Food

I'm linking up with Bev for Sunday Stealing - (She doesn't remember where she stole these questions)

 

1. If you were a vegetable, which one would you be, and would you ever let yourself be smothered in cheese? I think I would be asparagus – tall and slender!! I’ve never smothered asparagus with cheese but I do think a sprinkling of Parmesan would be good!!

 

2. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be, and how long do you think it would take before you got sick of it? I go back and forth between a protein and potatoes. You can cook potatoes in so many ways – I would probably weigh a million pounds though.

 

3. Would you rather have fingers made of licorice or spaghetti noodles for hair? I think I’ll go with spaghetti noodles for hair!

 

4. What's the most unusual pizza topping combination you can think of that might actually taste surprisingly good? There is a local upscale pizza restaurant and they serve a Chilton County peach and Conecuh Sausage pizza – it is divine!!

 

5. If you were an ice cream flavor, what would be your name, and what would the ingredients be? It would need to be something NUTTY!! I would love to have a sugar free ice cream with chocolate and peanut butter and peanuts.

 

6. If you could make a smoothie out of any three foods, which ones would you choose, and what would you name your concoction? I think I would enjoy a strawberry, banana, and blueberry smoothie. How about naming it the Monkey Berry Smoothie.

 

7. What's the funniest thing you've ever seen someone do with food? Have you ever seen Gallagher? Way back when Mark and I were dating and then newlyweds, we saw him in “concert” a couple of times. He would use a watermelon and everyone on the first few rows were given plastic to cover up!

 

8. If your favorite food could talk, what do you think it would say about you? She sure does love me!

 

9. If you were a chef, what outrageous names would you give to your dishes to make them more interesting? I’m answering these questions on Saturday night after preparing dinner for our kids to celebrate birthdays. My brain won’t come up with anything creative.

 

10. If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be, and what food do you think they'd be surprised to see on the menu? I am having the hardest time with these questions tonight! I think I would like to have dinner with the Apostle Paul or maybe a Roman Gladiator or maybe a really smart woman from way back when. I wonder if I served cow’s milk if they would be surprised?

 

11. What's the weirdest or grossest thing you've ever eaten just to impress someone else? I’ve eaten exactly one raw oyster on a saltine cracker with cocktail sauce . . . to impress a guy.

 

12. If breakfast cereals were characters in a TV show, which cereal would be the comedic sidekick, and which one would be the evil villain? The comedic sidekick would be Lucky Charms and he/she would roll their r’s and the evil villain would be Cap’n Crunch.

 

13. If you could turn one vegetable into a superpower, which one would it be, and what could you do with it? Let’s see . . .how about super carrots and they could give you amazing vision to see all sorts of things.

 

14. What do you think aliens would say about our strange Earth foods if they came to visit? They would probably like our food – it is good!

 

15. If foods had personalities, which two foods would make the weirdest couple, and why? I am failing miserably at these questions . . .how about a short and round beet with a tall skinny carrot?? Would their babies be carobees? 

Ten Things I Love About Thanksgiving

Our writing prompt from Marsha in the Middle is to write 10 things we love about Thanksgiving so here I go! Please feel free to write your own blog post and share your favorite 10 or please feel free to comment!

1. I love Thanksgiving food. Our family Thanksgiving sidedish menu varies slightly each year but the main things are the main things. We always have turkey, dressing, and gravy. I can take or leave the turkey but I LOVE dressing and gravy! I have thought long and hard over the years about simply serving my plate with JUST dressing and gravy. We don't do giblet gravy but a light brown turkey gravy. Could I drink it straight from the gravy boat? Please? I know I can't!

2. I should be giving thanks all of the time. I am grateful all of the time! On Thanksgiving I feel like my mind slows down enough to truly give thanks for ALL of the blessings in our lives. I like that good feeling of giving thanks.

3. Thanksgiving is a holiday that requires NO presents! We get together as a family. We laugh and talk. The only stress is purchasing and cooking the food. I love giving presents and I somewhat like receiving presents but it is nice to have a holiday that doesn't require presents. Make sense?

4. I enjoy being with our family and sometimes a few friends on Thanksgiving day. There is just something special about sitting around a table breaking bread with people you love.

family and friends at our
house a few years ago

5. I love the leaves that have fallen by Thanksgiving. I love that crunch when you step on them and how you can kick your feet and make little leaf storms.

6. I love the pre-meal drink we often serve. My mother-in-law is a tee totaler so no alcohol at her house but we mix cranberry juice and gingerale together and it looks and tastes festive. Just FYI, I think it would be good with the addition of Vodka.

7. I love the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I love to turn it on and watch it while I cook! I really love the Snoopy balloon!

8. I love that the day after Thanksgiving is coming and I will put away my Thanksgiving decorations and start thinking about Christmas. I know many of you have probably already decorated for Christmas but I like to wait. I like to give Thanksgiving the respect it deserves.

9. I love Thanksgiving leftovers. Back to food - sorry! I don't know if it will work this year because of the need to feed Mark's mom's caregivers, etc. In the past, we pack up all of the leftovers into the fridge and no one touches them until after church on Sunday. We reheat everything and it tastes even better for Sunday after church lunch.

10. I love Thanksgiving decorations. I have several sets of pilgrims. I have some turkeys. I have fall leaves. I LOVE Thanksgiving decorations. This is our house pre-fire. The dining room looks very different now.