Thanksgiving 2023

I've been so behind this week in my blogging. I have a final coming up this next week and we have had so many things going on! I wanted to finish this post -- I loaded the pictures days ago and they aren't in the correct order.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Mark's mom's house, just as we've always done (except for a couple of years). This year, we had lots of younger adults and we enjoyed being with them so much. I love the picture below. They are playing "Go Fish" with poker cards. We have our granddaughter, who is 7 1/2. Her daddy is 37. Our nephew who is 27 and his first cousin (not related to us) who is 23.

Here is another shot of them card playing group.

One of our family traditions is to play croquet on Mark's momma's lawn. Here are the players this year who range from 7 1/2 to 70.

Here is my mother-in-law who is 98 and one of my sister-in-laws.

Lots of cheating goes on in this game and lots of denying.

Mark's momma has the perfect front yard for croquet.

Here is my plate. I tried to get really small servings of everything BUT the dressing and gravy.

Here is our daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Our granddaughter wasn't sure about the gravy so she asked for it on the side! I would like a bowl of gravy, please.

A different group of card players - Uncle Bob and her mother were playing with her.

Mark and Glenn were carving the turkeys that Susie (sister-in-law) smoked!

I know I'm partial but I think she is so cute!

Here is one of those glorious birds. 

One of my contributions was the relish tray. I thought I made a pretty one!!

I wrote about my brother-in-law who has Parkinson's and was diagnosed with cancer.

He wasn't expected to live and look at him . . .playing

croquet and laughing and having fun!

I actually got choked up watching him play!

Here is another picture of my sweet mother-in-law.

I wish she still had her memory.

Here is another action shot of Mark!

This is the kid's table with Mark hahaha! Our oldest nephew

brought his girlfriend for the first time. I think

they are probably serious! We really liked her.

Here we are in the dining room. Grandmother (Mark's mom)

thought she cooked it all . . . .I think it is

funny that the kid's table had no kids.

She sat with us.

Here she is with Uncle Bob.

We had a good day - earlier this year, we didn't think Mark's mom nor brother-in-law, Bill, would be with us for the holidays but they were!

We have much for which to be thankful!

Sunday Stealing

I'm joining up with Sunday Stealing today: 

1. How long was your last phone conversation? It was with my sister and it was the length of my morning commute. I talk with her most days during that time. Time would be 15-25 minutes --depending on traffic. My longest phone call recently was with Pottery Barn and it was 43 minutes. All is well that ends well and this did end well . . .but at the time I was not happy.

2. Have you ever dyed your hair? I have never personally dyed it BUT I go to the salon every five weeks and someone else covers those crazy roots!

3. What do you have on your feet? Vionic flip flops . . .they serve the purpose of slippers.

4. Do people ever mispronounce your name? Lisa would be hard to mispronounce.

5. Where did you get the shirt you are wearing? I'm still in my nightshirt which I think came from Walmart and a sweatshirt jacket which came from Academy. It is very early in the morning.

6. Does any part of your body hurt right now? I got a shot on Friday -- my RSV vaccination and my arm is sore. Most days some joint or another hurts. 

7. Do you drink hard liquor? I'm not a huge drinker but I do have 3 or 4 drinks a month. I love Grey Goose Vodka.

8. Have you ever read a book in one sitting? I'm sure I have but I don't remember which book(s). I love to read and there have been times where my goal was to read a book a day.

9. Do you like cats?  Why or why not? We have a cat - Harvey - who is a big boy!! He is having some emotional/mental issues right now due to the fire, the loud apartment we lived in, and now loud noises. I love him a lot but there have been some days when I have not been pleased with him.

10. Do you like the ocean? I love the Gulf of Mexico. I've seen the Atlantic and the Pacific and the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea. I love the water - the sound, the smells, the way the air feels. 

11. Ever think you might have seen a UFO? I don't think so.

12. Do you type fast? I type very quickly.

13. How long are you usually in the shower for? Probably 10 minutes . . .maybe 15.

14. Chinese food or Mexican food? Both, please, though not at the same time. I really enjoy both.

15. Do you read and believe your horoscope? I'm a Gemini and I have read it for fun in the past. . . back in the days when we received an actual newspaper. It has been years since I read it.

This and That about Thanksgiving

Since there are no Hodgepodge Questions this week, I went on a search for some Thanksgiving prompts and found these on slideswith.com - Icebreaker Questions. We ask an ice breaker question every single Tuesday night with our Young Adults. Please feel free to copy and paste into your own blog or just answer some in the comments! 

1. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving pie? I don't eat sweets but if I did, it would be either German Chocolate Pie or Pecan Pie. My mom made a Chocolate Pie when I was growing up that I loved, too. I am in charge of Pumpkin Pie and German Chocolate Pie for Thursday. I baked yesterday. On the Pumpkin can, there was a tiny footnote, "For Bourbon Pumpkin Pie, add 2 T Bourbon with milk." I made one of those, too. I had more filling than I had pie crust so I just used a pie pan for the overflow of German Chocolate Pie . . .I may have added Bourbon to it, too (the overflow pies . . .not the ones to be served to everyone)

2. If you had to pick between being at the Thanksgiving parade or the Thanksgiving football game, which would you pick? Why? That is a tough question because I love a good parade and have always wanted to go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I love a good football game, too. Maybe I could do both! I would enjoy because I love the half-time shows plus I love to people watch.

3. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? One year, I made a cute Thanksgiving tree with tags for everyone to write their "things for which I'm thankful." Everyone sort of did it . . .but it didn't become a tradition. For all but 1 or 2 years since we've been married, we've celebrated Thanksgiving around Mark's mom's table and we will be doing that again this year. She is no longer able to cook or plan a menu BUT we are doing all of that . . .and she will think she has done it as she proudly sits at the head of her dining room table.

4. Do you think marathons (or any physical activities) are acceptable Thanksgiving Day activities? Why or why not? We have lots of Turkey Trots around here and I know there is one on Thanksgiving Day. I won't be running in it, but I will ride my stationary bike that morning to burn off (in advance :-)) some of those calories. We all need to exercise!

5. Who here has participated in Black Friday shopping? Share your craziest story. I have participated a couple of times but it isn't my favorite thing to do. Mark used to leave to go hunting right after we finished Thanksgiving dinner. One year, the kids and I spent the night at his mom's house so that I could hit the toy store before daylight on Friday. Mark's mom had a list and I had a list. The agreement was that I would leave the kids asleep at her house with her while I shopped for both of us. She wanted several Simon musical games - I think for the neighbor's kids. I was in a toy store in the mall and I remember grabbing everything I needed very quickly (I had a plan!) and going to get in line. The store had only been open a few minutes and evidently . . . everyone else had the same plan because the line went up and down every aisle of the store. I was shocked! I don't remember how long it took but the "standing in the check-out line" portion of the morning took far longer than the shopping.

6. Which is the better flavor: Pumpkin spice or caramel apple? I love pumpkin spice. When I was baking pies yesterday, my house smelled so good!!

7. If you were tasked with recreating Thanksgiving, what foods would you add and what would you take away? I would take away the canned cranberry sauce. I would add extra dressing and gravy :-).

8. What is the worst Thanksgiving food you’ve ever had? My mom died on November 19 -- 50 years ago this year. Some sweet friends brought Thanksgiving left-overs to us, because that year like this year, was Thanksgiving week. The dressing had a "tin" taste . . .and I think we felt really yucky after we ate it. They were so kind to bring it to us.

9. What’s the best Thanksgiving food you’ve ever had? You are going to catch on if you haven't already. My choice is dressing and gravy. We are talking cornbread dressing, not stuffing. My sister-in-law makes a sweet potato casserole that everyone loves. We also have a recipe for a Cranberry Apple Casserole which we serve as a side dish BUT it should really be a dessert.

10. Which TV show had the best Thanksgiving episode? I actually pulled up an old Thanksgiving episode of The Big Bang Theory this morning. I loved that series!!

11. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving memory? This is not your traditional favorite Thanksgiving memory. One of my former co-workers had a story about when her husband was in the military and she was living in base housing. She and another young mother went together to purchase turkeys from a turkey farm. The turkeys were still alive when they got to the turkey farm and they had to cram them into her trunk which was filled with turkey poop by the time they got home. They had to kill those turkeys and pluck them and she had to use the bathtub for some of this. She told the story really well!! We would get her to tell it every year at work and I would laugh every time as if it were the first time I heard it. I'm chuckling as I type!

12. Who has the worst job: Those cooking the Thanksgiving meal or those cleaning up after it? Which would you prefer? We actually asked this as our ice breaker question last week but we asked only the second portion. I was surprised that there were a lot of folks who said they would rather clean up! I would rather cook.

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.