A Quick Note from a Mildly~Distracted Blog Negleter

Dear blog,

I have missed you! Rest assured, I am doing well, but am, quite simply, spinning out of Thanksgiving and into Christmas - just as I felt I was settling into the fall schedules!!

It's been a good couple months, though. In October, I ran the color race with Benj - a new experience, and one I definitely hope to have again! Additionally, the month held hikes, cider pressing, and a trip into Portland to visit Powell's with two fellow book addicts, JT and Jacob!

November (Yikes! Can you believe it isn't November anymore? Scary...) marked the beginning of the craziness fun. Our annual Girls' Weekend to the beach was, once again, "the best ever" (how can that be true every year? But it is...). I am sorry I didn't bring you along, but Mikaela brought One Bright Corner, so you can catch up with her there. Suffice to say, stormy weather, Bleak House, tea by the kettle-full, shopping, laughing, crying, and studying the Bible together combined to define our four days, and brought us home encouraged and refreshed (if a little sleep-deprived)! Then, of course, there was Thanksgiving! Cousins, gingerbread houses, hikes...we are just coming out of a special weekend, and find ourselves in December! Yesterday afternoon we went tree-hunting, and now our garage smells like pine and our house resounds with Christmas music!

 

Which brings me to today, the first Monday in December. There's my symphony concert coming up, a studio recital & New Year's ball to plan, concerts and parties to attend, friends to see, Christmas shopping & wrapping to do, Christmas cookies to bake, Christmas letters to write, and a miraculous event that happened quietly and virtually unnoticed 2000 years ago to celebrate with every thought and deed.

It's going to be a good month.

Watch-It Wednesday: The Debate

And so the chaos begins - I love Thanksgiving! Mama's currently making her second "last trip" to the grocery store (the second of many, if history truly repeats itself) and we're madly writing lists for what needs to be done between now and 2pm tomorrow afternoon: cleaning the house in anticipation for my cousin's arrival (so jazzed about that! Most of us haven't seen him for a few years!!), decorating with our small assortment of Thanksgiving smiles, baking gingerbread for the houses we decorate Thanksgiving morning, and I -- I get to make the pies.

We like our pies, here. It is a great tradition to make far more pie than we could ever possibly eat after a full Thanksgiving meal, thus leaving the left-overs for breakfast the next morning (or next several mornings, as the case may be). Nonetheless, despite the delightfulness of my delectable job, Thanksgiving week always dawns with its fair share of controversy in the dessert department: traditional pumpkin pie, or southern sweet potato?

My daddy loves his pumpkin pie - the flavor, the tradition, the unquestionable "right-ness" of having pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. I mean, it's practically a rule, yes? As necessary to the Meal of Gratefulness as a turkey! Me? I can't handle pumpkin pie - never have been able to. Gracious, it's not the flavor! I love pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin lattes - but the thick-and-creamy texture of the pumpkin pie is too much of an overload for me, so I prefer the lighter (but similarly-flavored) sweet potato option.

Now, as I said, we like our pies - so we are fortunately saved from the awful fate of ending our discussion in fork-stabbing by the obvious solution of making both! However, inevitably, in the course of our traditional debate, the following song surfaces...for obvious reasons. {My mama was a Texan girl, and let me tell you - I like these good ol' country songs far more than the stuff being written today!).} Even the pumpkin-eaters can't help singing along!

Which do you prefer - pumpkin or sweet potato? Vote and let me know! Meanwhile, I'm off to make this year's six (6) pies of choice: sweet potato, pumpkin, pecan, peanut butter silk (a family tradition), apple, and sugar-free apple (for my grandma :). Happy Thanksgiving-Day preparations to you!

My Gratefulness List ([VERY] Shortnened)

Photo Credit

Blessings. They're overwhelming, aren't they? And when you take time to list them...a bubbly joy just fills your heart and brightens your disposition! In honor of Thanksgiving, here's a list of things that I've found to be grateful for in this last week alone:

~Skype and Vacation so I can stay up until 2am talking face-to-face with my dear friend in Africa

~The Bible God's side of our never-ending conversation with Him.

~Family Time like when we stay up late planning our crazy futures...if all ten kids have ten kids, mom and dad will have 100 grandkids. That's about one birthday every three days. We think we have their gifting game plan detailed down to the last birthday card, but I can't share it with you because we've copyrighted the procedure.

~Chocolate a girl's magic potion

~Music, Video Cameras, and Certain Special Friends can anyone spell "In the Hall of the Mountain King"? Whoops! Maybe I've said too much...

~Good Books the kind you could curl up and read over and over again

~Cozy Pillows 'cause I like to burrow down in a pile of cushy softness before drifting off to sleep

~Hot Mugs of Tea warm the fingers, warm the bones, warm the soul

~Good Friends who get up at 3:30 in the morning with Emmy and I to go Black Friday shopping

~Christmas Shopping doesn't hunting for and finding the perfect gifts for people just make your day?

~The People at the Lord's Gym Trevor, 'Grandma' Vi, Kelly, Patty, Tammy, Tara, Candelaria, Ken, Ona, Taylor, Gary, and several other dear ones... (including Baby Ruby, who we met tonight!)

~Telescope Eyes which help us keep our eyes on Eternity, even when everything about life "stranded in time" is going wrong

~C.S. Lewis Quotes need I say more?

~Red Robin's where Rachel and I enjoyed a fun "just-the-two-of-us" lunch this week

~Grandparents having them at our home, talking with them, laughing with them...

There now. That list makes me happy-skippy just to read through again. How very blessed I am!

Thanksgiving Traditions (Food)

At Bible study Sunday night, Mr. C asked everyone what he/she was most looking forward to about Thanksgiving. A great question but...the answer wasn't allowed to have anything to do with food.

WHAT??

Yes. You read that right.

The best thing about Thanksgiving, minus the food.

*ahem*

I mean, obviously my favorite thing about Thanksgiving isn't the food. Right?

But my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the traditions we have...and it just so happens that these traditions mostly revolve around...

*ahem*

...food.

You get my drift? Excellent. Moving on.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving! First on the to-do list was the decoration of gingerbread houses!

When we were younger, everyone got his own house. Now we're older - and we split 'em. Each "child" decorates one side - and we have heaps of fun! This is the one Meg and I made (my side, but the decor on the tippy-top is Megan's :) :

After the candy and "glue" is cleared away, it's time for the Middles and Littles to set the table while the food preparations take place. Don't forget Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim (our salt and pepper shakers)!

A few evenings ago, the family conversation was disturbed by some sort of argument taking place between James and Zachary. Due to some stellar interrogation skills (honed and perfected by mama), we discovered the cause: Zach was trying to make "Mr. and Mrs. Pepper" kiss. "But mom," Zach explained with giggles, "They're both too fat - it doesn't work!" (For those of you now concerned for poor Mr. and Mrs. P's relationship, mama discreetly investigated this report after the matter was calmed, and found that it was actually quite possible for the two to kiss, despite their stoutness).

Dinner was delicious, the main course being, of course, Bob the Turkey:

Why is his name Bob? you ask,

Well, it all began many years ago...

..but that's a story for another post. For the past two years, mama has brined the turkey two days before Thanksgiving in an Apple Cider Brine. The result is the most savory, juicy, flavorful turkey you've ever eaten. Practically melts in your mouth. "I am never cooking another turkey ever again!" Grandma exclaimed, as she sampled mama's masterpiece, "Why not?" we all asked, rather dismayed. "Because if I ever want turkey, I'm just going to have you make it for me!"

Other "traditions" in the meal department included mashed potatoes:

This year, on a whim, I added lemon juice and rosemary to the potatoes. I really like having the extra bit of tangy-ness...and I didn't hear any complaints! :)

And sparkling apple cider is a must-have at our holiday meals!

In addition, there was an ah-maz-ing artichoke dish and jello that Grandma made, "Felicity" green beans (cooked in butter, milk, and salt), Maple-Glazed Parsnips and Carrots, homemade whole wheat rolls, and two other dishes I don't particularly care for (dressing and cranberry sauce). Actually, I do like dressings, so long as you hold the croutons. (Mama informs me that it isn't really dressing without the croutons, but...)

The spread:

The gang (no one pays attention to cameras anymore! :)

After dinner, Grandpa pulled out his computer and showed us pictures of his and Grandma's recent European Tour (visit Papa's blog to see some of them!). Then, it was time for pie and coffee!

Emily made Nantucket Cranberry Pie, (left), Papa made an apple pie (center), and I made our "we-have-it-every-Thanksgiving" Peanut Butter Silk Cream Pie (hmm...could you have guessed which was mine by the "decorating"? :)

A slice of each, if you please! :)

It was a good Thanksgiving. I love that, as a nation, we have a day set aside each year to count our blessings. How was your Thanksgiving?