Getting Ready

We have rolls!  They came out of the oven just before another of Abigail's cheesecakes got put into our oven.  The other cooking that I plan to do today is to put together the pie crust dough and wrap each on in individual discs in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator until I am ready to make pies on Wednesday.  I haven't made them ahead before, but from what I read it should work.  The shortening and butter is all measured out and in the freezer...another suggestion that one recipe suggests.  I am also going to make the pastry in the food processor...not something that I usually do, but considering that I am making five pies, it seems that it "should" be faster.  Now we will see if I am happy with the resulting product!  Won't know till we cut into them on Thursday...and take that first taste!  I do know that the rolls are good.  I did sample one to "make sure" they were good!

Woody visited with a widow in his Deacon family today and took her some church literature.  Then later in the afternoon he took his friend to run an errand.  He got home in time to eat some supper and then head to Monday Night Furnace Room Prayer Meeting.  He is home and we are settled in for a quiet evening.  Right now he is reading.  I guess I am gong to get the cheesecake out of the oven and then se about putting these pie crust ingredients together.  'Tis the season!

And, What Does Your Preacher Do On Saturday Afternoon?

Our preacher is the one with the chain saw!  He had told Nathan and Kathy that when the tree came down that they wanted to cut it up for wood.  Just moments after it fell last night, Kathy texted him that his fire wood was laying in the front yard and across the road.  He and several of his children (he has six) came over this afternoon.  In this picture our grandson Graham is in between the preacher's twin boys.  Though it looks like the boys weren't working they had been and did soon after this picture.  The older boys took turns with an ax splitting the logs into pieces and then they and some of the younger children loaded up the back of the pastor's pickup.  It was an all afternoon job and I think that there is a bit more for them to come back to load up.  You can see how hollow most of the tree trunk was.  They definitely got some good fire work from their efforts and helped out our neighbors to boot!  

I was in the living room working on tomorrow's Sunday School lesson when I realized that I was hearing a chain saw and figured out that probably work on chopping up the tree had begun.  So I got a little distracted from my task since I "needed" to go out and snap a couple of photos!  I did eventually get back to the lesson and I guess I have the lesson pulled together.

I have also cooked today...both for current meals and for Thanksgiving.  Today I made the fresh cranberry-apple relish for Thanksgiving.  It needs to sit and let flavors meld so it is a good one to do well ahead.  I had planned to dry and cube the bread today, but decided that job could wait till tomorrow.  The loaves of bread turned out really well...so pretty.  Woody had a sandwich using slices from one of the loaves.  I don't need both loaves for the dressing so thought that he might enjoy a couple of slices for a chicken sandwich.  Yesterday I stewed a chicken and sliced part of it for sandwiches for Woody.  I also made more chicken stock (liquid gold).  I ended up using a lot of that stock this morning when I made Woody a chicken and rice casserole.  It is one that I make homemade cream of celery soup for...so that is an extra step.  It took a while to make, but Woody enjoyed it and there is enough for another meal or two.  The dishwasher is running, but I still have quite a few more dishes to do that didn't fit in the dishwasher.  I may hand wash them or may just empty the dishwasher when it is done and reload the ones sitting next to the sink!  My energy level is sinking at this time of the day!

Woody made his usual weekly trip to the public library this morning.  He has stayed in the rest of the day and that is probably just as well as temperatures have been going down and the winds have picked up.  It was much colder than I expected when I went out to take the pictures of the work on the tree.  We are all battened down for the evening...which for us means that all the curtains and shades are closed.  We are enjoying the new shades.  They do help keep the house warmer when they are down.  

Woody is reading.  I may read or "might" sew after I get through in the kitchen. I still have quite a bit of Christmas sewing to do (ornaments), but like I said...my battery is running down!  Just sitting sounds like a pretty good activity at the moment.

Excitement at the Neighbors!

A couple of hours ago, Elijah came running into the house saying excitedly that the tree had fallen.  This was a very big oak tree that had been leaning for some time and had started to split.  They were in the process of getting someone to take it down.  Well, that job no longer has to be hired out...the tree came down on its own.  It is hard to tell how big it is, but it was about midway into their yard and when it fell, it fell across the entire street...but did no damage to the yard across the street as far as we can tell in the dark.  It was pretty much hollow.  Nathan and three of the boys got up into the hollow part and pretended that they were on a boat.  Nathan reported it to the city and it didn't take long till a policeman showed up to warn folk off from using that part of the street.  He told them that a work crew would be along to cut it up and it wasn't long till they came.  They are still working on cutting it up as I type this!  Never know what excitement will occur in the neighbors' or our lives.  They keep it pretty lively!  

I got with the intentions to make the herb bread that I use to make our Thanksgiving dressing (I'll call it dressing since we don't stuff our bird with it!)  We had attempted to buy all ingredients for all the recipes that I will be making.  This first recipe showed that I wasn't totally accurate with the grocery lists!  I needed the herb, savory for this bread.  Abigail baked three cheesecakes over here.  Once they were out of the oven, I headed out in search of the missing herb.  Well, after going to four grocery stores, I have made up my mind that it is unattainable here in Tullahoma!  So came home and just added more of the other herbs that it called for.  The two loaves of Herb Stuffing Bread just went into the oven.  

Woody did our grocery shopping early this morning.  Then he headed off with his friend to run the friend's errands.  They ended up going over to Manchester to take something to his stepson.  So Woody was gone even longer than these errands usually take.  

Well, I'm off to clean up my kitchen from the cooking mess.  The dishwasher is running, but several didn't fit in so I will go try to take care of them and then I am through in the kitchen for today.  And, in a few minutes I'll be able to say that the first recipe for Thanksgiving has been completed.  'Tis the season!

Thursday Before Thanksgiving

We still have a week before Thanksgiving and here I am posting Christmas!  I enjoy taking breaks throughout the day just sitting and looking at my tree so I decided to take a picture of just a section of it.  I got three new ornaments in the mail yesterday.  The pinwheel almost in the center was one of them...so pretty on the tree.  My friend made it out of what quilters call "prairie points."  When I called to thank her for the ornaments I told her that they had all found a place on the tree even though the tree is quite full of ornaments.  She said "always room for more ornaments!"  So true!  After I hung this one, I realized that it was right next to two others that she gave me over the years...the cloth
Santa right below the new ornament and the red ball with glittery holly on it.  I call my tree a memory

tree and those of you who read the blog and have given me ornaments over the years, know that you were thought of while I hung them and continue to think of you as I do my "tree walks."  Thanks again, Connie!  During the holiday season before I turn out the lights in the living room at night, I walk around the tree and look at and think about the various ornaments that catch my eye at that time.   I have the tree enough away from the back and side wall so I have a path around.  The sides and the back are as packed with ornaments as the front...and, I have favorites all around the tree...if one you gave me ends up on the back, it doesn't mean that I don't like it...it just means that when I got it out of its storage box, that was the best place for it...and, I will look at it on my walks even if it didn't got hung on the front!

This morning I had a usual Thursday of school...reading and other Montessori things with Joseph.  Isaac and I just read today as he had already taken his spelling test this week and I didn't have the
new list.  Elijah and Esther came for their times to read.  Then it was time for Isaac' long time with me.  I asked him when he came to read if he would help me with the little shelf upstairs that we put various Nativity scenes on...others that the children can play with.  We also put the children's Christmas books on the bottom shelf.  I told him that he could ask Joseph to help if Isaac wanted him to and if Joseph wanted to help.  Joseph did help.  The exciting that happened out of that little decorating job...I found the angel for the top of the tree!  I had been looking and about the last box I opened today, there she was!  I'll have to take another picture of the whole tree now that is complete with angel  on top. After he finished arranging the manger scenes, there was still time to do something else.  First we read a Christmas book.  After that we went upstairs and tried to arrange the K'nex boxes so they can still build with them.  I had just piled them up at the back of the guest room. Now they are up against the wall on one side.  Isaac is glad.  He then decided that since he still had some time left that he would make the next item in the simple machine K'nex book that he has been doing.  Today he got started on a wheel and axle build: a paddle boat.  He arm over later in the
afternoon to finish it.  The paddle wheel spins around thanks to a rubber band that is part of the build.

I haven't done a lot of cooking the last few days due to finishing up the decorating and preparing for a tea party.  So today it was necessary to make "something!"  I made an eggplant casserole for Woody and I decided that I wanted spaghetti and meat sauce.  I rarely make that these days as Woody can't have tomatoes.  We both enjoyed our varied suppers!

Woody did a little grass planting today in some bare spots between Nathan and Kathy's house and ours.  He also ran a couple of errands.  He decided that it helps to get some of our errand running out of the way before his major Friday errand running day,  he decided to go to the Credit Union and then to Aldi's.  He ended up finding turkeys for our Thanksgiving dinner.  We have to find Turkeys that are low in salt content which means avoiding turkeys that have a salt solution injected into them...not always easy to find.  But he found two smaller ones that fit the bill and "should" feed our crew next
Thursday. He once again watched the impeachment hearings.  So he has had a couple of busy days.  Yesterday he headed off after lunch to visit two of his Deacon families who are shut-ins.

I apologize for weird spacing and spelling as the blog is doing its back and forth thing and I can't see what I am typing and if my cursor goes to another place I have to use the return key to navigate...and then it changes the spacing.  It hadn't done this for a while, but it's baaaack.  Rather irritating and confusing...hard to keep my mind on track...so with that I will publish for tonight!  'Tis the season!

'Tis the Season!

Saying "'Tis the season" is a tradition that started between me and my Arizona family many, many years ago.  It started back in the days when long distance calling made your phone bill higher.  We didn't call all that often (every other week) and we would trade off...my parents would call and then two weeks later I would call them.  It got more frequent as the years went by...but usually no more than once a week.  Our distance meant that we didn't usually spend Christmas together so during the Christmas season we would make "'Tis the season" calls:  when one of us felt like calling we would just call spur of the moment and start out the call with: 'Tis the season!"  Those were the days when phone calls were less after a certain hour...funny how things have changed over the years.  With cell phones, we just pick up the phone and call whenever we please!  BUT my sister and I still say "'Tis the season" when we call each other at this time of the year.  And, Melany and I do it, too.

My morning started out with a "tea party" with two of my friends.  I invited them over for tea and scones.  I made pumpkin scones with spiced glaze, a new recipe,—thanksgiving flavors surrounded by Christmas!  When they were leaving, we wished each other Merry Thanksgiving!

Woody took his friend to the doctor this morning and then stayed in most of the rest of the day taking in part of the impeachment hearings.  He has also read, did his daily crossword puzzles, and watched a bit lighter TV viewing also.

This evening we have gone over our Thanksgiving menu tryouts hug to get everything on the list that we will need and not have to run back for one ingredient that I skipped over accidentally.  I will look closer at the list and the recipes tomorrow.  Since he has been getting most of the nonperishable items over the last couple of weeks, the list isn't tremendously long. I'm still wrapping my head around having 17 to feed/seat!  We are used to 15, but adding two more changes things up a bit!  I think that I have seating figured out...maybe!  I "think" we have enough chairs...now...if we just have enough food and I can make as many pies as I am planning to make—five...but 4 at least...two pumpkin, one or two pecan, and one apple cranberry (the only one Woody can eat so that is being added to the usual pumpkin and pecan pies that I always make at Thanksgiving.  'Tis the season...to be cooking!

Ta-dah!!

The tree is finished...just in time for a tea party with two of my friends in the morning.  When I invited them, I told them that I might be still in the midst of a mess, but let's do it anyway! When we started planning it was going to be last week...and I knew that there was no way I would be finished then.  But when we ended up setting the date for tomorrow, then I knew that there was a possibility of being close to finished.  There are still a couple of insignificant things that I still want to do, but finished according to most folk's eyes!

Woody picked up his friend and took him to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine that his doctor had phoned in.  Other than that he has had a relatively quiet day...reading, puzzle solving, watching TV...

I finished decorating the tree last night before I went to bed.  But I couldn't face taking the empty boxes upstairs.  So I got up before school and got all those boxes upstairs and back into the Christmas closet.  So the puzzle of repacking the Christmas closet has begun. That is quite a job which was always Woody's contribution to the Christmas decorating and undecorating!  But would not be an easy job for him balancing on his walker...just saying!  Now that the tree is done, I would just like to sit herein the living room and look at it and sip Christmas tea!  But guess there are a few things to bed one before the tea party in the morning...not much but always something "else" that needs to be done...usually right up till the guests arrive!  'Tis the season!

Almost!

The tree is soooooo close to finished.  I am on the last large box of ornaments some of which aren't going on the tree this year.  You can tell I'm not though if you note the stepladder is still on the side of the tree.  There are still some to go on towards the top of the tree so the stepladder is there to help me get to those branches.  All the neighbor grandchildren have hung at least one or two ornaments on the tree except for Graham and Abigail.  I almost got Graham to hang at least one, but found out that he had a school deadline so told him he didn't have to!  Abigail is busy with her cheesecakes.  She is making cheesecakes as a money raising project for their mission trip to the Philippines.  I'll bet several of those will get baked in our ovens.

I had school this morning...normal Monday schedule.  Esther did another watercolor painting today.  She does enjoy her art!  Woody ran an errand this afternoon and then tonight went to the Monday Night Furnace Room Prayer Meeting.  He has just returned.  He has settled back into his recliner and is in for the night.  I am also in for the night and plan to hopefully finish the tree this evening.  'Tis the season!